A Writer Keeps Learning

One of the things I've always found interesting is when I hear other writer say they don't attend workshops because there is nothing new for them to learn.

I don't feel that way.  I attend workshops and online classes because I feel there is always something for me to learn.  While some classes I may only get one or two things from it, I still learn something.

In the last few months I've been to classes on emotion, sagging middles, great beginnings, world building and now on the dynamics of a BDSM relationship.

I've picked up new concepts and ideas from all of these.  And they do go a long way in helping me improve my writing.

Sometimes I don't see where I'm making mistakes as I'm writing, but by attending these workshop or classes, I begin to see where I can make improvements.

To me there is always something to be learned no matter what.

Have a great week.

Brainstorming the new book

It's time to start brainstorming a new book while the others are with my editor being read for contracts.

I hadn't planned on writing this particular book but my publisher (The Wild Rose Press) put out a call for submissions and I the ideas started flowing.

It will be part of the Scarlet line (Erotic) and called: Real Men Wear Kilts - so yes, my hero will wear a kilt.

So my brainstorming will begin so I can figure out my characters, who they are and what their conflicts are about. 

But I thought I'd share some pictures:

Here's my hero:

Here's my heroine:

And just for fun:

Have a great week.

Guest: Desiree Holt

I'm thrilled to have Desiree Holt as my guest today.  She has a new book out and it is hot!

Welcome to Rawhide, the exclusive BDSM club north of San Antonio, Texas, where the ranchers and their friends come to play in carefully guarded anonymity. Ruled by a Dungeon Master extraordinaire, its well-vetted membership enjoys delights to please even the most experienced Dom and sub. Come on in. The evening is just about to start.

Blurb:

Just for an instant their gazes connected, then he was gone. Barrel racer Trish Barton wanted to find that mysterious man in black who in brief seconds pushed all her buttons. A born submissive, she saw herself on her knees before him, bound by the lasso he'd held in his hand.

Jake Keenan had never forgotten that one brief glimpse of he woman who set him on fire, a woman he’d give anything to Master. How could she have taken root in his dreams after that one brief glimpse?

Then Fate threw them together and gave them the opportunity to fully explore the Dom/sub relationship they craved. But Trish wasn’t yet ready to give up the rodeo circuit, much to Jake’s dismay. And then an emergency turned their lives upside down and showed both of them what’s really important. 

Excerpt:

Like a paintbrush sweeping across her field of vision the image of a man blew into her mind. She’d only seen him once, at the rodeo in Oklahoma. She couldn’t seem to make herself look away.  And seeing was probably the appropriate word because all she’d gotten was the one look at him. She was brushing Misty after the show and he’d walked into the barn. Something had made her turn at that exact moment and their eyes met. For a breathless second she thought he intended to speak to her. Then a group of friends swept into the barn, crowding her. He backed away and when she could look again he was gone. But the incredible impact of that one quick visual contact had never left her, the image of him etched in her mind.

The most idiotic part of it was this man, who had spent less than a minute in her life, had become the object of some very erotic dreams. No matter how much she tried to wipe away the memory, the nights when she was really tired as soon as she closed her eyes there he was, in his naked glory, the Master of her imagination. Sometimes when she awoke she was sure she could still feel the chafing in her wrists from handcuffs, the pressure of knots from the rope he’d tied her with or a soreness on the cheeks of her ass from his punishment. How crazy was that? Smiling to herself now she wondered if she could run an ad in the paper. Wanted: man in plaid shirt and blue jeans who almost got to talk to me.

Dumb, Trish. Really dumb.

Getting to this point in her rodeo career hadn’t been easy. Ever since her first contest in high school she had worked hard and sacrificed a lot. But she’d had a single-minded purpose and the support of her family. Now she nearly had it all. She was favored to win the title at the Nationals for the third time in a row, validating all she’d accomplished, and her family would be there to cheer her on. So why was it she suddenly felt unsettled. Out of sync. As if there was a hole in her life she’d just stepped into.

Maybe it was the fact that the Doms she spent time with at the private clubs at each stop lately weren’t answering her needs. Up to this point that was all she’d wanted or needed. For the first time since she’d discovered her submissive nature and her needs, everything was suddenly a little off the mark. Or it might be the two weeks she’d just spent hanging out at her friend CeCe’s ranch, taking a break from the circuit. Sitting on the wide porch, drinking iced tea and looking back on things, she’d begun to wonder if there was more to life than training and competing and taking her pleasure in small doses when she could. 

She’d never worried about it before, never given a thought to having a man in her life for anything more than the here and now. But the reaching of her thirty-fifth birthday had made her stop and think. Take a good long look at who and what and where she was. Was a man what she was missing? She hoped not because fixing that wouldn’t be as easy as it sounded. For one thing, she’d seen too many women on the circuit meet a man, fall for him and then suddenly they were out of competition, giving up an exciting career. Why would they give up what they’d worked so hard for just because some man came along? Didn’t they have regrets? Even for a moment?

She wanted one that wouldn’t try to put a halter on her except when—

http://www.amazon.com/Lassoed-Dom-Rawhide-Book-7-ebook/dp/B00XQUGX2K/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1432472636&sr=1-1&keywords=Lassoed+BY+a+dom

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lassoed-by-a-dom-desiree-holt/1121945236?ean=2940151271608

https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/lassoed-by-a-dom

My thanks for Desiree being my guest today.

Graduation Time

June is the month for graduations, be it elementary school, middle school, high school or college.

The last graduation I went to a few years ago, was my nephew getting his Master's in nursing.  It was a bitter sweet graduation as it was the last graduation my mother was able to see before she passed away.

This June my great-niece (my mother's great-granddaughter) is graduating from high school.  It's so hard to believe she's already 18 and ready to go off to college.

It make me think about the passage of time.

My first contract was offered in August of 2009.  I was still working the dreaded day job and honestly was surprised by the contract offer.  But it was great.  I signed the contract and delved into the world of publishing, marketing and promotion.

I wrote two more books while still working a full-time job and taking care of my mom.

Then in April of 2012 - I was able to retire from my day job.  With that retirement came, moving to another state.  Mainly because California was too expensive to live in, but also because my mom was getting up in age, she was having health issues and her house was two stories.

I had a ranch home built in Washington near my sister, and then proceeded to pack and clean out the house my mom lived in for over 60 years.  I had a goal in mind.  The house closed in June, so I wanted to be fully moved in by the end of September.

Writing took a slight back seat, while I packed and cleaned out the house and then moved.  But I managed to do it.

I'm going to fast forward to today.

Today, I've had had 6 books published by The Wild Rose Press and 3 short novellas by Sybarite Seductions (they've since closed).  I have 1 book under contract with The Wild Rose Press, 2 more (a short novella and a novel) waiting to be read for contract and 2 more books I'm writing (one short novella and another novel).

Needless to say I've been keeping busy.  It's been 3 years since I retired from my day job and I'm loving every minute of being a full-time writer.

It's June - almost half the year is gone

Somehow June crept up on me.  I'm heading into the 6 month mark of the year and still have lots of stuff to accomplish.

I have been super busy with writing.  I just finished the second round of edits on Bound and Teased for my editor and sent them back.  Hopefully I'll have a release date and a cover in the next month.

So now I'm back to working on a short novella that is due soon, and then I'll be writing another novel for a call my publisher - The Wild Rose Press - put out.

Then there's another set of books in the works.  In the mean time, I'm working on my social media and my newsletter.

If you'd like to be kept up to date on my books, releases and special contests and SWAG - subscribe to my newsletter: Marie's Mischievous Musings - you can do on the right hand side of my blog.

I don't spam your inbox and only send a newsletter when I have news or once a quarter.

I hope every has a great week.