Fill-Me-In Friday: Best Links of the Week

I may or may not have done this dance when I turned in my book. :)

Hey there. Hope everyone has had a fantastic week. I turned in my latest book to my editor yesterday so I'm in celebration mode. : ) Now I get a few days to clear my head before I get to work on the E-serial, NOT UNTIL YOU, on Monday. 

Here are the best links I've come across in the last two weeks. Since I've been in serious writing/editing mode, my surfing time has been scarce so this is a little shorter than normal, but I still wanted to pass them along.

On Writing/Publishing:

On Social Media/Promotion:

Bright, Shiny Randomness:

What You May Have Missed Here:

All right, that's all I have for you this week. Hope you have a fantastic weekend!

Losing Perspective on Your Writing: Does This Sing or Suck?

Photo via Marcus Vegas (flickr cc)First, before we get into today's topic, I want to let everyone know that I'm going to be on the Bring Back Desire After Dark radio show tonight online. So if you'd like to hear me talk about fun stuff like--how may parents feel about my writing, how I do my research, and what I think are secrets to a good marriage, I'd love for you to tune in. It will air at 10pm Central/11pm Eastern. If you can't be there tonight, the show will be archived and available in a day or two. : )

Okay, onto today's topic--losing perspective. This morning I discovered the good news that my next release in my series, FALL INTO YOU, has gotten a great review in RT Magazine--4 1/2 stars which is the highest you can get AND is the highest I've ever gotten on either of the previous books. Here are a few quotes from the review:

"Steamy, occasionally shocking, and relentlessly intense..."

"Loren's real triumph is the way the BDSM initiation and training reveal the nuances of each main character, from their darkest pleasures to their deepest fears."

"Heart-wrenching and blisteringly sexy..."

So why am I quoting this review (beyond the fact that I'm excited and want to share)? I'm sharing it because this proved to me that I have no valid perspective on my writing at this point. I think all writers swing back and forth between hating the book they're writing and thinking they're brilliant. It's a natural thing. We usually aren't right on either extreme. 

But I find the more books I write, the more insecurity creeps in. You'd think it'd be the opposite. But alas, it isn't. I was so nervous about seeing that review for FALL INTO YOU. It was the first book I ever had to write under a tight deadline, I struggled with the story, and I had to do a pretty major revision on my heroine (to the tune of 20k new words) in about a week. So I had all this anxiety that this book wasn't going to be received as well as the others. I couldn't even judge it anymore from my own perspective--is this great or does it suck? I just had to put trust in my editor that she wouldn't let me put out a bad book and would tell me if it sucked, lol.

So seeing that first review come out is a relief. And my anxiety hasn't just been about that book. When it was time to turn the first version of NOT UNTIL YOU to my editor, I sent it Sara (my agent) first with a note of--please read this before I send it to my editor because I'm not sure if it's any good and I don't want to send her crap and blah blah blah. Sara reads it and sends back: "This is my most favorite thing you've ever written."

0_0

Yes, I have apparently lost perspective and have been overtaken by writer insecurity. Luckily, right now it's in a good way--I think it sucks but it actually doesn't. Thank God.

But as a writer, you also have to be aware of the flipside. And for those out there feverishly typing away for NaNo or penning your first novel, this is one to keep in mind. Our writing can also look a lot better to us than it actually is. I remember writing my YA when I first began writing seriously and I thought that book rocked. I had confidence and queried it like mad. And though I did get a few requests here and there, it ultimately was rejected across the board.

Why? Because it wasn't good enough. I wasn't ready. But I didn't realize that yet. It took getting out into the writing community, picking up beta readers, learning craft, etc. before I could look back and think--Holy shit that book was bad! Thank God I didn't have self-pubbing available to me at the time because I would've freaking embarrassed myself.

So try to remember you're probably never as good or as bad as you think. And don't live on an island. Before you put your work out there, send it to quality beta readers (not your family who loves you and can't be unbiased), work with an editor if you can, get a little distance from it. And on the flipside, when you think you're writing complete junk, don't get discouraged. We all feel like we're writing junk at some point (or at lots of points) in any draft. I'm learning it's part of the process. We're an insecure bunch, we writers. ;)

Have you ever lost perspective on your own work? Do you have trouble judging what's good and bad in your own writing? What outside sources to you use to get feedback?

Books That Left Me Breathless: The Darker Side of Erotica & A Giveaway

You ever get on one of those reading streaks where somehow you manage to pick up fantastic book after fantastic book? You read something and think...I couldn't possibly find another book in my TBR pile to live up to this, then *bam* you manage to grab another winner. Well, that's happened to me over the past three weeks. 

First, I read the second book in Tiffany Reisz's Original Sinners series, The Angel. I knew this would be good because I loved The Siren and I heart Tiffany's writing. (Full disclosure, she is an agency mate, but I don't pimp books I don't adore and she didn't ask me to promote her book.) Her series is erotica not erotic romance, but there's always a romantic subplot and even if I don't get a neat HEA for the main character, Nora, I do usually get one for secondary characters. So it feeds my romance junkie heart. And the books are BRILLIANT, people. So smart and full of dark humor and sexiness. And the characters are so richly formed that you feel like you could bump into them on the street (and you would really want to bump into many of them.)

Also, I'm listing this in a "dark erotica" post because most would probably think of them as such, but I think that depends on your perspective. Tiffany handles heavy topics with a deft hand and injects such wry humor that the book doesn't feel broody. So don't be scared. ;)

Read The Siren first before you jump into The Angel. But I highly recommend the series.

~

So when I was still buzzing off the book high of Tiffany's book, I ran across this post on Smexy Books about ten erotic books on sale for 99 cents. Well, I can't resist a sale, so I went through the list and purchased a few that looked interesting and had good reviews on Goodreads from people/reviewers I trust. 

The first one I cracked open was Captive in the Dark by C. J. Roberts. Now, I usually have trouble with the really dark, dubious consent books. I have no issue with people writing them, but the few I've tried haven't been my cuppa. I usually have difficulty connecting with the characters and can't get into the story. But holy hell was this one different.

Warning, unlike Tiffany's books which I think are accessible to the mainstream reader, you need to be aware that this story isn't for everyone. These books are DARK and disturbing and will make you uncomfortable. I put in my Goodreads review that this duet of books is a complete mindf**k and I stand by that. I felt like I was developing Stockholm Syndrome as I read these. To get me to sympathize with such an anti-hero--a guy who is a kidnapper, a murderer, and so cruel at points--is a freaking triumph. The backstories are rich and tragic. The heroine is tough despite her dire circumstances. And the "hero" gives new meaning to the term "tortured." Be aware that Captive in the Dark and Seduced in the Dark need to be read together. The first ends on a cliffhanger.

But seriously, it's one of those stories that will not fade from my psyche for a long time. It left an impact. So if you're not afraid to go to those dark corners in your mind, I highly recommend picking these up.

Alright, so those are my breathless picks. What are some books that have left you breathless recently?

CONTEST: Answer for a chance to WIN a signed copy of THE SIREN. Be sure to leave a comment and your email address. Winner will be chosen at random on Friday. (U.S. and Canada only)


Chilling Reads: A Few Books That Will Make You Leave the Lights On

Some of my teen collectionI love a scary story. I know lot of people avoid horror books and movies because they don't like being scared, but I love having a book or movie truly creep me out. After all, it's a safe thrill, right? There really is no monster in the closet. We hope. : )

And part of my love of reading is due to horror stories. Some of the earliest books I read were ghost stories, and then their was the teen horror of the 80s and 90s. Anyone else remember those R.L. Stine, Christopher Pike, and Lois Duncan books? The picture above has some of my middle school collection. After I moved on from teen horror, I jumped to Stephen King. Talk about keeping me up at night. I used to have to move books out of my room at night because I couldn't sleep with them in my room. I guess I secretly worried the monsters would crawl out the book while I was sleeping. *shudder*

So I'm really excited to see horror creeping back onto the shelves. It never went away totally, but it definitely disappeared in the YA market, morphing into paranormal romance and urban fantasy where the monsters became the good guys and love interests. And though I enjoy those stories, they're just not the same thrill as horror for me. The books that are more closely aligned to that horror style are often labeled thriller or suspense now because horror seemed to become a bad word and became more associated with gore (I'm not a fan of gore.) So the seeing some of these classic horror type stories popping up makes me happy.

And I thought in honor of Halloween tomorrow (and inspired by the posts on USA Today's Happily Ever After where authors list the scariest book they've ever read), I would give some of my more recent picks and some classic picks for scary stories.

 

Creepy Books I've Read This Year:

The Harrowing by Alexandra Sokoloff | 2.99 on Kindle

Blurb from Amazon:

Baird College's Mendenhall echoes with the footsteps of the last home-bound students heading off for Thanksgiving break, and Robin Stone swears she can feel the creepy, hundred-year-old residence hall breathe a sigh of relief for its long-awaited solitude. Or perhaps it's only gathering itself for the coming weekend.

As a massive storm dumps rain on the isolated campus, four other lonely students reveal themselves: Patrick, a handsome jock; Lisa, a manipulative tease; Cain, a brooding musician; and finally Martin, a scholarly eccentric. Each has forsaken a long weekend at home for their own secret reasons.

The five unlikely companions establish a tentative rapport, but they soon become aware of a sixth presence disturbing the ominous silence that pervades the building. Are they the victims of a simple college prank taken way too far, or is the unusual energy evidence of something genuine---and intent on using the five students for its own terrifying ends? It's only Thursday afternoon, and they have three long days and dark nights before the rest of the world returns to find out what's become of them. But for now it's just the darkness keeping company with five students nobody wants and no one will miss.

Kirkus described this as "Poltergeist meets The Breakfast Club" and I think that's an apt description. This is a classic creepy ghost tale and reads like a movie. I made the mistake of reading this one while my hubs was out of town. I checked the doors a few times that night (as if that would keep out a ghost anyway.)

 

Ten by Gretchen McNeil

Blurb from Amazon:

It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives—three days on Henry Island at an exclusive house party. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their own reasons for wanting to be there, which involve their school's most eligible bachelor, T. J. Fletcher, and look forward to three glorious days of boys, bonding, and fun-filled luxury.

But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.

Suddenly, people are dying, and with a storm raging outside, the teens are cut off from the rest of the world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn't scheduled to return for three days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?

This is like a modern version of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None (which I loved). It was taut witih creepy tension and I couldn't stop turning the pages. I also didn't figure out the killer until the reveal, so that's always a win.

 

And now some older books that never fail to give me goosebumps:

It by Stephen King

This book and movie freaked me the eff out. It's still one of my favorites of all time. But give yourself some time, it's a looooong one.

 

The Shining by Stephen King

This is another Stephen King one that I always go back to. He really is the master.

 

Nazareth Hill by Ramsey Campbell

This one is a classic haunted house type tale that definitely gave me he heeby jeebies. I didn't love the ending but the journey was worth the read.

So those are a few of my pics, what are some of yours? Do your read horror? Anyone else ever move a book out of the room because you were freaked out?


New Music Page: The Loving on the Edge Playlists

At the Marilyn Manson concert in Vegas

So I've been wanting to do this for a while, but knew it was going to be a bit of a project and needed to wait until I had some time to dedicate to it. Finally, this weekend I was able to put it together. 

Music has always been a big part of my life and it definitely plays a big role in my writing. I can't write in silence, so I listen to a wide variety of songs while I'm writing. But there are particular ones that stand out in my mind has linked to certain stories or characters or scenes. So I've put together playlists for my series so far, including:

  • Songs that inspired stories or scenes
  • Character Anthems
  • The Dark and Sexy Stuff (i.e. what I imagine playing in the background of the smexy scenes. These are not your typical romance songs because who wants to get flogged to Celine Dion? Though, now that I think about it, that could make for a funny scene.)
  • The Romantic Stuff (the Happily Ever After anthems)

So I hope you'll check out the list.

And in the comments, I'd love to hear what songs are intrinsically tied to one of your stories or characters.