Build a Better Blog with Me

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In which I begin blogging about blogging 

Hi, Indie Igniteers, it's me, Stephanie! I'm going to be posting here on the 19th of every month and my next few posts will be about blogging. Mostly because my blog has been kind of 

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lately. So, in an effort to improve things, I asked the other ladies at Indie Ignites what they think makes a great blog. I'll pass that along to you guys here, and then next month I'll check back in and tell you about the changes I've made.

I'll start with the visuals:

Everyone agrees that a blog should look good. The font should be striking but readable, the colors engaging but not overwhelming, and you don't want it to be too busy.  Jessica L. Brooks said her blog pet peeves include  1) anything that freezes up my flashplayer and makes my internet crash (my Mac is only 5 years old but thinks it's 20), so a bunch of countdown tickers and things like that, and 2) font that is hard to read. 

Rachel Bateman agrees and had so many great points on the subject that I'm quoting her verbatim here: 

1) Clean design: I think a website needs to be CLEAN. This means there aren't a thousand things fighting to be seen at one time. Your colors work well together, and your background isn't overwhelming. Sidebars are a great place to display things you love, but don't put so much there that it will slow down your load time. Nothing makes me leave a website faster than one that is so cluttered it takes forever to load.

2) Readability: You may love the fun font you chose for your blog posts, but look at it objectively. Is it an easy-to-read font? In general, fun fonts should be saved for Headers and emphasis text (links, block quotes, etc.). Your primary text should be in a basic, easy on the eyes font. And while white-on-black (or other light-on-dark) websites can look really neat, and have the right feel for certain sites, if your blog is text-heavy, just don't do it. It puts too much strain on the eyes. A crisp light background with dark text is the best way to go. Finally, make sure your font is big enough to read without eye strain.

3) Easy Navigation: Make sure your menu is easy to find and navigate. Don't let your menu be a tiny list of links in the sidebar - it's too easily lost there. (A sidebar menu is fine, just make sure it's styled to stand out.) You don't need a hundred links in your menu; just keep it to the basics: About, Books, Contact, Blog, etc. More specific things can be sorted by tags/labels and categories - they don't have to go in your main menu. (Though it is perfectly acceptable to put something that is special to you in the main menu, even if it's not one of the basics - the idea is just to not clutter it with so much stuff that the menu is hard to read or cumbersome.) (Also, in this easy navigation category, what Jessica said about tags - USE them.)

4) Make sure there is an easy way for visitors to contact you. This is one of the biggest problems I see on author websites. Likely, if a reader is checking your site, it's not just to get info on your books. They are looking for a way to interact with you. So make it easy. I suggest not putting your email address on your website; instead, use a contact form that will feed to your email instead. If you don't want email, that's fine as long as you leave another way for readers to get to you - list and link your social media profiles. Make them easy to find. Readers are used to being able to interact with their favorite authors now.

5) Don't forget the "About Me" section! Why do people come to your website? To find out about your books, sure, but also to learn about YOU. They can do this through blog posts, sure, but we can't expect new readers to take the time to read through your archives. They need a quick easy way to find out about you. A short bio is fine, though I suggest if you put up your super professional bio, you also have something more casual and fun. People don't come to your site to read the same exact thing that's in the back of your book.

6) MAKE IT EASY TO BUY YOUR BOOKS. I know, we don't want to feel like we're pushing ourselves on readers, but let's be honest: what's the entire point of a website? To sell us in some way. So make it easy to sell. Have buy links up for your books, for sure on the book page and in the sidebar as well if you want (as long as it doesn't super clutter your sidebar to do so). If you make it hard for people to buy your books, they won't buy them.

7) Keep it updated. This is probably the hardest part, because even if you blog regularly, sometimes it's easy to remember to change the other things on your site, like the page that says your book is releasing three weeks ago (as an example). I suggest clicking through your own site about once a month to see if there's anything you need to update.

8) AND FOR THE LOVE OF YOUR VISITORS' SANITY, DON'T HAVE CRAZY POP-UPS OR AUTOMATIC MUSIC PLAYERS. Ahem. Just don't. You aren't going to convert any readers if they click away from your site immediately for something annoying.

You know how you want your blog to look. Now - how do you set it up? Do you go with a free one or do you pay a host to allow you to customize it?

Last year, I had a free blog Wordpress for my author pages with I but felt like I wanted  to personalize more. Here are some screen shots of my old blog, World's Oldest Fledgling:

It was sort of pretty, but lacked pizzazz and any sense that this was anything but a generic blog - it didn't look like my blog and its name didn't announce that it was my blog. (I went with the name "world's oldest fledgling" back then because that's what I felt like, someone who was just jumping out of the nest with no idea what she was doing). 

So I switched to a hosting service and more customizable blog structure, still going throughWordpress. Choosing a theme was tricky for me. I knew that I wanted it to reflect my voice or, though I gag a bit to say it, my "brand." Right now, based on my work that's out there, my brand would be light contemporary YA romance, and I found some really cute blog themes that would reflect this feeling perfectly, like "Pretty Young Thing." But the novel I'm working on now is not a light comic romance, so I knew I had to come up with something a little more flexible.

I asked the ladies for their advice. JC Emery had some great suggestions.  She said, "I purchased Genesis by Studiopress as my parent theme and Dynamik by CobaltApps as my child theme. t was $60 for Genesis and $80 for Dynamik... but I now have the ability to make my site 100% customized where I didn't before. And once I have a theme/style I like, I can export/save it and keep it forever. That way I can go in and change the look and feel of my site without ever spending another cent." She's working on jazzing up her blog, too, and we''ll share those results soon.

I decided to go with Themify's Funki theme, though I wasn't able to customize it as much as I had thought. I'm still playing with it, and below you'll find some screen shots of the new blog, though you won' be able to enjoy the super snazzy slider that runs photos from each blog across the top of the page. Here's a static image of it:

 You'll notice right off the bat that it has a blog name that actually tells you whose blog it is. Genius.

I'm still playing with layout, which I'll talk more about that next time, when I'll focus more on content. Because no matter how good your blog looks, you have to offer something people will actually want to read or they won't come back.

Until then, please share with us or your own tips on what makes a blog worth reading. We love to hear from you! 

Visit my blog, too, and feel free to make suggestions at Stephanie Wardrop, YA Writer. See you in June!

Professional Etiquette

I know this is ST's area of expertise--seriously, if you ever need the PERFECT appropriate outfit for any occasion, she's the Indie girl for you to ask--but I thought I'd take a minute to talk about etiquette. We all know the basics. Don't feed the trolls. Don't respond to negative reviews. Don't over publicize. But let's talk a little in depth.

Reviews:
We're writers. For the vast majority, that means we're also readers. But these aren't just authors any more, they are our colleagues. So you read a book and you don't like it. Do NOT leave a lengthy review detailing why you don't like it. Just check it off your list and move on. I don't even give stars if I can't give 3 or more. Because frankly, I don't want drama that comes with hurt feelings or fans who LOVE the authors I don't. Every book isn't for everybody--that's true when you get reviews as much as it is when you give. But let's all play nice in the sand box, ok?

Social Media Presence:
SOOOOO. We all have one. And that's great. It can be a lot of fun to connect with other authors and fans. And I get it--its your social media. You should be able to post whatever. But you can't. Can we just agree on that? I mean--you can but let's agree that it's a bad idea. Here's a few things I'd suggest you be aware of and avoid.
Politics: Unless you are writing a book about politicians, probably stay away from them. It's a hot topic and quickly devolves into fighting. And it's just not worth it.
Public rants: We all have bad days. We all have days where we want to curse and scream and flail like a five year old. But you are in a professional space here--and I promise that if you throw a public tantrum, people will remember. Your colleagues and peers, and readers. Don't be that girl.
Criticism: We are mostly Indies (And if we're not, we should maybe rename the blog...). We fight an uphill battle. For review and recognition, to be taken seriously, to sell. What we don't need to also fight is each other. So you didn't do a cover reveal. Or pre-release buzz. I might have opinions about that, I'll keep them to myself or have a private conversation. But publicly criticizing the way other people do or don't do things is tacky. And its hurtful, even when you don't intend that. We don't need to do that to each other.

DON'T. BE A DIVA.
No one wants to work with these people. The ones who think they're flawless and their words are amazing and that they can do no wrong. The ones who expect everything while giving nothing. They aren't fun--and they get a reputation for it. It's good to have confidence in yourself and your work. But do it with a dose of humility and the knowledge that you will never have it all down. There is always something more to learn. :)

Basically, friends, it comes down to this. You are a professional. For readers, agents, and other authors to treat you as such, you need to act like it. All. The. Time. So before you drop a status filled with random cursing or post a review about how unstructurally sound a book is--before you post about everything a publisher did or didn't do wrong--stop and think about it.

Keep it classy, y'all.

N~

This Quarter's Indie Ignites Releases and #giveaways

Welcome to our second installment of Indie Ignites' quarterly releases! We're pretty excited to share the array of books out in April, May and June. Check 'em out!

April

Prom and Prejudice (YA)

(Snark and Circumstance, #4)

Blurb:

Georgia Barrett is beginning to realize that her arch-preppie lab partner, Michael Endicott, is not at all the snob-hole she once thought. Too bad Georgia doesn’t see him for who he really is until he starts dating a poised and polished senior.

Georgia knows she should settle for his friendship, especially since telling him how she really feels would mean risking losing him altogether. But her heart tells her a chance at love might just be worth dropping her trusty shield of snark. And Georgia’s determined to find out.

Add to Goodreads
Purchase on Amazon

 The Billionaire and the Barfly (NA)

Blurb:

Henry Maximus is a super-hero-loving geek and proud of it. He’s also a genius when it comes to business. It’s how he earned the title of CEO of Maximus Gaming … not to mention the billions of dollars in his bank account. Henry’s tried living the life of a bachelor, but a different girl every night has left him wanting more. Needing more.

Aubrey Vincent is in love with her job. She’ll love it even more if she lands the promotion that gets her out of her parent’s attic. She loves it so much that she has no time for relationships, not that she was ever very good at them to begin with. Aubrey is perfectly happy with the random, nameless men she picks up at the bar.After a brief encounter with Aubrey on a business trip, Henry packs his bags and moves back to the small town where he grew up. Aubrey’s town. Aubrey attempts to find her way into Henry’s bed, while he tries everything to get into her heart. Will Henry’s plan to break down the walls Aubrey has built around her heart work or will his unbelievable million dollar offer scare her away?

Add to Goodreads
Purchase on Amazon

April 21st: 

White Hellebore 

(Heroes of Falledge Trilogy, #2)

After destroying Skull Krusher, Nicholas Adams thinks Falledge is safe and becomes a security guard at the museum, watching a valuable statue. Unfortunately, the Egyptian statue houses the soul of a scorned witch, biding her time to have her revenge on the descendants of her cheating lover.

Kiya the witch isn't the only new foe in town as the drug that created Skull Krusher has now transformed a scientist into yet another monster, forcing Nicholas to don his Black Hellebore mask again and save Falledge.

Nicholas has no help this time as Kiya gains possession of his love Julianna's body and brings the soul of Justina, Nicholas's high school sweetheart and Julianna's twin, with her. Despite himself, Nicholas is torn between the sisters. If he can't stop the fiends from taking over the world and destroying humankind, he'd never be able to find lasting, true love.

Add to Goodreads

April 25th:

Stone of Destiny (NA)

(The Danaan Trilogy, #2)

Blurb:

Allison thought it was crazy enough when she found out her father, Liam, wasn't entirely human. But now she has to join his magical allies to unravel his former mistress's plans. Aoife wants to keep Allison's parents apart forever.

Despite Allison's efforts to keep Ethan, the only guy she's ever cared about, out of this supernatural mess, fate keeps throwing him back into the mix.

Will Allison be able to find the amulet that holds the enchantment Aoife placed on Liam and destroy it? Are Ethan' s feelings for Allison strong enough to endure the magic of the Tuatha De Danaan?

Add to Goodreads


May


May 1st:

Girl Lost (NA)

Blurb:

Northern was supposed to be a fresh start—a place where people didn’t know who I was or how I had spent years in and out of mental institutes. People didn't know about my parents death or the island no one heard of. But when Peter sits next to me in lit class, I can’t stop the memories, and I don’t want to. He looks too much like the boy from the island, and despite my best intentions, coaxes my secrets from me.

He’s gorgeous, irresistible, a little mad, and completely lost—we are a pair of broken cogs in a world neither of us truly fits into. He is somehow gentle and fierce, heartbreaking in his devotion and savage in his defense.

When Belle, his best friend, shows up, pale and lovely and sick, Peter pulls away from me, a startling withdrawal. It’s a relationship that scares and confuses me. She is at times warm and friendly, and other times is violent and unpredictable.

Peter says that he wants me, but refuses to let himself get close. And there are secrets, surrounding both of us, that border on nightmares. As the memories close in, as Belle gets sicker and more violent, I’m torn between what is true and what I believe, and what this magical boy knows about my mysterious past.

Add to Goodreads
Check out a teaser, HERE



May 8th:

Rev (Adult)

(Bayonet Scars, #3)

Blurb: 

We met him in Ride as the no-nonsense Sergeant-at-Arms of the Forsaken Motorcycle Club who disapproved of Ryan's choice to be with Alex, and again in Thrash as a man who few dare to challenge. Now, get to know Grady in his own words as he struggles to keep his club and his personal life from falling apart before his very eyes.

Everyone belongs somewhere. Even the misfits.

With the looming threat from the Mancuso Crime Family, the Forsaken Motorcycle Club is preparing for a war that could destroy them. Grady, the club’s Sergeant-at-Arms, knows that love makes you weak, and he has zero interest in adding to his liabilities-- especially now. He's already got his teenage daughter who keeps him on his toes and a beef within the club that could fracture his relationship with a fellow brother for good.

For Holly Mercer, her life is finally getting on track and the last thing she wants is trouble from her hometown’s resident outlaws. Keeping her nose clean is easier said than done, when suddenly she finds herself embroiled in club business. Holly might like the idea of being with a real-life bad boy, but even being in the same room with tough-as-nails Grady flusters her.

Add to Goodreads

Tur (NA)

(The Elsker Saga, #.5)

Blurb:

Inga Andersson is the envy of every girl in Asgard. On the surface she has it all -- great friends, a job as Odin’s personal fight choreographer, and a happy ever after with her realm’s hottest assassin. But when evil invades Asgard, her perfect world comes crashing down. Someone is planning to kill off the gods, and Inga’s best friend Ull is first on their list. With the Norse apocalypse a nanosecond away, Inga has to decide how she’ll spend her final moments of freedom. Because from the moment this battle begins, Inga’s happily ever after will be nothing more than a memory. 

Some things are worth fighting for.

add to Goodreads

May 29th:

Elsker (NA)

(The Elsker Saga, #1)

Blurb:

You don’t win the heart of an immortal assassin without making a few enemies along the way.

Kristia Tostenson prefers Earl Grey to Grey Goose and book clubs to nightclubs, but when she transfers from her one-stoplight town to Cardiff University in Wales she falls in love with Ull Myhr.  Her new boyfriend isn’t exactly what she was expecting.  He’s an honest to goodness Norse God - an immortal assassin fated to die at Ragnarok, the battle destined to destroy Asgard and Earth.  Kristia’s crazy visions are the only thing that can save their realms.  Her orderly life just got very messy. 

Add to Goodreads
Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway, HERE


June

By Sun and Candlelight (YA)

(Flora, #1.5)

Blurb:

Back in Ambrosia, Rowan and the Queen continue their efforts to thwart Oleander and Hawthorne’s attempts to take over the throne. Rowan sneaks meetings with Dahlia, his only light in a world of heartbreaking darkness and loss, with intent to inquire whether she plans to leave Shaver and make Ambrosia her permanent home. But when Hawthorne threatens upcoming contention and Rowan discovers the book of Jurisprudence (the Ambrosian book of the law), has gone missing, it’s evident there’s a traitor at Lennox. The more Rowan tries to keep Oleander’s men, the Townsends, under control and solve the mystery of the missing book, the more secrets he comes across. Until he wonders: Has his own personal need for Dahlia inhibited his ability to protect her? And what right does he have to ask her to choose anything other than what she feels true in her heart?

Told in Rowan’s point of view, By Sun and Candlelight (Flora, 1.5) gives you a new view into the characters and daily happenings at Castle Lennox and bridges the gap between If I Speak True (Flora, 1) and Open Thy Heart (Flora 2 -- coming this fall)

Add to Goodreads
Enter the giveaway

Crush (NA)

(Bayonet Scars, #3.5)

by JC Emery (cover/details to come)

And that's it for now! 

You've got to have friends!!

Hei hei, y'all. It's ST. And I'm here to talk about friends -- specifically, why they are absolutely, hands down, my favorite thing about the writing community.

My path to indie publishing wasn't the most conventional. Two of my books had a brief publication in 2013 with a now defunct small press. When I took back my rights, I had no idea how to go about publishing the books on my own. I was every single possible kind of terrified. So I turned to my writer-friends -- the ones here at Indie Ignites; the ones I met on the interwebs; the ones who were hiding in the foxhole with me, trying to figure out our next steps; and the ones who had successfully navigated the indie arena, and had scores of helpful nuggets to share. (Thank you Kristie Cook, for your amazing blog post that finally convinced me to give this a go!) Those friends were beyond generous with me. I truly had zero idea what I was doing (I still don't, really), and they gave me great advice. Some of the most useful tidbits I gleaned were:

(1) Don't attempt to make your own covers if you're not great at all things computer. (I'm not. It took me a year to figure out The Twitter. Facebook still confuses me.) I scored big time when I met Rebecca K. Sterling, and right here on Indie Ignites we've got Adrianne James and Jaycee Delorenzo.
Those ladies do what I never could!!

(2) Don't attempt to edit your own book if you're not great at all things big-picture, small-picture, and/or grammar. (Again, I'm not. Thankfully, my beyond generous, immeasurably loyal, spectacularly brilliant, once-and-future-editor Eden Plantz kindly agreed to re-edit my books after I re-wrote them for indie publication. God bless her from here to Asgard for everything she's done for me. She's not only one of the most honorable people I've met in this industry, she's one of the most brilliant editors around. At this point, I just nod and write what she says. I adore her.) II has editors in house too -- Rachel Bateman, Nicole Zoltack and Angi Black!

(3) Use super-simple-even-ST-could-figure-it-out sites like Picmonkey when trying to make promotional images. Work up to the harder stuff someday. (In my case there probably won't be a someday, but look -- I made this!!! Little ole technophobic me!!!) Then just try to walk away from Picmonkey and go back to writing, because that site is ridiculously addictive, and some days it's much more fun to play with images of cute boys than it is to try and hit your word count. Sorry, word count. I made another Ull.

(4) Read THIS book. The Indie Author Survival Guide. It hasn't answered all of my questions, but it's tackled a good number of 'em.

My friends have helped me more than I'll ever be able to tell them. They gave me the guts to take the leap into self publishing. They showed me the steps I'd need to follow to bring a book through production. They answered my rudimentary questions over and over . . . and over. And they devoted countless hours from their own personal time to make my books shine (thank you Eden!!), teach me about marketing (tackle hugs, Nazarea!!), explain that excessively addictive Picmonkey (that one's on all y'all), and lift my spirits on the days it all seemed overwhelming (the absolutely incomparable Stacey Nash and our fearless Team Elsker FTW!). The writing community is one of the most generous, thoughtful, supportive communities I've had the opportunity to be a part of. I only hope that someday I'll have the kind of knowledge that can help my fellow newbies out.

Now it's your turn -- what's the best piece of advice you've received about publishing?

Skal!

Choosing a book cover: relevance is a necessity

There are a lot of perks to being a self-published author, including having the freedom to decide every single aspect of your book. Though that control can make an author feel overwhelmed at times during the publication process, I've yet to meet an author who, at the end of the day, didn't love having total and absolute control of their work. 

The problem with all of that control, though, is that, sometimes we're so invested in the micro details, we aren't the best at stepping back and looking at it from a macro perspective. 

Last February, this arrived in my mailbox:

Seeing it small like this, the theme is probably a lot more obvious to you than it was to me as I walked back into my house; but for the sake of this example, take a gander at it for a moment, please. 

What stands out? Is there an overall theme or idea you pick up on almost immediately? Does the cover excite you and make you want to open it up and experience what's inside?

Here are the first things that went through my head (keep in mind I was holding the magazine with my left hand at the time):

1) This is a clothing magazine. M-o-o-c-h? What does that even mean?

2) Is... are... what does this have to do with Valentine's Day?

3) I don't understand the point of these mylar balloons...

4) What does the random balloon at the top stand for, this is delias... oh... it's an S...

5) S...mooch? Was this supposed to be Valentine-y? 

6) The backdrop is lavender. I don't get what's going on here. Is this for spring, then? What exactly are they trying to say?

Maybe I'm overanalyzing this, but at first glance, this very well could have been a magazine selling party supplies, not clothes for teenaged girls. I mean... delias carries some really adorable stuff (even dresses) and out of everything in their inventory, they choose those outfits? If I didn't find them exciting, imagine how my teen daughters were going to feel when they saw the cover! It was like someone threw a few different elements onto the cover and had better things to do, so they were like, Yeah okay... and called it a day.

Self-publishers, this is so important to remember: Your writing could be amazing, but the cover is THE first thing a potential reader sees. You need to make a good first impression and, not only that, but it's imperative that you draw on their curiosity to make them want to know what's beyond that cover picture. If done correctly, the title, readability of the font, focal point (the center, or mooch, for me on the magazine... though maybe some of you were first drawn to the S that I noticed way later?) and even colors that are your cover's theme can entice not only readers who normally read that genre, but readers who want to check it out simply because the cover has them intrigued.

You've spent a lot of time on that novel. It deserves a chance to be read. Do it justice by representing it properly. 

There are a lot of posts regarding book covers in self-publishing, but here are four I found interesting:

The Best Selling Covers in the Book World

23 Creative Book Cover Designs and Their Story

14 Tips for Good Kindle Cover Design

We've Got You Covered: 9 Authors' Tips for Brilliant Book Cover Design

Behind the Scenes of Publishing with JC: On Bravery

Welcome to the first edition of a new monthly feature here on Indie Ignites: Behind the Scenes of Publishing with JC. Expect to see some more cool stuff from our awesome contributors in the coming months. We're working on revamping the blog in ways that encourage us to get you better content more often.

This feature is where JC talks about her experiences in publishing and all that entails. Everything from writing to becoming a full-time author, you'll get an exclusive peek into JC's adventures, and hopefully, you'll learn something along the way. Or at the very least, you might find yourself laughing at her ridiculousness. Because with JC, that's kind of a given. And now that you've listened to JC me talk about herself myself in the third person long enough-- here it is.

Today is my first official day as a full-time author. So far, it's simultaneously terrifying and wonderful. Last night, I set my alarm for a reasonable hour and read myself to sleep with the knowledge that I had nowhere to be today. Only, that's not exactly true. I had to be here today.

But it was glorious to wake up knowing that beginning with today, I don't have to be anywhere else but here on any given day if I don't want to be. For at least the next ten months. Today might just be another item for me to check-off on my long list of goals; but it's taken me years to get here. And now that I've realized this dream, I'm going to fight like hell so I don't have to figure out a Plan B.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's take a look back at how I got here. Years ago, I was a legal secretary, living in New Orleans, Louisiana. I had a great little rental house. I barbecued about twice a week (even in winter) and kept a decent stock of Corona on-hand at all times. I stretched my budget to pay my bills and have a little left over. I didn't take vacations, nor did I get to fly home to see my family very often. I had all the things that adults work hard for, and they should appreciate. But I hated every second of it-- the legal assisting, I mean.

I started writing and didn't stop. I learned some things about the craft (I'm still learning), and discovered that the times I was most happy was when I was in my own book or someone else's. So when the offer came, from my mother, to move back home (what can I say, she missed me) so I could finish my degree, I thought it over. For about five seconds.

And then I started packing for California.

Every move I've made since then has been geared towards becoming a published author. I rode the bus, lived very minimally, forewent dating, turned down job offers, sacrificed a social life, and figured out how to live with virtually zero safety net. Granted, I made the choice to focus on myself before I would even consider having a family, so I didn't have to worry about anyone else. I let people tell my mother that I needed to grow up and move out. I bit my tongue when my extended family wondered why I wasn't working a full-time job, and if I'd ever become a "real" adult. And I excused myself early from first dates when the man across from me expressed that they thought being a writer wasn't a career choice, but a stupid fantasy. This time next year my BtSoP post might be on my Plan B and standing up in the face of your own failures. But that's not what this post is about.

This post is about bravery.

I've had the incredible pleasure of meeting and befriending some great authors over the years, several of whom contribute to this blog. One thing I hear a lot is about how publishing is scary-- and no doubt, it really is-- and how they're not sure if they can do it. I hear everything from how getting an agent is too hard to how self-publishing is too terrifying to consider. But that's the fear talking. We writers make everything into a much bigger deal than it needs to be. It's probably the fact that we're trained to take a single idea and stretch it out into a full-length novel. We do the same thing with our fears of publishing-- we stretch them out until they appear to be a hill that's too steep to climb, but that's simply the drama queen coming out. [adjusts crown]

The best advice I can give anyone is this: list the top five things you fear, and then do them. Be brave. Expect more of yourself.

It all sounds so lofty, but it's really not. Start small by creating a checklist of the things you need to do to get your book from wherever it is to where you want it to be. Then tackle everything line by line. Don't even look at the item below the one you're working on. I can only talk about self-publishing, so of course, seeking traditional publication is a slightly different process. But my advice remains: be brave.

Whatever being brave means for you-- do it. For some it will mean being selfish enough to demand scheduled writing time, and for others it will mean writing the story they've always wanted to read, but were afraid to tell. Going through life giving yourself roadblocks to your dreams does not serve you in any way. Maybe your journey won't take you on such an extreme, focused path, and that's okay. Being brave isn't about following my path or anyone else's. It's about figuring out exactly what you want and forging your own path, and refusing to let your fear get the best of you. Fear can be exhilarating if you embrace it. Yeah, I'm channeling Thoreau with a splash of Veronica Roth.

And for a little inspiration, here's the song that got me thinking about bravery and what it means in my daily life.

What does bravery mean to you and how can you be braver in your daily life?

Some of the Sweet Stuff

It's almost Valentine's Day and we've been celebrating all kinds of love all month long. Today, we're providing you with a sneak peel at some of the sweeter romances, one already available and two coming out in the next few months. Tomorrow things will get a little steamier, but for now, here are some tasty bits of three YA romances to get you ready for a day of hearts and flowers tomorrow.

First up, Jessica Rodriguez Brooks' Pity Isn't An Option.

Jessica says, "Jonas and Hattie don’t exactly have a specific “romance” in Pity Isn’t An Option, mainly because Jonas is still waiting for just the right moment to tell her how he feels and there is so much going on in the lack-of-hope area that it’s just never the right time. That doesn’t stop him from appreciating everything about her, however."

 Here’s an excerpt from a scene where they’ve traveled far in search of her father, Heath, in hopes they can convince the Union to let them bring him back home:

Sometimes I wonder how a dream can be so real, that the deep, terribly panic-stricken sense of urgency is still there when you wake.

I hate when that happens.

I hate it enough in real life—last thing I need is to have the same problems in my sleep.

So the kite, with its pointy wings and red eyes, woke me up from outside. Probably telling its fowl friends where to find mice—there’s a large clearing of grassland slightly west from the trees in the backyard.

I could almost hear them as I lay, sweating, on the floor. Run away! The mice chattered. A kite is near!

I thought the sweat was from the terrible dream of words that wouldn’t do what I tried, but when I opened my eyes and looked down, Hattie was by my side. I was surprised to see her lying so close to me—and pleasantly surprised by her skin on my skin, her warmth melting into the space of my warmth.

If we hadn’t been in an empty house on a freezing cold November on the way to find her missing dad, I don’t know what would have happened. I might have blurted out exactly how I feel.

I lay there for a moment, breathing softly, and soaked it all in. Her blonde eyelashes, her perfect complexion, the trail of freckles across the bridge of her nose. I watched as the blanket rose and fell with each breath she took and said a prayer over her—something I never do, for anyone—that if there was a point in all of this and/or a solution to what we were going through, it would make itself evident very soon.

You can purchase the book here now. Why wait 'til Valentine's Day?  

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Adrianne James' LIFE ON LOAN is about Paige, a homeless young woman struggling on her own to survive, until she meets Noah:

As the sun started to set I was frantic with worry. My eyes stung from the traitorous tears that refused to stop when I realized Noah may have been identified and that I may have lost him too. I shivered when the wind blew past me and pulled out the warn blanket and wrapped it around myself.  Then I just sat there and waited. The street lights clicked on and the sounds of families died down as everyone returned home for their holiday meals until it was just me, sitting there in the darkness.

                One of the other homeless men had walked up and sat down beside me. I had never talked to the man before, because frankly, he scared me. He was one of the men who gave us all a bad name. He was a drunk and was mean to everyone who walked by him. I glanced over at him and saw that he was staring at me. I could let him know how much he truly did frighten me, so I addressed him.

                “Hello, Merry Christmas.”  He simply looked at me some more. “Did you need something?” the sooner he got to the point of this little impromptu visit the better.

                “I saw them take your boy this morning, Wasn’t too long ago they took Dani, too. You some kinda bad luck charm?” He had scooted closer to me while speaking and I hugged my bag to my chest and rested my head on top of it as if I wasn’t holding on for dear life, but simply using it as a resting place. 

                “Nah, She isn’t a bad luck charm. Paige is the best thing that has happened to me since I got to the street.” Noah’s voice came from behind us and I jumped up, letting the blanket fall and rushed to him. Wrapping my arms around him and held on tightly.

                “They let you go! Oh I have never been so worried.” I said into his chest, which I am sure came out mumbled because I didn’t pull away at all before speaking. His arms just held me close. After a few minutes I pulled back and looked up into his brown eyes and smiled. My eyes began to scan his face, as if I were checking for any bruises or marks that weren’t there this morning. I couldn’t help it, I had heard horrible things about the local lock ups. When my eyes landed on his beautiful full lips, I just stared at them, wondering if they were as soft as they looked. His tongue darted out licking them and I raised my gaze back to his.  His hand moved from my waist and brushed the hair that had fallen in my face back behind my ear. Only this time, he didn’t pull his hand back. He left it cupping my face and he leaned in slowly then I felt his lips brush mine. I was shocked and just stood there, trying to grasp the fact that Noah was kissing me.

                He pulled away quickly, with an ashamed look on his face. But the minute his lips were gone, I felt the longing to reconnect with them. I threw my arms around his neck and pressed my lips to his. My heart began to race as our lips melded together. It felt so right, like it was the simplest thing in the world. Noah wrapped his arms back around my waist and pulled me closer to him. We only pulled apart due to lack of breath.

                “Do you know how long I have wanted to do that?” he asked, smiling down at me.

                “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize how much I wanted that until today.” I rested my head against his chest, feeling the warmth.

If you want to feel more of that warmth (and who doesn't?) check out the book here on Amazon.

 Allegorical figure of painting of wreathed cupidhttp://collections.lacma.org/sites/default/files/remote_images/piction/ma-31729518-O3.jpg

And Prom and Prejudice, the final installment of my YA spin on Pride and Prejudice, comes out in May.

I don't think I'll be giving away too much of a spoiler when I say that Georgia and Michael FINALLY figure out how they feel about each other, but since this is Georgia and Michael we're talking about, they don't do so easily.  Here's a little tease (and my first attempt at making my own little promo blurb). When Georgia discovers that he's not dating someone else, she can't wait to find me, and tracks him down on a cross-country trail.

If you want to catch up on what leads a snarky vegan girl to chase an uptight preppie through the woods, check out Snark and Circumstance (enovella #1 in the series), Charm and Consequence (#2), and Pride and Prep School (#3).

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone, and happy reading!

Robert Indiana sculpture photographed by Jean Gagnon, 

• tourisme-montreal.org