Illusions Mini Excerpt

Kate grabbed the rock, felt it dig into her palm, and felt a rush of alertness from the pain. She threw the rock and swung herself around, knocking the legs out from under the attacker. She lurched to her feet an instant before he did.

Good To Know You

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Illusions Mini Excerpt

“Hmph. Why do all the girls wear skirts so short their tooshies hang out? It’s so gross. Look - this page alone I see three micro-minis.” Kate turned the glossy page in protest.

“Boy, you're such a scary spy. I mean really…tooshies? Maybe you should retake your anatomy classes.”

“Fine. This skirt lets the girl’s Gluteus Maximus hang out. Better? Besides, I got a solid A in Anatomy 311, thank you very much.” Kate deliberately bit off a chunk of Twizzler.

“Yeah, gotta really know your body parts to kick some serious Gluteus Maximus, eh?” Tina laughed so hard she fell, sprawling, off the bed.

Good To Know You

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Illusions Mini Excerpt

The fingers of vertigo tickled, teased. Kate carefully took two steps backwards. Away from the cliff.

Good To Know You

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I'm a Citizen of Procrasti-Nation

Monday was the perfect day for me to write. My hubby is at work all day. My daughter took a five hour nap. That’s right – five hours (I had to peek in at her several times since she NEVER sleeps that long). So I could’ve written a couple chapters…right?

Nope.

Instead, I procrastinated…I surfed blogs, ate chocolate covered almonds, and perused news articles. I read and took a nice nap. But I did not write one word.

I’m asking myself why.

Did I just need a break from writing? Probably not.

Was I out of practice, since my writing hours have been severely cut since going back to work? Probably.

Was I forcing my characters to do something they wouldn’t do, so they decided to give me the silent treatment? Hmmm…gotta think more about that.

Whatever the reason, it was a lost day. I’ve just gotta shake off that writing funk and move on.

Why do you procrastinate writing?

I Won Something

I've never won anything before. Not in elementary school. Not in high school. Not on the radio....NEVER.

Well, my 28 year streak of bad luck has just ended. I just won Cindy Wilson's drawing for a historical romance novel. Thank you, Cindy. I'm so excited!

Cover Art and Voice

I talked a bit about branding on Tuesday, but wanted to discuss it further.

To me, branding is about voice.

Yes, the art department will create a cover for your book when it is published. And hopefully all the sequels will be consistent so when your fans see a new book, they immediately identify that it's the next (insert your name here) novel.

I think of Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls and Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series as examples of great branding. You see their covers and automatically know who wrote it, without ever needing to see the name of the author.

But even more important than their cover art is the consistency of their voice. If Ally's next book was serious and depressing, I would never pick up another one of her books. Why? Because her brand is fun, exciting, interesting. Not serious, dark, disturbing. I'd feel tricked into buying something I didn't want. And whether they pick up your book at the local library or the local bookstore, the reader is buying into your story by reading that first page. They want the product they expected.

What type of brand do you want your voice to express?

Illusions Mini Excerpt

I've gotta admit, this one isn't my favorite excerpt - but it's appropriate for my birthday.

Tina tossed a small cardboard box. “Like the wrapping? I did it myself.”

"Yeah. I can really see the effort you put into it." The plain, white, unwrapped box fit in the palm of Kate’s hand.

Good To Know You

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Pigeon Holed

When I think of M. Night Shyamalan, I think of movies with a twist at the end.

When I think of Quentin Tarantino, I think of smart movies that are just a bit too violent and/or twisted for my own personal taste.

But you know what you're getting when you go to their movies. Because it's their brand, their style of film-making. You wouldn't go to a Quentin Tarantino movie if you wanted a heart-warming love flick.

What does that have to do with me?

Are you a romance writer? Are you a young adult writer? Are you a horror writer?

If you've written six horror novels, you may not have a great reception in the children's picture book community. Why? Because they will get used to viewing your material as horror, and not suitable for children.

If you've written young adult romance novels, you may have some resistance when writing an adult thriller.

That is one reason why many well-known authors have used pen names (think Nora Roberts vs J.D. Robb) They don't want to offend their existing fans by branching into other genres. Even if *wink wink* we all know who's really writing the novel, we know what to expect when we pick up the book using the pen name.

My point in this post (If I have one) is to think about your long-term writing career. Don't just write whatever is coming to you right now, write the kind of books you want to be writing five, ten, even fifteen years from now. If you want to write both YA and Adult novels, don't write five novels that are solely young adult. Mix it up so your audience won't pigeon-hole you into one genre.

What genres do you like to write?

Awards- And Not the MTV Movie Ones

If you've noticed my silence on your blogs this past week, its because I've been sick. Yucky time here at the Wolfley house. But I guess I should get sick more often, because all of a sudden I've been given some blog awards.

And to that I've got to say WOW! (That's right- capitalized with an exclamation point.) I never expected this little blog to get followers, much less awards from followers.

Thanks to Danyelle of Myth-Takes and Kimberly of Zook Book Nook (which is the coolest blog name ever, IMO) for giving me the One Lovely Blog award. Thank you both!

And to make everything even more special, Robyn of Putting Pen to Paper gave me this Este Blog investe e acredita na...PROXIMIDADE! award. I have no idea what that means in English, but it says:

These blogs invests and believes in the proximity - nearness in space, time and relationships, they are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends, they are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated.

Which I think is pretty cool to get. So big thank you to Robyn!

I know I'm supposed to pass them along. But there are so many wonderful bloggers to choose from, and I'm the kind of person who breaks the chain letter even though it will cause me to grow fungus on my face, and never find my one true love, and get a hex of apocalyptic proportions. (Some people call me brave, I prefer lazy!) So I will ponder some more about who to give these awards to, but I am committed to not be the breaker of the chain.

And yes- I can be bribed by chocolate, pistachios, and Nutty Bars.

But in all seriousness, thank you to these wonderful ladies. I have truly been amazed by how kind and generous the writing community is. I have met so many amazing writers who provide me with a new outlook, motivation, and support.

Thanks goes out to all of you!

What is your favorite thing about being part of the writing community?