Getting Back To It

This Friday afternoon will mark my first day back in the office at my regular job (the one that pays the bills) since Friday, March 20th. For ten weeks I've been able to work from home, something I've considered a privilege. My office is unique in that there are only six people in a lot of space. Technically, we could've stayed working there, but the boss gave us the capability and the option to work from home. I am very lucky to work where I do.

This isn't the first time I've worked from home, but the past couple of times were by choice not necessity. Once was an attempt at advertising sales, the other was an attempt to make money solely as an author. Neither worked out in the long run. Whether it be from age or the different type of work, this time I enjoyed being stuck at home a lot more. Of everyone in my family I'm the only one not suffering cabin fever. I have gone grocery shopping every week the past month (as soon as the store opens on Sunday morning only). Plus we've picked up to-go orders and such, so I haven't been stuck completely at home the entire time.

Since my life will be getting back to a semblance of normal by the weekend, I'm hoping to get back into a writing groove. I've received an order of bags with my logo on them and am considering some other promo items. I really miss going to book events and meeting readers. One of the items I'm considering is a credit card sized magnifier that can be used as a bookmark. I might do a FB or Twitter poll, but feel free to comment below on whether that's something you would pick up (for free) at a book sale or if there are other items you like to see as giveaways on authors' tables.

It's going to take a while for everything to feel "normal" again, or for us to get used to our new normal. I hope all of you have stayed healthy and safe during this pandemic, and I sincerely hope we're on the homestretch. Keep reading and take care.

Birthday Blog Tour 2011!

 It's that time again! That's right, it's June, and with the first month of summer comes my birthday! Last year I decided to celebrate another year of life by giving away prizes to my readers at different stops around the web. It was awesome. I met new authors wonderful enough to allow me onto their blog, and I met their fabulous readers, gracious enough to read my rants. So, this year I decided to do it again even bigger!

Each day of my tour I'll select one comment to win the daily prize pack shown above. Then on June 30th ALL comments will be entered to win the grand prize box of goodies pictured to the right, which includes a signed print copy of They Call Me Death!

It all starts with this post so leave your comments to win, and don't forget to include your email address. Good Luck!

Here's the schedule:

June 1st:  My blog

June 2nd: Kaily Hart

June 5th: Victoria Gray

June 8th: Stephanie Julian

June 10th: Tina Donohue

June 12th: Christine Bell

June 13th: Storywings

June 15th: My blog (birthday post!)

June 16th: Samhain Publishing

June 19th: The Speculative Salon

June 21st: Book Chick City (review of They Call Me Death)

                 My blog!

June 24th: My blog where I interview N.L. Gervasio!

June 28th: Texas Authors of Romance Fiction

June 30th: My blog (GRAND PRIZE winner announced!)

Updated Word Count and Book Signing

So, I've been anticipating NaNoWriMo for the past few weeks with both excitement and dread. Excitement because I really like the story idea I'm going with, dread because I also really liked the WIP I've put on the back burner to start fresh for NaNo. However, I have yet to successfully complete Nano and that is the biggest motivator of all. I can do this! At the time of this posting my word count is sitting at 1,761. Hmm, maybe I can count this post too...

Aside from writing my tail off this month, I'm also going to be selling and signing print copies of They Call Me Death at the Vintage Park Harvest Festival. It's this coming Saturday, November 6th, from 10:30 AM until 6 PM, in Northwest Houston. It's a wine and arts festival, where another local romance author, Teri Thackston, will be joining me in the Wrap up Romance for the Holidays booth. We are offering free gift wrapping of any book purchase.

I will be giving away free CDs which include the prequel to They Call Me Death, as well as a few short stories set in my shifter world. No purchase is necessary to receive one. So, if you're in the Houston area this weekend, please stop by and see us!

Top 10 Reasons to be a Fan of SBP

Have you ever heard of Sapphire Blue publishing? Neither had I until just over a year ago. From their website:

Sapphire Blue Publishing produces high quality eBooks that will induce conversations and addict you to a special experience.  You'll lose yourself in a universe where the women kick ass, dark fantasy worlds become a reality, suspense sends chills up your spine, and more... In an economy where money counts, Sapphire Blue Publishing's books are priced fantastically!

Sapphire Blue Publishing is a new eBook publishing company managed by a close family group of highly respected, innovative, revolutionary entrepreneurs.  
Sapphire Blue Publishing, LLC is a partnership owned by Maria Clayton and Tina Gerow--two very dynamic people bringing with them diverse strengths and backgrounds who are committed to making Sapphire Blue a publishing company where authors and publishers form a win/win partnership in an industry we love. We hope the end result of this new kind of partnership will be books that "enchant" our readers and bring them back time and time again.

So, why should you be a fan of SBP? Here are a few enticing reasons:

• My erotic novella, Resignation, and erotic short story, Love in Disguise, are both available through SBP.
• Their prices range from $1.50 to $6.50.
• They offer many genres including: Action/Adventure, Comedy, Erotic, Fantasy/Sci-fi, Gay, Hot Shorts, Inspirational, Mainstream, Mystery/Suspense, Shapeshifters, Short Shorts, Urban Fantasy/Paranormal, Young Adult and Romance.
• FREE e-book, Tail from the Goddess, a round robin story by some of the SBP authors. 
• Authors are available to chat on the Yahoo loop. Including me!
• We're on twitter.
• We're on myspace.
• We're on Facebook.
• For the month of August all fans of our Yahoo loop will be entered to win great prizes!
• Also in August, look for character interviews on the fan loop.

Well, what are you waiting for? Click on all of the links and become a fan, friend and follower of SBP!

Seriously? Don't be Stupid

Warning! The upcoming rant is a direct result of working with the public five days a week for over eight hours a day...
Someday I'll have enough disposable income to quit my day job and stay home to write. Until then, I work at a bank as a teller. It's not an overly difficult job. For the most part I enjoy what I do, but there are days when every idiot in creation walks through our double glass doors. Let me tell you, stupid people, we talk about you the second you're ass disappears from the building. We laugh, complain and generally degrade everything about you for a few minutes and then never think about you again. You know who you are. Come on, you have to know who you are. No? Here's a few clues in the form of my greatest customer pet peeves:

• No, I don't know everyone in the world or even everyone who has ever entered my bank. If I don't know your favorite color or you mama's name then I don't know you well enough.
• If you won't trust me enough to hand over your ID, why in the f@#* are you handing me your money?
• Yes, everyone has to abide by the policies set forth by the bank. You're really not as special as you think you are.
• The "Wait Here" sign isn't just witty decoration. It has meaning and the customer I'm currently helping doesn't want you breathing down his/her neck as I count out the thousands of dollars he/she asked for.
• You have a negative balance? Oh, sure. Let me just give you more money to go spend foolishly.
• Checking the ATM every hour on the hour isn't the same as actually balancing your checkbook. If items process in an order differently than you did them, that doesn't mean the bank is responsible for you being an idiot and spending more than you make.
• Math is your friend. If not, use cash.

Really, I think the average person has the potential to be very smart. Unfortunately some days all I get are less than average customers. I always try to be the best customer I can possibly be, because I know the person taking care of me is only human too. My time and schedule aren't more important than anyone else's.

All right, end of rant. You can all now go back to your regularly scheduled programs. 

Switching Worlds and Losing My Groove

I recently finished a work in progress that spanned an entire year. Why did it take so long? I kept changing my mind on the direction the story should go. I'd submitted version one last year and it was rejected, but I was lucky enough to have an editor willing to give me a second chance. I wrote up version two and wasn't satisfied with my heroine at all. So, before starting version three I gave myself a stern talking to and went with my gut. I'm very happy and hopeful about the finished product. We'll see if my editor feels the same way.

Now the problem is what to work on next. I have way too many unfinished stories calling to me. My characters are begging me to listen to them and get it all out on paper, but who do I listen to? I decided to work on a sequel to my erotica, Resignation. However, I've been struggling to get in the groove. My fantasy characters are mad at me because I've been ignoring them for nearly a year. And to top it all off, my shifters are screaming to keep the attention they've gotten used to over the past few months. They're kind of like my children that way.

Speaking of children, I also promised my daughters I would write something they'd be allowed to read for once. Hmm, when will that get done? I think for now I'll open up a few documents and type here and there as the mood strikes me. Hopefully the dialogue won't get mixed up between projects since I've suddenly acquired a ten-second attention span. I blame twitter for my new found need to hop around and type just a little bit here and there. Maybe that's why I now have so many darn blogs...

I Tweet, Therefore I Am

          At one point in time in the not so distant past, Myspace was a novelty to me. I never considered it a waste of time or child’s play. I thought it was amusing and served a purpose, but not necessarily something I needed. Then an out-of-town friend told me I should create my profile so we could keep in touch on a daily basis. Ok, I was all right with that. He said everyone was on Myspace. Never one to let a little peer pressure pass me by, I caved and logged on. A few months later Facebook was all the rage and I thought I didn’t need it because I had Myspace. Again I was proven wrong by another friend who claimed everyone was on Facebook. Ok, fine.

            I spend a lot of time online, writing, reading, playing around. Social networking is not exactly a chore for me. In reality I talk all day long at my “day job” so having conversation via text is not a problem. It’s actually a bit relaxing to be able to respond at my leisure, however when I heard of Twitter I’ll admit I was perplexed. I had to have whole conversations 140 characters at a time? I talk a lot in person and my emails and posts tend to drone on. 140 characters? Really? That’s not even limited to the alphabet. My spaces and commas had to fit into that restriction as well. I proofread my text messages before hitting send. How on earth could I leave good grammar behind and learn to write messages with numbers?  

            Amazingly no one called, emailed, or otherwise coerced me onto Twitter. I found it all by myself and discovered not everyone tweets. That’s all right because now I do. My first few attempts were nothing to brag about but I think I have it down now. I’ve learned abbreviating doesn’t hurt and how to cut my thoughts short. Like Wheel of Fortune I need my vowels and seeing messages without them is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. My hubby doesn’t get it, co-workers look at me funny and a friend said they’ve lost respect for me now. Because I tweet? Yup. Well, I told them what I thought of that ridiculous statement. And it took less than 140 characters.

            Do you Twitter? Facebook? Myspace? I know there are many more out there, but there are only so many hours in a day I can dedicate to being online and only so many variations on my password I can think up. For now I’m happy with these venues.

-Missy Jane

*make reading a guilty pleasure…*