Call for Submissions: Wild at Heart

For all you writers out there who are also animal lovers, here’s a challenge. The proceeds of this book will go to the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge. I wrote about the facility back in October on my own blog. Check out Sweet Refuge! for more details about the good work they do.

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Wild at Heart
Editor: Delilah Devlin
Publisher: Diamond State Romance Authors
Deadline: April 1, 2012

Wild at Heart is open to all authors.

Editor Delilah Devlin is looking for stories for a special project to benefit the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge.

Recently, six Diamond State Romance Author chapter members spent a weekend falling in love with the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge and its exotic inhabitants. The refuge is home to large cats and a variety of exotic animals that would otherwise have to be put down because they aren’t suitable for placement in zoos or to be returned to the wild. The need for financial support was apparent. Our chapter decided to pool its resources and find a way to help.

What we propose is to produce a volume of short stories, all centred around animals in need of refuge. All proceeds from the sales of the book will go directly to the Turpentine Creek Refuge. We will edit the submissions, seek professional cover art and formatting, and assist the refuge by uploading the anthology to online bookstores like Amazon’s Kindle store and Barnes & Noble’s Nook store. Additionally, we will help upload the book to CreateSpace so that printed volumes can be available for sale in brick-and-mortar bookstores throughout Arkansas and inside the refuge’s shop.

This is an international call for submissions of short stories to be donated for the cause. Only the best stories will be accepted. All genres of fiction (contemporary and paranormal, sweet adult romance and Young Adult) will be considered. Please keep in mind that stories must be PG-rated as the book will be two-sided—one side geared toward adult readers and the other toward teenaged readers.

Examples of the kinds of stories we seek:

• A maimed Iraqi war veteran learns to accept his disability by working with equally damaged animals
• A teenaged girl helps a were-cougar hide his true nature while both hunt for an escaped cat
• A teenaged couple encounters a tiger escaped from its private owner’s cage and work together to find help to capture and care for it
• A pushy animal psychic must gain the trust of the refuge’s veterinarian to help a depressed bear
• A troubled teenager discovers a tiger living in a national forest, then seeks a way to prevent locals staging a hunt from killing it

How to submit: Prepare your 1,500 to 4,000 words story in a double-spaced, Arial, 12 point, black font Word document with pages numbered (.doc, NOT.docx) OR rich text format. Indent the first line of each paragraph half an inch and double space (regular double spacing, do not add extra lines between paragraphs or do any other irregular spacing). US grammar (double quotation marks around dialogue, etc.) is required.

In your document at the top left of the page, include your legal name (and pseudonym if applicable), mailing address, and 50 word or less bio in the third person to dsrawildatheart@gmail.com. If you are using a pseudonym, please provide your real name and pseudonym and make it clear which one you’d like to be credited as. Authors may submit up to 2 stories.

About the editor: Ms. Devlin has published over one hundred stories in multiple genres and lengths. Her published print titles include Into the Darkness, Seduced by Darkness, Darkness Captured, Down in Texas, Texas Men and Ravished by a Viking. Her short stories are featured in Zane’s Purple Panties, and Cleis Press’s Lesbian Cowboys, Girl Crush, Fairy Tale Lust, Lesbian Lust, Passion, Carnal Machines, and Dream Lovers. She is published by Avon, Kensington, Harlequin, Atria/Strebor, Ellora’s Cave, Samhain Publishing, and Berkley. In Fall 2011, she debuted her first anthology with Cleis Press, Girls Who Bite.

Direct any questions you have regarding your story or the submission process to Delilah at dsrawildatheart@gmail.com.

Authors of Influence

I am a fairly new writer, at least I consider myself one. After three years of learning the craft, though, perhaps I should change my self concept. I still can’t see myself as growing up just yet. Anyway, with that mindset, I continue to write, write, write as if my life depended on it and read, read, read to learn from the hundreds of talented writers out there in the world.

I have to make a confession. I didn’t read my first romance until three years ago, AFTER I wrote my first book and it was supposed to be a romance! Before discovering romances, I swore off reading anymore novels. They all made me cry. None of the outcomes in the stories were satisfying for me, leaving me either aggravated the author could write it that way or sad beyond belief. I am one of those people who digest a book and internalize it emotionally. For me the only kind of books I could stomach were non-fiction books. I learned a ton of various stuff over the past fifteen years!

Needless to say, when I found out happy endings were inevitable in a romance, I devoured them. I didn’t discriminate genres either, but finally found myself drawn to Contemporary and Historical romances from all sorts of authors. So after a few hundred of those books I discovered my most favorite authors in Contemporary romance. These women are the writers I pray I can emulate. My mother introduced me to LaVyrle Spencer and a dear writer friend introduced me to Susan Elizabeth Phillips. I have finally found books I absolutely love to read.

LaVyrle, sadly, retired several years ago. I have been collecting her books from the antique shops, used book stores in the area and from bookstores across the country. I am also in the process of purchasing SEP’s backlist.

I read every other sort of book still, but I throw in one of these books to keep me focused.

These women write about strong characters with wounded lives and insurmountable circumstances. I love the way the hero and heroine’s lives are meshed so change is inevitable, improving each other’s life in their relationship. I want to see the characters grow from the conflict they encounter in their own personalities. The emotions written on the page are powerful and influential to a fledgling writer as myself.

These are the sort of stories Nena wants to write. Passion and romance. Learning how to make that happen is an exciting challenge that drives me to the written word.

I’d love to hear who influences your writing. Leave a comment to share.

Nena

Being a Writer

Being a writer can be a lonely job. For introverts, this isn’t a problem. For an extrovert like me…well, it can be lonely.

Writers spend their days holed up in their offices, living the lives of their characters, learning about people that don’t really exist except in their own minds, finding love and acceptance, troubles and conflicts throughout each day. It can be exciting living in an imaginary world, but when a writer surfaces and looks around, the friends they made in their stories disappear.  And when the writer tries to talk to non-writers about them, the non-writers glaze over and nod politely or just ignore the writer.

Yes it can be a lonely world and finding someone you can talk to that understands you (besides your therapist) can be difficult.  That’s why when I get a chance to be with other writers, I grab at it and hold on!

This past weekend, I was able to make the 3.5 hour drive to visit my “local” Romance Writers of America chapter the Diamond State Romance Authors (DSRA). What fun we had. It was great being in a room full of like-minded (translation: crazy) authors all intent on learning and growing as a writer and ultimately becoming published if they hadn’t already. We talked, we planned, we brainstormed and the energy filled the air.

One of the members of the DSRA is my sister Delilah Devlin. We met earlier than the meeting and made great use of our time together, brainstorming new stories, talking about what we should be writing this year and sharing our publishing successes and foibles.

All in all, I came away from the meeting with a renewed sense of self and excited about diving into my solitary world of writing, knowing there are people like me out there who “get it.”

Happy writing and reading to those who love books! It’s going to be a great writing day for me!

Elle’s Website

 

Writing Mulitple Projects

Lately I’ve been writing on multiple projects simultaneously.Let me tell you what I’ve been up to.

First, I’m on a never-ending-blog-tour for my debut book, Texas Two Step. This means writing fresh and new blogs daily. Now, I’m chatty person but having to produce fresh and entertaining material daily is stressful, especially if you are trying to write other things.

Second, I wanted to try something new. I wanted to write a prequel to my debut. Texas Two Step starts about nine years after my couple met (and six years after their break-up.) I thought putting out fresh material leading up to the debut might stimulate readers’ interests in my book and thus lead to sales. The plan was to post an episode of the prequel for the two weeks prior to the release on February 28. That means writing fresh material for that. I meant to have that written way in advance. It didn’t quite work on that way. (I seem to write better on a deadline.) Plus I decide to start a blog to host those installments. So each prequel required a post for the guest blog AND some type of introduction on the prequel blog. Lots of work.

Third, I’m writing the second book in the Texas Montgomery Mavericks Series, Texas Tango Tangle.

I’m usually person who can juggle tennis balls quite well. Right now, writing fresh material for three (or four if you count the Texas Montgomery Mavericks blog) feels like I’m juggling bowling balls. Whew. It’s tough. Really tough. But I’m learning how to change the characters talking in my head while chatting with readers on blogs. I’ve learned it can be done but I’ll think long and hard before doing this again!

So if you don’t hear from me days on end, search me out on tour. I’m there….and here…and here…and here…well, you get the picture.

Don’t forget…There are awesome prizes and FREEBIES on the tour. Check them out.

Thanks for coming and leaving a message!

L’amour?

Yesterday was Valentine’s Day, but for me the celebration is today… when all that chocolate goes on sale.

I don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day. In fact, I usually consider it a bit of a hassle. It’s one of those dates that would always sneak up on me, then it was a mad dash to the store to find boxes of cards for school exchanges… three kids’ worth… and then they all had to be addressed and folded and stickered shut. Of course the kids never knew how many they needed and never remembered all their classmates’ names.

Ugh.

Being perpetually single doesn’t inspire warm and fuzzy thoughts about a day that celebrates romance, either. My snuggle buddy is covered with fur.

I wasn’t always indifferent about Valentine’s Day. I remember my first Valentine’s as a married woman. We’d only been married a few months, and as a bonus, it was a weekend. I thought it would be the perfect time to take advantage and… well… act like newlyweds. He seemed to be into the idea. He went shopping the day before and was very excited about what he bought me. I, in turn, was ready for something special. Would it be lacy? Sparkly? Chocolate?

None of the above. He bought me gym shoes so I could “work off that little bit of chub”.

Valentine’s day lost its charm.

This isn’t to say I don’t love romance. I adore romance. I read it, I write it, and when a real-life bit of romance makes its way to me, I soak it up and revel in it. I love love, and seeing people in love makes me incredibly happy.

What I’ve let go is the idea of love on a timetable. A dozen red roses on Valentine’s is predictable. Expected, even. They are the base level of recognizing that some gesture is expected. A dozen red roses on a Thursday say, “I was thinking about you.”

Random expressions of love are the heart of romance for me, because they are spontaneous and genuine, not prodded by some society expectation.

Forget Valentine’s and give me a truly romantic man.

The Music Muse

Music can be a writer’s muse. Some listen while they write with heads bobbing in time to the beat. Others listen to lyrics and dream of the story. Are you a writer you loves to listen while you work?

There are many online resources for music. I recently discovered a website called Playlist.com.   The terrific part is that it’s free and easy to use. The dangerous part is  allowing yourself to get sidetracked. Just for fun, I made a playlist for my YA novel, The Waiting Booth. I imagined each song fitting a scene from the book. Then I made a playlist for the next book in the series, Whisper of Memory. I’ve also started another playlist to store my favorite songs. Then I can listen to the songs I love while I write.

On Playlist.com, you are able to select songs for a playlist and then store them to  play anytime you want.  This is only a screen shot, but you can click here if you want to play the songs on my playlist.

Need to write a sexy scene? You can do a search for  Barry White (click here to listen to the song) and load up a song for listening. A romantic scene? I’d search for Michael Buble (click here to listen to the song). How about a fight scene? Load in some Linkin Park (click her to listen to the song). You are in the mood to write now, aren’t you? Happens a lot.

On Playlist.com, you can also share your playlists and find friends.  If you are a Facebook user, there is integration with their site.  If you are a music lover, you’ll love this site.

DSRA Releases

Look for these new books by DSRA members in January and February.

~~~~~~~~~~~Texas Two Step~~~~~~~~~~~~

2.28.12

Their love never died, but her secrets could break his trust beyond repair.

Texas Montgomery Mavericks, Book 1

Book Blurb:  After six years and too much self-recrimination, rancher Mitch Landry is ready to admit he was wrong. He’d loved Olivia Montgomery but commitment wasn’t high on his list back then. That was his first mistake. He’s just divorced his second, and he’s set to do whatever it takes to convince Olivia to give him another try.

Through hard work, determination and more than a few tears, Olivia survived the break-up with Mitch. She’s rebuilt her life around her business and the son she loves more than life itself. She’s not proud of the mistakes she’s made–particularly the secrets she’s kept–but when life hands you manure, you use it to make something better of yourself…lest you get stuck in it.

At a hot, muggy Dallas wedding, they reconnect. Olivia’s first instinct is to play it cool, but after one devastating kiss things flare out of control, real fast. Maybe a quick roll in the hay will get him out of her system once and for all. Funny thing about hay though, once it’s tangled in your hair, getting it out risks revealing things that were never meant to see the light of day.

Warning: Contains hot sex, a vindictive ex-wife, and hot chocolate chip cookies.

Samhain |  Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble

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Mags vs Father Time

Everyone needs an arch-nemesis, right? Superman had Lex Luthor. Dorothy went up against the Wicked Witch of the West. And we all know about Harry and He Who Shall Not Be Named.

Time is now my enemy.

At least fifty times a day I give the clock the old squinty-eyed stare. Every night I’m fudging bedtime a little, which does not play out well when my chorus of morning alarms attempts to roust me from my beloved bed. After a good ten hours dedicated to the day job, I rush home, sprint to the gym, scarf down my dinner, and land in my chair with a huff.

There are only so many waking hours in a day, and I’m doing my damndest to utilize every one of them. I have a new release, so I need to promo. Add in some copy edits on the June release. And I can’t forget about the blogs I need to write and updating my social media sites…Oh, and travel planning for conferences. Did I mention that I’m working on a new series? I need to get around to that whole book writing thing too….

You see, that’s my problem. I feel guilty when I take an extra-long bubble bath or while away an evening with the television or a book. Last Friday I went to the movies with some friends, but you can bet your bippy I spent the entire car ride there figuring out a way to ‘make up for it’ on Saturday. Guilt is second nature for me. I have been ruled by it all my life, but that doesn’t make it easier to handle.

Still, I’m not exactly sure why I feel this way. I’m not under the gun of an impending deadline. At least, not one imposed by a publisher. I can blame part of it on the plot bunnies I mentioned last month. There isn’t a writer out there who hasn’t experienced a bout of too-many-stories-not-enough-time syndrome.

My publishers have given me deadlines, but they’re a lot more reasonable than the deadlines I set for myself. I can’t help it. Most every article I read these days touts the same message to writer: be prolific.

Okay, got it. I can do that. As long as I don’t do the bill paying, laundry folding, grocery shopping or that sleeping thing…Hey, did you guys see that handsome man sleeping in my bed?  He looks vaguely familiar. Wait! I know where I’ve seen him before…I think. It was either in a comic book or my wedding album. One or the other. I’ll look him up later….

 

We Have a Bear

I’m not sure what it is about our little farm that drives us to add another animal to the menagerie, but we keep succumbing to the magic. We discussed getting another canine companion for our farm dog. The incessant feline intrusion to his feeding bowl leaves the poor guy all frustrated and living in a large run all by himself gives us guilt pangs. He is such a great part of our family we want him to have a friend of his own.

Sooooo….. We found Bear.

He is about eight weeks old and is a Labrador Retriever mix. Judging from his bulk the mix is pretty hefty. The little guy is the same size as our Shitzu, but he has about 5 more pounds on him. I rate his weight at about twenty pounds easily. You almost can’t lift him. He’s a big sack of potatoes.

Just look at those shoulders and take a close gander at those paws! This little guy is going to be a bear. No doubt in my mind.

I just want to know what possessed us to do this again? A puppy? Really? He barks half the night, he is another mouth to feed, and this fellow chows it down, mind you. And he’s one more thing for me to worry about when I’m at home. I have little enough time to write as it is without interrupting those precious, cherished moments with checks on ole Bear.

He is too cute. The natural loyalty he displays is endearing. My kids love the way he keeps at their heels, following them all over the farm. One trek out to the horses is enough to do him in, though. His little legs will only move so fast and being a baby he tires out fairly fast. The cats haven’t taken to him very well. They don’t enjoy one of those over sized paws swatting them. They have figured out he gets fed frequently and, of course, they swarm his bowl. A fast learner, Bear effectively keeps the cats at bay while he inhales his food.

I know we all have cats and dogs as writers that fuel our finicky muse. Some of you may not find feline or canine especially inspiring. I’d love to hear about your favorite pet. Just leave a quick comment to fill us in.

And happy writing.

Nena

E-Reader Dilemma

For the past five years, I’ve been reading digital books on my computer. Not perfect but I made it work for me. In 2009 I got a netbook. Nice for travel and pretty good for reading, so I got into digital books in a big way. Then two years ago, I got a Motorola Droid phone. Loved it. I could read books on it using the various apps (Kindle, Nook, Adobe, etc.) So for two years, I’ve been reading on either a computer screen or my phone but I wanted something different…something more.

This week I bought the Kindle Touch. I gave away my netbook, so using it for reading was done. My computer is great but with it’s 17″ screen, it’s a tad heavy in the bed. I wanted a “real” e-reader, so I marched over to Walmart and bought the Kindle Touch.

But, I have to be honest…I didn’t love my new Kindle. Why? Because I’ve been reading on back-lit screens my entire digital reading life. I didn’t like having to position a light to read my Kindle. Yes, I realize I could have bought a Kindle cover with a built-in light but I’d just spent $149 for the Kindle Touch with 3-G & wi-fi. The thought that I should have to spend another $50+ to make it “work” for me just didn’t set well. And I could have bought a Kindle Fire, but I have an ASUS Transformer Prime Table on order, so the Fire seemed to much like duplication.

Bottom line…I want my back-lit reader. So yesterday it was back to Walmart for the return. No problems returning it (one of the main reasons I love Walmart and will continue to shop there.) I didn’t bother looking at the Kindle Fire while I was there (see ASUS explanation above) but I confess…I am still considering it, duplication of programs or not. The Fire is smaller than the tablet I have ordered, so maybe. I don’t know.

As we sit here in 2012, I STILL do not own an e-reader.  So do I re-consider my decision to by-pass the Kindle Fire and just use the Kindle and Nook apps on my tablet when it arrives or should I just go ahead and buy a Fire?

Need some advice here, gang!

AND since you were so kind to read this far today, I’ll let you in on something else…I have FINALLY posted all the prizes for my Texas Two Step Blog Tour. Click HERE for a listing of stop on the tour. Click HERE to see all the awesome prizes.

Thanks for coming by. Looking for e-reader advice!