Baskets, Books, & Bling: The 2014 Heart of Dixie Readers' Luncheon Open for Registration

My first book cover.

I'm so excited to be part of the 2014 Heart of Dixie Readers' Luncheon this year. I'm attending this event and co-hosting a table with author Kelsey Browning. The College Kid will be there and so will my critique partner Pam Mantovani. And I'm stoked to hear Eloisa James speak because she is so inspiring.

If you live near Huntsville, Alabama and want to attend this fabulous event, there's still time to register. Just go to www.heartofdixie.org and you'll find all the details.












There are lots of fantastic reasons to go to the luncheon. Here's short list:

1. Books, books, books.
2. Meet your favorite authors and have lunch with them.
3. Bling!
4. Goody Bags filled with books and swag.
5. Author Basket Door Prizes.
6. Over 35 Raffle Baskets filled with books, swag, gift cards, and more.
7. Support literacy.
8. A $5 coupon good toward buying a book.
9. My Debut Novel Author Basket for the Maverick's Red Hot Reunion is waiting for a lucky winner.
10. Eloisa James is in the house!

I can't wait to see who wins the my basket this year.

Hope to see you there!

Lunch with Romance Authors Featuring Eloisa James

The 2014 Heart of Dixie's 17th Annual Readers' Luncheon featuring Eloisa James is open for registration. As a Heart of Dixie member, I've attended the luncheon and volunteered wherever I can to help make this luncheon a fun event for romance readers.

This year I am excited about attending the luncheon on Saturday, June 14th from 11-3 PM because I've got a brand new book releasing in June.

Oh. Not just brand new, but my first published book! My debut novel THE MAVERICK'S RED HOT REUNION is off to my Entangled Publishing editor as I write this post. And I'm waiting for my first cover art to be sent to me for approval.

It's a dream come true.

Even better, I am a big time Fan Girl of Eloisa James. Not only is she a fantastic author who writes rich, steamy and poignant historical romances, she is an amazing speaker. I heard her speak at my first RWA Annual Conference. She moved me to tears. After I returned home, I emailed her and thanked her for her beautiful speech. And she emailed me back! L'il ole me!

Fast forward a few years and Eloisa James is a 2013 RITA finalist. She had been a finalist before, but had never taken home the coveted statuette. I was a Golden  Heart date that year with the fabulous and talented writer Gail Hart. We dressed to the nines, got our bling on, and walked to our table where I saw Eloisa James' name.

I nearly fainted. Gail had never seen me without the power of speech. It was a powerful moment. And that night I watched Eloisa James win her first RITA. I'll always remember how happy she looked when she came back to the table with her golden RITA.

Now she's coming to Huntsville, Alabama to give a keynote speech during the 2014 Heart of Dixie's Annual Luncheon. It's as if I've come full circle. From the first time I heard Eloisa James speak when I was an unpublished new writer until now when I get to listen to her poignant words again as I attend the luncheon waiting for my first book to be released.

I plan on celebrating, and I hope to see you at the luncheon this year. You can register for the luncheon at www.heartofdixie.org or call 931-625-9355.

See you in June!

Memories, Mayhem & Motivation

It's been a while since I've blogged. Frankly, I've been so busy this summer that my head is about to spin off my neck and what free time I've had has been spent doing the most important thing: writing. I've considered writing about my RWA National Conference experience, but there's no way to truly encapsulate how incredible that experience was for me.

Why? First I got to see so many friends and was inspired to go above and beyond my personal strengths as a writer. Second, I got to see friends who came all the way to see me and meet the writers. They had a blast and I really enjoyed spending time with them. Third, I sat at Lucky Table #55 where Eloisa James sat (and I was unable to speak to her because I was having a serious fan girl heart attack) and she won her first RITA. Fourth, I got to be a Golden Heart date with the awesome writer Gail Hart and we cheered on two RITA winners and two Golden Heart winners. Fifth, I was a Daphne date with Sharon Wray who won a Daphne and achieved highest overall score. Sixth, I was able to share in the best news ever:

My Critique Partner Pam Mantovani sold her first book to Belle Books at the National Conference.

Okay, that meant major screaming, a bit of crying, and lots of wine drinking to celebrate afterward. I cannot tell you how thrilled I was for her. We both sold within six weeks of each other. And we're both in the same boat. This is a dream come true and a great way to start the writing year.

But the writing has taken a serious hit because we've been so busy. The Conference definitely ate up a lot of time. The College Kid has been underfoot and quite frankly, if she's up and wants to spend time with me, I do. The Physicist has also been home more often and that has taken up time and impacted my ability to concentrate. Finally, the mayhem continues because we're gearing up to move the CK back to her college. There's a mattress set, a futon, a bookshelf, and an office chair in my bedroom. Her wing looks like a disaster area and needs serious gutting out. And there's a boatload of stuff stored in my attic and garage that we're moving to down south.

T-5 days till we hit the road. Loading the moving truck up on one day, driving down to the school the next, praying the key works on the condo door (don't ask), and moving her in. The following day we head to Hotlanta where we'll buy two chairs to replace the old love seat she's taking with her as well as to spend time with my CP and the Craftsman.

Then it's turnaround and head home again.

So all this stuff has impacted my motivation. I have to force myself to write a little every day on a story that I've pretty much vacillated between loving, hating, wanting to toss it away, wanting to save it for no other reason than for myself, and then I go through it all over again. Why am I revising this story? I have a request for it. I don't know if it will fly through the backdoor and succeed where others have failed. I don't know if it's going to pass the strict guidelines of this particular publisher's house and I have another set of stories to write that I know have to be written for the contract I signed in May. Still, this story is easier to deal with than writing a series prequel and a sequel, so I persist in writing it.

Bit by bit. There isn't a lot of time. Just a little. But I keep telling myself that if I only get a half an hour logged, it's better than nothing. So blogging? Well that has taken a nosedive, but I've decided to try to get one blog in a week and I'm shooting for a Wednesday Weekly blog.

Let's see if I stay on track.

How do you cope through the busy days of summer when you have projects that must be completed?

Fictional People

Developing people who pop off the pages and live in a reader's mind isn't an easy task. There are dozens of ways to build characters and give them depth. I've employed many methods, but I am by no means an expert. If I were, maybe I'd already be published.

But I am learning and growing as a writer and this is becoming easier with each new book I write. Hmmm, maybe not "easier," but I'm recognizing my mistakes more quickly and rectifying them either as I write my current WIP, or as I plan for the next MS.

My Character Illumination from Donald Maass's book WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL:

Developing fictional people is mainly a matter of opening oneself to real people, mostly ourselves.


Writers are often portrayed as reclusive personalities. In years past, the writer was also portrayed as cynical, bitter and anti-social.

Do I fit the mold? Nope. And I think most of the writers I know aren't anti-social and reclusive. Oh, we have to work many solitary hours and God forbid anyone bang on my office door when I am in the middle of a hammering out a solution to a difficult scene, but most of us enjoy our peeps in the real world, too.

We're certainly not all quiet and shy beings, either. I am a talker, social and flitting around the social scene. I do thrive on people and interactions with them. I chat a lot, but I also ask questions. I listen. I hear the nuances. I bet most writers do listen. Where else do we get "voice?"

For instance, I spent a good deal of time chatting with my DH's Aunt B when we went to TX to see his father. Aunt B was a true character. Funny, opinionated, loving, caring and addicted to QVC. She heralded me with her stories about her shopping online for her Christmas gifts. And how she explained to her husband about them. And she showed me all her jewelry acquired through her shopping efforts.

But underlying her cute stories was a deeper story. One of loss. First her grown son to cancer, suddenly and inexplicably. Then her other son's escapades with marriage. And her own darling husband's sudden battle with cancer (hey, that's when the QVC shopping began). Now her brothers, my DH's dad and uncle are ill, and they are dying. And she is eager for connection with us, with anyone.

And that's the depth. Her humor, her character and her love all shine.

If I only talked, never listened, really really listened, I'd not know the depth of her stories.

That's what being in the real world is for me. Real people, their voices, their stories, their hurts, their outrages, their pain, their betrayals, their judgments and their histories. And I listen. And I bring to the table of my writing my own set of pain and betrayal and joy and history.

During the 2009 RWA National Conference, keynote speaker Eloisa James said, MINE YOURSELF,YOUR EMOTIONS. Pour yourself into the characters you are creating. They are born of you. (Paraphrased)

Learn craft, practice writing everyday, but most of all be in the world. Be in the world. Pour yourself into people, learn their worlds and share of yourself.

Be real in the world and your people will be real in your fictional world.