Balancing Act: February 2016

Monday, February 22, 2016

Son of a Pitch Entry 1: A Touch of Heaven

And away we go! Welcome to Son of a Pitch, Week 2. This week, I'll be hosting ten writers here on my site. ~~Any visitor to my blog is welcome to comment below as to whether this pitch piques your interest and what feedback you have about making it stronger.~~ UPDATE: My misunderstanding. The organizer asks that only the entrant and judges comment below.

Participants are asked NOT to comment on other entrants' posts, only their own. Though, you may, of course, tweet, bribe, coax, share, cajole and otherwise pursue glory for your own pitch. I'll be leaving feedback in the comments, as will other participating writers: Ayden Morgen , Elsie Elmore , Leigh Statham , Mara Valderran, Stacey Nash , Elizabeth Roderick, and Yolanda Renée!

The top twenty will be selected and posted on Friday. Without further ado:

1.

TITLE: A TOUCH OF HEAVEN

WORD COUNT: 96,000

Genre: Adult Magic Realism Contemporary Romance

Query:

This is the story of a girl that doesn't follow her dreams.

With an IQ of one hundred and sixty, Annie knows a lot about a lot of things. But what she really wants to learn is the art of acting. Because what she wants most passionately, beyond anything, is to be a great actress. It’s the only thing that makes her heart ‘race with pleasure’. But the well-meaning adults around her strongly discourage her ambitions. With advice like, ”Annie, you’re too smart to be an actress,” they influence her to change her career plans. She reluctantly agrees to pursue a doctorate in healthcare and graduates at twenty-two, at the top of her class. She is offered a position at a university clinic. But boom its like being punched in the stomach, when it occurs to her she is out of school and about to embark on a path to the wrong life; a life that others have chosen for her. But the prestigious job is an offer she can’t refuse. For reassurance she tells herself she’s still very young. Surely it’s not too late to fix her life.

Still determined to find a way to become an actress, she intends to steer clear of romantic relationships, until she meets John and falls blissfully in love. She is absorbed by her life and gradually becomes despondent over the fact that she has never achieved her overwhelming ambition. She utters a prayer for guidance. As a result, a mischievous celestial angel, who happens to look exactly like a leading Hollywood heartthrob, visits her. He provides her with the opportunity to learn from several golden age of Hollywood, quite dead, film icons.

The quirky angel is a little too keen to turn her life upside down. Out of the blue, she is asked to temporarily manage a clinic in LA. And then even more ‘providentially’ she is given the opportunity to fulfill her desire to become an actress. Annie is swept off her feet in this new opulent life, but it’s tearing apart her old. She is determined to fulfill her happily ever after. But will she make the wrong choices? Will she lose John if she does? Can her angel help her to realize a way to her happy ending professionally without losing her way back to John? “It’s easy. when you’re working with all the Wisdom of the universe,” the angel states matter-of-factly, with a roguish grin.

FIRST 250 WORDS

“Perfect. I’m totally f…” No. She had promised herself she would refrain from cursing now that she was a so-called adult. But if ever there was a time that required a really offensive curse word this was certainly it. Annie dropped her head and rubbed her closed eyelids, as though the action would clarify her life.

“You planned every little thing meticulously and have done nothing but screw things up. I mean, what did you think was going to happen? Some Hollywood director was going to walk into anatomy lab and bellow “Bravo! You dissect that cadaver better than anyone we have ever seen! We want to cast you as the leading lady in our next big blockbuster film!” Annie thundered in a deepened voice.

“Ugh. You’re ridiculous,” she shook her head in disgust.

“What a fool Annie. You’ve been the architect of a wonderful life but it’s the wrong damn life.”

As a genius with an IQ of one hundred and sixty Annie knew a great deal about a great many things. For example, she understood Faraday’s Law of induction and how it applied to the operation of electric motors and generators. She could explain the precise physics of how to throw a baseball to achieve the maximum velocity and distance. She could play all of Brahms second concerto, without the sheet music. And she even knew all of Miss Elizabeth Bennet’s lines from Pride and Prejudice, just in case she was ever offered the role. So with all that intellect and ability, the question loomed large how she had gotten her life into such a perplexing mess.

Son of a Pitch Entry 2: The Aldar Dominion

Participants are asked NOT to comment on other entrants' posts, only their own. Though, you may, of course, tweet, bribe, coax, share, cajole and otherwise pursue glory for your own pitch. I'll be leaving feedback in the comments, as will other participating writers: Ayden Morgen , Elsie Elmore , Leigh Statham , Mara Valderran, Stacey Nash , Elizabeth Roderick, and Yolanda Renée!

The top twenty will be selected and posted on Friday. Without further ado:

2.
Title: THE ALDAR DOMINION
Age and Genre: Adult Science Fiction
Word Count: 84,000

Query:

The Aldar Dominion saved the World.

Three hundred years ago when humanity needed it most, the alien corporation swept humans away from their mundane world, and gave them hope. But that hope came with a price in the form of clones, saving the human race from extinction by disease. With the technology to transport one’s consciousness from body to body, the Dominion has profited endlessly. But when Selene and the captain of her international smuggling crew go on a mission to save the animals experimented on by the Dominion, their subsequent chase through the city gets more attention than intended. When their pursuit knocks Selene’s head against the back of their hovercraft, the trauma brings back a past long forgotten, one that might hold the key to the sudden disappearance of natural-born humans.

When images of stark labs, human experiments and torture come back to Selene, she wonders if these dreams could be a nightmare from the twenty years she’s lost. But when every mission starts to go wrong, and humans start dropping like flies, Selene suspects someone on the inside might be selling information on her crew’s exploits. If the Dominion is really the enemy, and no one can be trusted, then who can she turn to? With the Dominion on her trail, and the mysteries that inform her dreams mounting, Selene may not live long enough to find out.

First 250 Words:

Dangling from the open hovercraft door, Selene wondered if the lab security had any idea what was about to happen. It was late, well past midnight. They had spent the last few days staking out the low security facility on the very edge of the city. It was a fairly large building, with small security bots sweeping the yard. All was quiet, aside from the low thrum of the hover propellers.

“Stick to the plan.” Selene took stock of the dark roof one last time before she stepped back inside, meeting her partner’s all to knowing gaze. At the front of the cockpit sat the captain of their small smuggling operative.

Rikkard Gunnar was a handsome man, with messy dark hair, tan skin and striking cold blue eyes. She’d been part of his team for three years, and still she found it hard to break through his cool demeanour.

“Don’t I always?” Selene couldn’t help but grin.

Rikkard rolled his eyes and turned back to the control panel before him. He clicked around the ship’s navigation system until the hovercraft began to lower. They were at least fifty feet up from the building, a black smudge in the otherwise starry night sky. He’d have to hide their ship while she was inside or risk being seen by lab security.

“Twenty minutes should do it,” she said, turning from her captain and back to the open door. The wind whipped at her black and green wig.

Son of a Pitch Entry 3: The Proxy Initiative

Title: The Proxy Initiative

Category and Genre: Adult Science Fiction

Word Count: 80,000

Query:

The Proxy Initiative is a government cybersecurity contractor founded to infiltrate people's minds through their wetware – computers implanted directly in the skull – and Ethan Pryce is their lead programmer. When he finds out the people he's working for are more interested in their own power than using the tools he developed to fight terrorism, Ethan goes rogue. He downloads a head full of damning data that could destroy The Proxy Initiative and he taps into their system, so the next time they hack someone he'll take over instead.

When unforeseen glitch overloads his wetware, he loses control and his life becomes irrevocably twined with the lives of strangers.

Now, every night Ethan is forced into the bodies of strangers. He experiences the world through their eyes, feels their pain, and controls their bodies while a trio of psychopaths working for The Proxy Initiative hunt these bodies down. To locate the real Ethan, they'll murder and torture him as many times as they have to because he's the only one with the power to stop them.

Due to the glitch in his wetware, the data that he sacrificed so much to get is inaccessible without specialized hardware. Hardware owned and guarded by the very people hunting him down. With only the help of a rebellious young woman he'll have to find a way to destroy the Proxy Initiative before they destroy him and use their technology to create a world that would make George Orwell look like an optimist.

First 250 Words:

Drive full.

The message flashes in my brain. I grab the cable jacked into the base of my skull with sweat slicked fingers and scan the list of documents.

Shit. The Proxy software isn’t downloaded. I rearrange the files and send mental instructions to override the wetware-brain barrier. It will overwrite some personal memories, but I need that software.

My past is best forgotten anyhow.

“It's time, Ethan.” Meridian takes her eyes off the view of Central Park, and rises from my couch, dark face crinkling with anticipation. “Got everything?”

“Not quite. Proxy ‘ware’s incomplete.”

“You didn’t download it first?” Meridian scowls at me. "I thought you were supposed to be smart."

“Just a few seconds.” I flick a nervous smile at her. "You can give me that much more of this life."

Meridian takes in my penthouse apartment. "You got it good here, but you'll adapt." Her face twitches. She's a surprisingly bad liar for a double agent betraying one of the most secretive and powerful companies in America.

"I'm tougher than I look." I puff out what little there is of my chest. "What's it like… being poor?"

"For starters, don't say shit like that or you'll get a punch in the—"

Loud popping noises from the hall outside my penthouse apartment cut her off mid-sentence.

“Time to go.” Meridian draws a pistol from inside her jacket and chambers a round.

"You're going to kill them?"

"You think this is a fucking game?"

Son of a Pitch Entry 4: Second-Self

4.

Title Of Manuscript: SECOND-SELF
Category and Genre: Adult Speculative Fiction
Word Count: 95, 000

Query:

Eighteen-year-old Rory Lyon is an autistic college freshman who uses her strengths—focus, determination, and sensory sensitivity—to navigate obstacles in life. When she meets a mysterious man (Jai), from a planet in another dimension, she learns she shares a physical and spiritual bond with him—one so strong that if she were to die, he’d die as well. Each Incepterrian has a human counterpart, who isn’t aware of the connection.

When Rory crosses into Incepterrene, Jai’s brother seizes her. He hates humanity and is convinced Rory can be used to sever the deadly bond, but Rory's afraid of what he’d do if successful. She’ll have to choose between losing her humanity by turning her back on the inhabitants Incepterrere who are pointlessly dying, or risking the lives of humans to help Incepterrians.

First 250 Words:

Time trickles, waiting for other students to arrive. The fluorescent lights drive needles into my eyes. I shut them until the creaking of seats being unfolded alerts me people are sitting down. Sneaking peeks at them would be easier at the back of the room, but an article in the orientation package said I could raise my grades by sitting in the front row. Ten minutes watching students avoid the front row makes me realize I might be setting myself up for ridicule.

Arranging my books in the order they’re listed on the syllabus provides a temporary distraction, then I go back to scanning faces. I stop on a familiar one, meeting a pair of dark eyes. He’s perusing me like a lunch menu. Heat creeps into my cheeks, so I avert my eyes and count to five before looking back. His peculiar smile makes me wonder what’s going through his mind. He’s moving towards me, so I swivel in my seat just to be sure he’s not looking at someone else. I’ve seen enough beer commercials to know hot guys never turn out to be talking to the dorky girl with shoes that twinkle. Curse Bluetooth!

Son of a Pitch Entry 5: Always the Moon

Title: Always the Moon

Category and Genre: Adult Women's Fiction

Word Count: 74,000

Query:

Being seventeen again wasn’t the fortieth birthday present that triplet sisters Lily, April, and Sunday Brewer were expecting. That’s the thing about birthday wishes: You never know when they might come true.

ALWAYS THE MOON begins in 2011, when April is a brilliant neurologist with an incredible career, Sunday dropped out of high school as a teen mom to raise twin boys, and Lily is a recovering addict dealing with a grim cancer prognosis.

The women are swept back to 1988 after inadvertently using an enchanted match book to light their birthday candles. Confused and disoriented, April is sent to a mental ward, her future success in jeopardy. Sunday is desperate to recreate the conception of her twin sons, despite her hatred for their father. Lily wants to grab this second chance with both hands, but her sisters’ suffering is not part of the plan. Secrets and deceptions drive a wedge between the sisters when they need each other the most.

A mysterious woman with an interest in magic figures out their secret and wants a do-over of her own; she will do anything to get it, even kill a seventeen year old girl. The triplets need to stand together, or they could lose everything that they love.

First 250 Words:

Prologue April 20, 1988

Great. Perfect. Nothing like a little murder to top off an already shitty day. She was still so angry that she wanted to just kick the body.

What am I going to do? Everyone who could help me is as helpless as this dead bitch on the stairs.

The last four days replayed in her mind at top speed. Could she have done better? If she had been more empathetic, less selfish, less anxious to get on with her life…could she have stopped all of this from happening? Was it middle child syndrome, the desperate craving for attention, for the spotlight, for that moment of “all about me?” Was she so desperate to live that she was willing to sacrifice everyone else?

This is not who I am anymore. It isn’t even who I was then—I mean, now. Damn it, I don’t know what I mean. I just know that I wasn’t prepared for these consequences. My mother, my sisters, my friends… even this psycho.

The psycho in question moaned. Okay, so she isn’t dead. Was this a blessing, or did it make it even worse? Flames sparked up around the body, and she knew she had to act, right now. She couldn’t stay, she had to get back and make things right… but she couldn’t just leave her to burn, even if she deserved it.

God, things were so much easier when I was older.

Son of a Pitch Entry 6: Standing the Final Watch

6.

Title: Standing The Final Watch
Age and Genre: Adult SF
Word Count: 89,000

Query:

Innocents abroad in post-Collapse America face slavery or death, until Nick Angriff and the Seventh Cavalry ride to the rescue.

The terrorists who slaughtered General Nick Angriff’s wife and daughter fulfilled their leader’s purpose, by leaving him one mission in life: to kill the killers. Obsessed with revenge, Angriff needs a new reason for living before anger eats him alive. Miraculously, a higher duty calls, except nothing about it is divine.

With no loved ones to miss or mourn him, he agrees to command Operation Overtime, an elite military unit stored in suspended animation against the possibility of national collapse.

He awakens after sixty years to find the United States government destroyed, with a bizarre religious sect dominating the wreckage and enslaving the survivors. Resurrecting America becomes Angriff’s sacred duty.

Before he can save others, however, he must first stay alive. Angriff quickly discovers opposing plots within his brigade, including one to assassinate him. They are remnants of the extremist politics of the dead U.S.A., still fighting old battles, and he’s a target for both sides.

His choice is stark: dig out the threats within Operation Overtime first, or risk everything to help innocents facing slavery and death.

Without knowing friend from foe, Angriff leads the last Americans into the wasteland of North America, armed only with their guts, their wits and a determination to rebuild the United States.

250 Words:

Death raced across Lake Tahoe headed straight for the Tahoe Princess, where Winslow Buffer stood at the bow and squinted into the sunlit waters ahead. No premonition of Winslow’s imminent death troubled Mary Buffer. From the warmth of the tour boat’s passenger lounge, she enjoyed watching her chubby husband brace himself against the railings and turn his face into the wind. It was the first day of their first vacation since before Emily was born. The red-haired toddler stood on tiptoes and waved at her father. Her warm breath frosted the glass. Winslow stood at the bow, despite the cold spray, and waved back.

Out of the chill, Mary watched Winslow acting like a little boy and giggled. He often told her about his fantasy of cutting the clear waters of the Caribbean, the wind blowing his sparse hair, as he stood at the helm of his own sailing ship. She assumed those daydreams cycled in an endless loop in his mind. She certainly hoped so; starting a solo practice as a new CPA required long, hard hours, and he deserved time to dream and play.

The muffled buzz of a speedboat, growing louder as it drew near, caught Mary's attention and she glanced left. Milling people blocked her view. She looked back at Winslow in time to see something metal hit the deck and bounce, stopping near his feet. It seemed vaguely familiar, but her mind did not recognize it before the blast of the grenade ripped him apart.

Son of a Pitch Entry 7: Settle the Score

7.

Title: SETTLE THE SCORE
Age and Genre: Adult Romantic Suspense
Word Count: 80,000

Query:

Years ago, twenty-nine-year-old pop star, Jill Aita found her ex-boyfriend beaten and left for dead. Later, because of her testimony, she ensured his conviction for narcotics trafficking. He was imprisoned, and she was to blame. His hate-filled letters made her fear for her life, so she gave up her music career. Sacrificed everything that mattered in life. Disappeared.

But living with fear is no life at all. And Jill wanted to live. Music pulled her back, and she’s thriving. Her album sales are soaring. Her tour schedule is filling up. She’s falling for the sweetest guy ever. It’s all perfect, until he is released from prison. Her ex-boyfriend. The one who said he’d find her and get even when he got out.

Her ex’s menace is renewed when her car’s lug nuts are loosened. She leaves a charity event to find her car windows shattered. Jill longs to disappear again, even though hiding means abandoning her career, leaving the man she’s come to love. But staying means her boyfriend and his daughter may pay the ultimate price. Her ex has killed before.

First 250:

Virginia, Fall 2008

Jill pulled into the Emergency Room parking lot. She sat in her car, gnawing at her cuticles. The thought of what to do when she got here hadn’t crossed her mind. The only thing she was sure of was that she didn’t want to be associated with the beaten man in her passenger seat.

Her stomach twisted thinking of his past. Dealing narcotics. Smuggling. She knew who did this to him. Beat him and left him for dead. If they knew she saved him, there was a good chance they’d come after her. She’d end up beaten, or worse. Dead.

I can’t take him in there. They’ll question me. She noticed that there was an emergency button mounted on every other light post. She pulled up to the farthest one from the hospital doors. Reaching across Herb, she pulled on the door handle, and the car door swung open.

“I’m sorry, Herb.” With every last ounce of strength she had, she pushed Herb’s broken body from her car to the wet pavement. The sound of a few soft thuds from his knees and elbows hitting the parking lot gave way to something that sounded like a heavy cantaloupe bouncing a couple times. This felt inhumane. She felt like a monster.

As she stretched out to pull the door closed, Jill thought she heard Herb try to speak. Whatever it was he had said was so broken up by coughs and gurgles that she understood nothing. She closed the door.

Son of a Pitch Entry 8: Bail Up

8.
Title: Bail Up
Age and Genre: Adult, Historical Mystery
Word Count: 70,000

Query:
In the 1860s, New South Wales had a bushranger problem. These bold knights of the road held up banks and bailed up travellers. They robbed gold escorts and raided homesteads. They were immortalised in song, story and painting. Except for Dan. He so badly wants to be notorious and have songs sung about him, but robbing gold escorts is a bit beyond him. He prefers to bail up travellers, on foot, who look like they won’t put up a fight. He has many cold nights and hungry days, but the police aren’t interested in him. No one wants the price that isn’t on his head. The only men chasing him are creditors.

Until a police sergeant is found stabbed to death, and the bloody footprints lead straight to Dan’s door. Now the police do want him: to hang for murder. His only chance of proving his innocence is to find the true killer. Armed with nothing but his wits– So he’s doomed. But maybe with the help of his new allies, Hannah, a young lady in search of adventure until her father’s money runs out, and Red, the world’s laziest stockhorse, he can avoid the police, find the killer and even earn a bit of notoriety along the way.

First 250 Words:
The sun threw long shadows onto the road, striping the dirt with the narrow trunks of the trees. Dan crouched, waiting, listening for the sounds of wheels and hooves pounding that dirt. The land about was quiet, as if the weight of morning dulled sounds. There, the warble of a magpie, and there, a cow calling to its friends, and when he listened carefully, the nearby creek splashing over rocks.

"I need to piss."

Dan looked at the man crouched beside him. "Right now?"

"Yeah, I’ve been waiting and waiting."

He knew how this worked. As soon as Harry moved out of position, the coach would appear. If he told him to wait, the coach wouldn’t come. Dan pulled out his watch. Ten past five. Still? Possibly he’d forgotten to wind it.

"Dan?"

"All right, but don’t leave your spot."

"But–"

"There’s no one to see you."

"What about you and Joe?"

"If we were in camp, you wouldn’t care."

"But we’re not, we’re on the road and mail coach is coming."

If it hadn’t already been. Dan pushed his hat back and scruffed his hair. Down the road a bit, Joe sat staring off towards the hills. He couldn’t even hear this conversation.

"I’ll close my eyes," Dan said. Maybe that satisfied Harry, because he didn’t argue and there was a rustling as he moved about.

"Dan!" came Joe’s cry. His eyes opened. There at the end of the road, where it came out of the hills, was a cloud of dust moving towards them.

Son of a Pitch Entry 9: My Soul to Give

9.
Title: MY SOUL TO GIVE
Age and Genre: Adult Paranormal Mystery
Word Count: 89,000

Query:
When Celina escapes the brutal home invasion that kills her husband, she’s left with a bullet in her gut and vengeance in her heart. A charming demon, Mekaisto, offers an irresistible deal: In exchange for her soul, he’ll let her live long enough to get her revenge, but she must hunt and kill the murderers herself.

But the break-in wasn’t random. When Celina digs deeper into her husband’s past for clues about his murder, she uncovers dangerous secrets. His company never existed. His family history was a lie. And he was intricately involved with The Lumen, a shadowy religious order whose members know more about demons than they’re telling. As faith in her marriage wanes and Mekaisto proves a trustworthy ally, Celina struggles against her late husband’s betrayal and the dark charms of the devil she knows.

Once Celina targets her husband’s killers, she learns it’s not just her life and soul on the line. She’s pregnant, and Mekaisto has plans for her unborn son. If Celina can’t trick the dark realm’s greatest master of deceit, both she and her child will be lost for eternity.

First 250 words:

Celina stared ahead, the headlights cutting through early spring fog as they wound down the long country road. Her husband’s silence hung heavy between them, Celina’s thoughts flying by faster than the trees whipping past the car.

They didn’t get into town for dinner often; it should have been romantic, but Thomas had been distant and distracted all night.

Five years of marriage and I still can’t figure out all his weird moods.

She gasped as he slammed on the car brakes as hundreds of crows dived at the car. “What the hell is—?”

Their black feathered wings smashed against the windshield, and the car screeched to a halt, flinging Celina into the seatbelt.

Thomas grabbed her shoulder. “Are you ok?”

She nodded as her pulse slowed, and they both stepped out of the car.

Celina leaned against the side of the vehicle and looked around, the headlights illuminating a small circle in the darkness. “We definitely hit some of them… How is there no blood?”

His eyes glazed as he glanced back. “What?”

“You’ve been acting strange all evening.”

He winked. “That’s because I am strange.”

What is he hiding?

“Really? We almost crashed because a group of crows flew out of nowhere like something out of Hitchcock, and you’re smiling and winking like it’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood.”

He wrapped his arms around her waist. “A murder.” She arched an eyebrow and his smile widened. “It’s what a group of crows is called—a murder of crows.”

Son of a Pitch Entry 10: The Witch of Belle Fleur

10.
Title: The Witch of Belle Fleur
Age and Genre: YA/ Fantasy
Word Count: 83,000

Query:

Belle Fleur, FL has always been known for being ‘the most magical town in America’. Well although it’s just a line on their license plates, the town really is going to be the most magical town in America, and most of the residents of this swamp town are not ready for this. A big change is coming to Belle Fleur and things are about to get very supernatural.

The Witch of Belle Fleur is a fantasy novel in which regular people deal with anything but regular events, and how they deal with those events will forever change their lives. This is a story of people confronting darkness and how they deal with the darkness without and within. Some welcome the darkness while others fight it, risking everything they have and love.

The novel begins with Juliette and Victor, two best friends in the swamps then turns left when one of them reveals he is a witch. As the plot intensifies other forces come into play, turning The Witch of Belle Fleur into a crash of natural and unnatural forces.

First 250 Words:

Standing tall on the roots of the mangrove trees made Juliette feel like a witch already. It also protected her from the snake she was spying on. She gripped the tan colored tree trunk and ignored the ants which crawled on her damp skin.

The swamp was a place where anything was possible. It was a place where she and Victor, her best friend, could be anyone. Here she wasn’t a waitress, recent high school graduate, orphan, or niece. Here in the swamp she was just Juliette.

Juliette was bursting with excitement the problem was, she couldn’t share it with Victor. Soon she’d be given the chance to either deny or accept her role as lead witch in Belle Fleur. The funny thing was that she wasn’t sure what she’d decide. She was drawn to the magical part full of relics and mystery but she dreaded the idea of the danger and all the drama that came with it. Honestly, part of her didn’t even believe magic was even real. How could magic exist in a world plagued with problems? She figured magic should have fixed everything by now if it was as powerful and real as her aunt said it was. Besides, Juliette admitted to herself long ago that she wasn’t sure if she wanted to be a witch and not be able to ever tell Victor about it. He was her best friend, after all.

“Is it the right snake?” Victor asked.

“No, it’s just a python.”

Monday, February 15, 2016

Muse Party Blogfest

So happy to have been invited to the Muse Party Blogfest again. I had a great time last year, when my character, Patricia O'Neill came with me. Since we're doing a Valentine's party this year, I invited Leonel, because he's dreamy. Plus, he's married and gay as well as imaginary, so my husband shouldn't get too jealous.

1. Who did you bring to the party? Is he/she your Valentine or anti-Valentine?

This is my character Leonel Alvarez, one of the four main characters in Going Through the Change: A Menopausal Superhero Novel. Now that he's had some time to adjust to life as a man, he's trying to get out there and meet people. He was a little homebound there for a while and is ready to party!

He's not my Valentine…that would be my husband. But he's a romantic fellow and very handsome. I'm not really his type though. He prefers his husband, David. We'll have a good time together though. No pressure!

2. Which one of you is the more romantic person?

Tough call. I think we're a lot alike in that regard. We're both dog-people, meaning we're loyal to the core, and fiercely passionate. Leonel's story is undeniably romantic, though. His marriage survived an unexpected gender change! My husband and I have had far less to overcome.

3. What gift are you giving to your (anti) Valentine?

Leonel has struggled with fashion since he became a man. I found him a new shirt, made of something soft and lovely, but that fits flattering over all those new muscles.

4. Are you guys wearing red or pink (or black...)?

Leonel is wearing pink. It's always been one of his favorite colors, and he's woman and man enough to wear it well. He looks great in the button-up with jeans and boots. I'm wearing my red Converse with a Deadpool tee shirt and jeans. Leonel rolled his eyes at me, but I'm just not the dress and heels type. And hey, my Deadpool tee shirt is red! He'll have to go with Jessica next year if he wants a dressy date.

5. Did you bring any Valentine's Day treats?

http://www.theblissery.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/macarons-feature-pic.jpg

Leonel is a wizard in the kitchen. He brought macarons. They're not only delicious; they're also beautiful! He doesn't have as much time to cook as he used to, now that he's joined the Department, but when he's in there, he can work magic.

6. Name a song for our Love Playlist or Anti-Love Playlist (or both)!

I'm a big fan of Norah Jones and Madeleine Peyroux when it come to love songs.

Leonel says that's not peppy enough for a party though. He's thinking maybe "Walking on Sunshine" by Katrina and the Waves or the Proclaimers (I'm Gonna Be) 500 Miles, for the English speakers. And for los que hablan español: "Las Cosas Pequeñas" by Prince Royce or "Me Faltas Tú" by Thalia.

7. Got a great anti/Valentine party game?

A good game of charades is always fun, especially with a theme of love songs or romantic movies. Leonel is a surprisingly good singer, so if you queue up some karaoke he might just floor you with a tune. If we drink enough to start feeling confessional, a game of "I Never" is sure to be revealing and hilarious.

8. Feeling the love or just feeling nauseous? How will you have fun at the party?

I'm more of a people watcher than a mover and shaker. I'll probably find someone else a little introverted and shy and sit and make awkward small talk with him or her. Leonel is quite social though. I bet by the end of the party, everyone will want his phone number, and quite a few will have it. Though only David has his heart.

9. Has your muse been a good Valentine?

Definitely. Leonel is the truest heart I know. I'm lucky to count him among my imaginary friends.

*Jordan's Bonus Question (feel free to ignore him...): Did you bring me & Sarah a musiversary gift? (Because we've put up with each other for five years and I think we deserve something.)

Yes, Jordan, we did. Besides the macarons (yes, you get to the keep the leftovers). I told Leonel about your karaoke version of Satisfaction last year, so he found you this "Moves Like Jagger" tee shirt. We figured you could both wear it. (And to be clear: Leonel is both too old for you, and married, Jordan. So no heavy flirting!).

https://01.img.society6.com/society6/img/Jk0TDEEKbLlfHs_fUxVQF6sGaf8/w_550,h_550/tshirts/
women/greybg/white/~artwork/s6-0008/a/1529498_6281685.jpg?wait=1

Be sure to check out the rest of the party, being held at the blogs in this linky:

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http://thefauxfountainpen.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-muse-party-blogfest-anti-valentines.html

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Alliances: My Thanks to Team Bryant

http://www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-good-lord-for-alliance-thus-goes-every-one-
to-the-world-but-i-and-i-am-sunburnt-i-may-william-shakespeare-35-21-95.jpg

Well, actually I have a husband. A really good one, too. So maybe this quote doesn't fit this blog post as well I thought it would. It is awesome though, and in my mind's ear, it's Emma Thompson reading it. Who wouldn't want Emma Thompson narrating their blog?

What I mean to celebrate is partnerships. I made a new one this week, and I think it's going to be a good one, so here's to alliances!

http://www.backlitweb.com/wp-content/uploads/
2014/01/groups-help.jpg

First there's my husband. He's in my corner in a million ways, big and small. Right behind him is the rest of my family and my friends. That personal support is the backbone of my life, and often the only reason I can stand up straight at all.

Then there's my critique group and other writer friends. People who are in the same field: semi-pro like me, serious amateurs, and a few professionals. I've gotten great advice, mentoring and support from other writers. I highly recommend seeking out other writers.

My publisher has been a wonderful partner, helping me learn how to sell books, which is a whole separate ballgame from writing them.

Then there's professional organizations. I've been so grateful for the opportunities I've found through groups like Broad Universe, Women's Fiction Writers Association, the Pen and Cape Society, Grimace and Giggle, and now my newest alliance:

Here's to alliances! New and old. Thanks, everyone.

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

#IWSG: Keeping the Excitement Going

You shouldn't kvetch about your blessings. I know this. The universe wants your gratitude, and she will sweep away the gifts you've been given in the blink of an eye. So, I'll whisper this one, very quietly:

This is wearing me out.

Whether you're indie-published, working with a small publisher (like me!), or published by a big publisher, it seems to be a truth of an author's life here in the early twenty-first century that a fair amount of the marketing work will fall on the shoulders of the writer.

Gone are the days (if they ever existed) when you could just write, send your work off and let other folks worry about selling it for you. If you have a dream of making your living solely from your wordsmithing (as I do), you're gonna have to get out there and hawk your wares.

http://dichthuattiengthai.com/profiles/dichthuattiengthaicom/uploads/attach/1444722793_82257074-cacaroot-marketing-boar.jpg

So, here I am nine months in to doing this "for real"--nine months since my first book baby was born and sent squalling into the world.

I've done Facebook parties, partnerships, cross promotions, readings, giveaways, signings, panels, book fairs, cons, sales, interviews, etc. I've kept on writing while doing all this, so that I've had work come out in three anthologies since then, and the second novel is in production while I'm writing the third.

So, I'm making it, and I'm still so excited to have the opportunities I've been given. And I have a lot of support--I really do! But dangnabbit, I'm plum exhausted.

http://cdn.meme.am/instances/57498119.jpg

I'm physically, mentally, and emotionally tired. Maybe especially emotionally tired. Generally speaking, left to my own devices, I am a quiet, undramatic person. I save my drama for the written word and my imaginary friends. So, I'm having to dig deep to find my inner cheerleader and keep her coming up with new ways to bang that drum and attract attention for my imaginary friends and their stories.

How do you do it, if you're doing this? Or how do you think you'll do it when the time comes?

_________________________________________
This posting is part of the Insecure Writers Support Group blog hop. To check out other posts by writers in a variety of places in their careers, check out the participant list. This group is one of the most open and supportive groups of people I have ever been associated with. If you write, you should check them out!

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Monday, February 22, 2016

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Wednesday, February 3, 2016