Fingers Crossed!

I sent off a submission to Secret Cravings yesterday, and have already had a confirmation e-mail, letting me know I should hear back in about a week:) Here's hoping they like it!

How Much Is Too Much?
A friend and I were discussing book releases yesterday, and how many releases per year are too many?

My goal at the moment is two per year. That gives me six months to promote each one, and it gives me 'breathing space'. I don't want to suddenly 'take the publishing world by storm' only to fizzle out and have my place taken by another go-getter.

No, I would rather build a solid group of readers who anxiously wait for my next release, knowing there will be one or two a year.

I do have friends who crank them out month after month, and I applaud their tenacity at keeping at it. I never want my writing to become a chore; I want it to be something I enjoy. I wonder at their promotions sometime. How effective is the promo when you're hurrying to meet deadlines; editing; AND suddenly yelling all over the internet, "OMG! I totally forgot my book came out today!"??

One author recently revealed she had four (4, and I'm NOT making this up!) releases on the same day. HUH??? Yes, with three different publishers. That just boggles the mind. Which book will she showcase? Will she take turns? What happens the rest of the year?

If I'm wrong about the effectiveness of the marketing, please let me know. Granted, I've been waiting for one book to be edited for over a year, and word of acceptance now for nine months. And with this new submission....If all four are released this year, I hope they are spaced far enough apart so I don't have someone bringing this post to my attention and calling me a hypocrite.

What's your take on this? And yes, if you're a part of what I call the 'Book-of-the-Month' Club, please enlighten me?

Will the Real Kenzie Michaels Please Stand Up?

(Applause)

Welcome to Tell The Truth! Please introduce yourselves.

Hi, my name is Kenzie Michaels

Hello, my name is Kenzie Michaels.

Hello to you both! Welcome!

KM1: Thank you. It’s nice to be here.

KM2: (nods politely)

Would you please describe yourself as a child?

KM1: I was outgoing; I constantly shouted ‘Look at me! See what I can do!”, and made friends very easily.

KM2: I was always reading; I had only one best friend, and was painfully shy.

How about the high school years?

KM2: I was still shy; however, my best friend was popular and I met a lot of friends through him. I was in band and worked in the school library.

KM1: I found myself in the uncomfortable position of having my best friends’ boyfriends wanting to date me. I refused the first one, dated the second, and quit helping my friend the third time. All I was trying to do was HELP her; not steal her boyfriends away!

KM2: I remember that; you only dated the second guy after you got her blessing, right?

KM1: Of course!

How about college?

KM1: Did I go to college?

KM2: I majored in Social Work and had dreams of saving abused kids. You were busy partying.

KM1: Oh, that’s right. I discovered the opposite sex was a lot of fun!

KM2: I dated also, but more seriously. I had four long-term relationships…

KM1: And a couple of duds…

KM2: Well, yes. But I ended up with some great research for my books!

KM1: You mean our books.

KM2: If you want to get technical about it….

Okay, okay. Let’s talk about your writing career. What’s your writing style?

KM1: I started writing three years ago, when these characters jumped into my head and wouldn’t leave. It was the funniest thing! One minute I’m driving down the street, and the next minute, there’s an ex-con inside my head, yelling at me to write his story! And a few months later, I remembered a gigantic crush I had on my son’s teacher, so I thought, ‘what if I had been divorced…’ And that moment at the stove when two characters were arguing over the fact she was in HIS kitchen,…that was bizarre! Not to mention the other plots which arrived while I was in the shower, sitting at McDonald’s, at my class reunion….

KM2: We get the picture. Your imagination went into overdrive. Me, I write more slowly. I worked on a book for five years before I decided on how to end it. My ideas come from observations I made while pursuing my degree. I decided there were stories which needed to be told, so others would recognize signs of danger ahead.

KM1: You wanted to be Judy Bloom or Lavyrle Spencer. I was corrupted by Anny Cook.

How do you promote your work?

KM1: I spend a great deal of time online. I chat, blog, and beg people to interview me.

KM2: I set up at craft shows, arrange book signings at stores, and I’m always willing to encourage other writers.

KM1: I did Blog Talk Radio once and embarrassed the producer when the excerpt I read on air had the word ‘pussy’ in it. And I’m not talking cat. My stuff is on the explicit, bedroom door-open-style.

KM2: I try to leave something to the imagination. My readers are, after all, could be as young as twelve.

KM1: Not mine. They’d better be at least 18, although my daughter read my first pubbed book and pronounced it ‘tame’. She claimed she’d read worse at school, and she was fourteen!

KM2, you said you were shy. Would you still call yourself that today?

KM2: Absolutely! Put me in a group setting by myself, where I don’t know anyone, and I’m terrified!

KM1: ROLFMAO! Okay, as your friend BC Brown put it, you suffer situational shyness. Ask anyone at your writer’s group: You talk more than anyone else!

KM2: (blushing) Well, okay. I guess I’ve come out of my shell a bit.

KM1: A bit? You do realize the only reason I can only blog once a week is because YOU steal all the blogging ideas.

KM2: Then how do you explain the past month?

KM1: No internet access. Plus the sub-zero temps made me want to seek a warmer climate. And you were too busy answering your email. I haven’t checked mine since last year!

KM2: True. You did participate in several chats, though.

So when is your next release?

KM1: Mine was last November, and I’m waiting for word on two more submissions. I think I’m giving up on one of them, and sending it somewhere else.

KM2: I’m also waiting for word of acceptance. I really hope I hear soon. A reader came in three months ago and asked if it was available yet.

Okay ladies. Time to identify. Will the real Kenzie Michaels please stand up?

KM1 stands.

(Applause)

And Number 2, would you please introduce yourself?

KM2: I’m actually Molly Daniels. But this was fun!

Talking To Myself

Welcome! Please introduce yourself and tell us about your latest release.

My name is Kenzie Michaels and I'm addicted to reading...wait, wrong introduction. This is where I'm supposed to say I'm addicted to writing or my computer, right?

My latest release is all about how the lives of four people can change over the course of six days. Is it Fate? Free Will? You decide:) Wild At Heart is available at www.xoxopublishing.com and on Kindle:)

Have you ever had an idea for a story which scared you after you began writing it?

Hell yes! I'm working on one right now, on and off, which is scarily mirroring a friend's life.

Have you incorporated actual events from your own life into your books?

Hee hee hee...wouldn't you like to know? Actually, I fictionalize Life a great deal. Such as the opening scene in Teacher's Pet. Ahhh, now there was a fantasy! Too bad I couldn't ACT on it!

How much research do you do? Do you research first and then write, or do you write first, then research as needed?

It depends. Sometimes I'll come up with a topic or situation and research first; other times I'll do it on an 'as needed' basis.

Is there any message you want readers to take from reading your work?

No; just fun and relaxation is all I'm happy with. Unless they decide to try out a bedroom scene or two....and let me know if it will or will not work, lol!

Are you a plotter or a pantser? And have you ever had a story take on a life of its own?

I'd have to say up to this point, I've been a pantser. I get an idea and start at the beginning and write til the end. And talk about stories taking on lives of their own....I had no idea Wild At Heart was going to spend half the book in Colorado! Or that a certain plot twist would occur in Teacher's Pet.

How long did it take for you to be published?

I'm embarrassed to reveal it took me only three months for All She Ever Wanted, and with only one rejection notice (see next question). Wild At Heart, however, took three years.

If you could go back and tell yourself anything when you first began your writing career, what would you say?

Per the previous question....READ THE SUBMISSION GUIDELINES! That's why ASEW was rejected the first time. I hadn't followed the rules. Otherwise, I'd maybe be part of the EC Family...

Laptop or pen and ink? What are your ‘must-haves’ when writing?

Either one. I wrote Teacher's Pet with both, when my kids needed the computer for homework. As for must-haves....Iced tea, cookies, or a sandwich for breaks.

Who are your favorite authors? Who would you say influenced you the most?

Check my blog roll for my fave e-authors. Amarinda Jones encouraged me to write something with more 'heat', and TP was the result. I've also been influenced by Danielle Steele in my POV issues. A habit I'm trying to break.

What would your readers be surprised to learn about you?

I don't think there's much they don't already know...I play the drums; I'm a good crisis counselor; I'm also a closet rock-n-roll chick; and my bff was the basketball star when we were in HS. I was a band geek who worked in the library. God only knows how or why we became friends!

For Fun:

What is your favorite love scene to write or read? (ie: First kiss, passion after a fight, reunion)

I'm a sucker for reunion scenes!

What is your favorite Valentine’s Day memory?

Hmmmm....it could be one of three. In the 4th grade, the boy I had a crush on gave me a beautiful homemade Valentine; when I was 20, I received my first ever red rose; and in 1988, I broke up with my boyfriend, but another friend took me out to dinner and presented me with a tiny stuffed bear who sat on the dash of my car for years. That friend later became my spouse.

Sweetest gift ever given to you?

Hahahaha,....'Co-Pilot', the bear:)

Thank you for being here today! Please tell us where we can find your books.

All She Ever Wanted is available at Freya's Bower and Kindle

Wild At Heart is available at XOXO Publishing and Kindle.

Teacher's Pet will also be released soon (I hope!) at Freya's Bower, as soon as edits are approved:)

I'm Ba-ack:)

Didja miss me?

Hahahahaha.....

Seriously, I've been thrown into a a bad teenage soap opera. (Sighing dramatically) Drama, oh how I hate thee.....But at least Molly has great material for another character, should she or I need to channel an angry child!

Okay. Onto the topic at hand. What was it again? Oh yeah...publishing secrets or something like that. Hang over while I pop over and check.

Okay, it's really dirty little secrets about writing. And since you all know by now that a) I write when the muse is hot (by that, I mean in spurts) and b) I don't have maid service, a private jet, or even am independently wealthy, what more is there to say? Since next week's topic is a self interview, I'll have Molly interview me, and I'll post it here. Whaddya say? So come back in a few days for everything Kenzie:)

Tangled Threads

I know I'm late with this post, and early for next week's, so I'm going to combine them. I also thank everyone who's asked about me! You miss me:) You already know about my internet woes, so here's a post to cheer you up.

Sometimes I will actually sit down and begin writing 'once upon a time' straight through to 'they lived happily ever after'. I did that with 'Wild At Heart', 'Class Reunion', and 'Off The Clock'. But sometimes a scene comes to me and demands to be written out of order.

When that happens, sometimes it is hard to piece together the separate strands of the story, and so they lay jumbled for a while. And then inspiration strikes, and the transition scenes are written.

But sometimes the scenes refuse to join, or new scenes enter the brain. When that happens, I try to reuse them in other stories. For example, I wrote a skinny-dipping scene and never used it. It is still gathering dust, waiting for the day when I can rework it. Actually, what I originally had written became part of the back story for the original character; the only thing I had to do was bring up the incident in conversation.

But again, I'm with everyone else when I say that what works for one writer won't always work for another. And as for those one chapter wips I have lying around....I'm going to take Brynn's advice and made a road map of what I foresee happening with the characters. It might help get me out of this 'black hole' of non-ideas.

Now, as for next week's topic of 'My Story Written by Shakespear'...'Romeo and Juliet' sort of works for All She Ever Wanted, and I can't think of what play would characterize Wild At Heart...Check back next week, after I read the others' posts! Maybe I'll get inspired?

Meet the Ladies of Wild At Heart:)

Today I have the honor of sitting down with Angela Clayborn and Emma Nichols, co-heroines from Wild At Heart.

K: Greetings ladies:)

A: Can you believe this awful weather? Brrr....

E: Hi Kenzie:) I've never been to Indiana before. Is the ice typical this time of year?

A: Not this early. Normally this stuff arrives in January. My shop's been closed all day, due to it being too treacherous.

E: Yeah, wintertime in the Rockies is usually our slow period also. I'm usually traveling around doing trade shows, advertizing the riding stables and drumming up interest in my brother's woodworking shop.

K: So there's no hard feelings between you two?

A: Not at all. I think we're all happier now. Wouldn't you say, Emma?

E: Yeah. Who knew I'd fall in love in six days?

K: What are you doing in Indiana, Emma?

E: Brad had a business meeting at the home office, so I tagged along. I hope my horses are being taken care of; my mare is due to foal in the next few weeks and I'm anxious to get back. But with this ice, our flight was delayed.

K: I've tried to get Brad to talk to me, but he won't.

E: I've kept him pretty busy:) I'm also training him as a part-time stable hand.

K: What about you, Angie? Are you happy with the way things worked out?

A: I can't believe I was in such denial about Steve. I had started dating Brad because my friends thought he was perfect for me, but it just goes to show you can't force chemistry.

E: And you and Steve definitely have it! We went out to dinner last night before the ice hit, and Steve couldn't keep his hands off of her!

A: Well neither could you and Brad!

K: I also want you both to know that your story will be available on Kindle the week before Christmas.

E: Cool! Brad's getting me one so I can find that scene in Anny's book!

A: Who's book?

K: Anny's a good friend of mine, Emma. Contact me when you get your Kindle and I'll email Anny's website to you. She's got a lot of other books you might like, plus I'll introduce you around to other wonderful e-books and authors.

E: Awesome! Thanks!

A: I told Steve I wanted a Nook for Christmas. After that controversy on Amazon a few months ago, I'll buy from somewhere else.

E: They pulled the book, Angie....but I see your point.

K: And none of my books are on the Nook yet, so if you want to read them, Kindle's the way to go. Time's up ladies; I need to fix dinner for the family. Thanks for coming by!

A: Thanks for the yummy cookies! I need your recipe.

E: Don't tell Nora, but your chocolate chips are better than hers.

K: I think the recipe's going to be in an XOXO Publishing cookbook. I'll let you know:)


Wild At Heart,
Available now at XOXO Publishing
http://xoxopublishing.com/shop-online/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=12&products_id=107

Interview with Steve Blumenthal from Wild At Heart

Today I'm interviewing Steve Blumenthal, one of the heroes in my latest release, Wild At Heart.
Thanks for being willing to chat with me today Steve:)

S: No problem. I just have one question before you start.

K: Sure; go ahead.

S: What happened to the storyline I gave you? I told you I was trying to reform; my town didn't 'get it', and instead, you come up with this complicated love square--

K: Quadrangle.

S: Whatever. Quadrangle-happy now?- about myself, the girl I love, and her kinky-assed boyfriend...

K: Okay, stop right there. First of all, You cornered ME while I was driving down the road. I couldn't just stop and write, could I? I had to let your storyline swirl around in my head for a few days.

S: You call two weeks a 'few days'? And how the hell did you end up setting half the book in Colorado?

K: No idea. I hadn't even planned on it. But, Angie said her boyfriend was out of town, and when I went to write his scene, I'd just been discussing our 2002 vacation to Estes Park with my kids, and reminiscing. I guess it was the first place which jumped into my head.

S: Whatever.

K: Ultimately, you did get what you wanted. You managed to work with your parole officer to find employment....

S: Yeah. How many ex-cons are that lucky to find something on their first try?

K: Steve, did you ever consider maybe your PO had an inside track on employers willing to give second chances?

S: Oh....I didn't think of that....

K: So you find out Angie has her own business and a boyfriend....what gave you the courage to keep pursuing her, even after she threw you out of her shop?

S: Ah, my Angela...you know, her green eyes turn all fiery and smoke swirls out of her ears...God she's beautiful when she's angry! I used to torment her in high school just to see how far her temper would take her. She used to just cry, which would kill me, and I'd get her alone later and apologize. But wow, can that girl pack a punch! I'm proud of her for standing up to me.

K: Why do guys do that, anyway?

S: It lets us know you have some passion. Guys don't want girls who'll let 'em walk all over them. We want a fighter. Or at least I do, anyway. You ever hit your man in anger?

K: Well...I did call him an idiot....and yes, I've yelled at him in the past. But lately? No.

S: Why not?

K: Because...wait a minute. I'm supposed to ask the questions.

S: Awe, c'mon Kenzie...bring him to the club and I'll let you put a pie in his face. Or dump a drink on him. Whaddya say?

K: I thnk this interview has gotten way off track! Here's some news for you: You're going to be available on Kindle by Christmas. Happy New Year!

S: Happy New Year to you. And think about what I said; you need to show your man some spirit.

K: Goodbye Steve....

Wild At Heart,
Available now at XOXO Publishing
http://xoxopublishing.com/shop-online/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=12&products_id=107