Bacon Money

I love writing. If I could do it twenty-four seven, I absolutely would. Usually when I'm not writing, my brain is working, thinking of potential new stories and characters. Even when I intentionally try to take a break, a character will pop into my head and demand attention.

Eventually, I want to be able to write full time. But alas, I'm not there yet. Until such a time when my dream is a reality, I need some 'bring home the bacon' money to well...bring home the bacon. And pay rent, bills and all that fun stuff.

In many ways I'm very lucky. I love my 'bacon' money job. I get to work with a group of incredibly talented people and genuinely have fun. Granted, I occasionally work myself to the bone, leaving little to no time to write/blog. But in the end I can't complain. I have two jobs I love and my philosophy remains: "I can sleep when I'm dead."

The First Kiss

I've been reading a lot of author interviews lately. I feel it's important to (A) support my fellow authors and bloggers and (B) stay tuned in to the writing world and keep appraised of new releases, etc. I'm also keeping a list of all interesting questions I come across to improve my own interviews. Every now and then in my reading I'll come upon a question that really gets me thinking. I happened upon such a question on Natasha Bennett's blog. During an interview she asked the author, "What was your favorite scene to write?". It got me wondering how I would answer that question. Yes, I love everything I write as it all comes from me and is all apart of shaping the story. But when thinking back to writing Arctic Winds, a few scenes jump out at me. One of the first that comes to mind, and possibly my favorite, is the first kiss shared between Samantha and Jason.

There's something about a first kiss, the first time emotions bubble over until it can only be expressed with the meeting of lips and tongue. The nervous butterflies that can't be contained until the heroine is in the arms of the hero for the first time. It can be funny, sweet, or sizzling. Whatever shape it takes, it's truly magical.

Now, it's possibly I just have the first kiss scenes in my head as it's where I currently am in writing my next novel. My mind always gets wrapped around whatever I'm currently working on. However, even beyond that I think there's something special about a first kiss. And if you think about it, Can you remember your very first kiss? Your first kiss with a serious boyfriend? Or maybe your first kiss with your husband? Everyone remembers their first kiss because theres magic in it. Magic that imprints the memory in your conscience forever. So as your kissing your loved ones tonight or when next you see them, think about the first time and let the magic take you away.

Interview with Stephanie Haefner

I'm thrilled to feature an interview with Stephanie Haefner, author of A Bitch Named Karma. This is a touching story about a woman who finds herself through a series of unfortunate events. Stephanie shares with us insight into her book as well as her favorite snack food and how she names her characters.

-Stephanie, Why don't you start us off by telling us a little about your book, "A Bitch Named Karma".
A Bitch Named Karma is a story about a self-absorbed women, living this fabulous life, completely oblivious to pretty much everything going on around her. Until one day when everything falls apart. Then she starts to realize that her life was not as perfect as she thought and when she rebuilds, it's then that she sees that the way she was living her life was really not what made her happy. Her life ends up being so different from what it had been, but she can no longer imagine it any other way. She finds new forms of love and learns that judging anything by it's cover is just not he way to go through life.

-How did you end up becoming a writer?
I'd been a floral designer for many years prior to starting my career as a professional author. I wrote little stories as a kid, in a diary as a teen, and in high school, I had been the reporter for a club I was a member of. I published several articles in local newspapers. I always enjoyed writing and even debated on a journalism major for college. I started writing seriously for major publication a few years ago, after one day deciding to actually write down one of my many story ideas instead of letting it fly away. And that's what started my love affair with fiction writing.

-Where do you draw your inspiration for your writing?
From everywhere! Usually I am just sitting here, kinda minding my own business, and a thought will enter my brain...and I'll wonder how I would handle the situation. A story idea is born!

-Do your characters come to you with names? If not, how do you go about naming your characters?
Usually I have a story idea first and dream up the characters afterward. I will look online for names...searching for ones that inspire me. Sometimes I need a very typical name, so I'll search for the most popular baby names from a certain year. For me, certain names represent certain personality traits. My main character in A Bitch Named Karma is extremely sassy and says what's on her mind...for her, Mary or Sue or Kate just wouldn't work. I chose Lexi, with her full name actually being Alexandra...a more traditional name given by her mother, but she's the only one who actually calls her that...proof of how her mother is always trying to squish her into what she thinks Lexi should be like.

-Do you snack when you write? What's your snack food of choice to get the creative juices flowing?
I do sometimes...and though I would love anything sugary or chocolatey...I try and stick with healthy snacks! Nutra Grain bars, granola bars, low cal cookies or other snacks. :)

-Not including your own work, what's your favorite book(s)?
I ADORE The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series by Ann Brashares. Those books have everything- laughs, love, sadness, true bonds of friendship. I love to read-and tend to also write- stories that take the reader through a wide range of emotions.

-You have a second novella coming out in March from Lyrical Press. Tell us a little about that.
It is titled Paradise Cove and I am very excited about it! It is a great story about love and how you can't always do everything yourself. It's okay to accept help and accept love. Shelby has just bought a resort in Cancun, one in much need of refurbishment. But the old owner's grandson is not so eager to see his birthright being owned by a stranger.

-Is there anything else you're working on now?
I am working on the sequel to A Bitch Named Karma, titled Karma Kameleon. Lots of new problems for Lexi and her crew!

-Any advice for aspiring writers?
Just keep writing! Never has the phrase "Practice makes perfect" rung so true! And find a good writers group- in person or online- who you can seek critique from...so so imperative to get honest, constructive feedback...family members and friends do not count! :) Though it is sometimes helpful to get feedback from a reader's perspective- someone who is not also a writer. But you need someone who will tell you the truth and tell you where the story gets confusing.

-Last but not least, what question do you wish you were asked in this interview?
Lol!! I have vacation on the brain (we almost never go anywhere in the summer...we do our traveling in the fall), so I guess something about that!! Walt Disney World is our most favorite place to go, so we are anxiously awaiting our trip!

Thanks you Stephanie for allowing me and my readers a peek into your life. 'A Bitch Named Karma' is available here as well as amazon and most places ebooks are sold. There's also a print version coming out December 1st.

For more updates into Stephanie's life, check out her blog The Writer's Cocoon

New site design and a blurb

As anyone who reads this blog may have noticed, I've been playing around with the site design. Although this is still a work in progress, I'm having a lot of fun finding new looks and new ways to do things. Let me know what you think!

Other than that, I've been working hard on Arctic Winds (which has moved on to the next phase of editing) and Chasing Paradise. Chasing Paradise is the second novella in the Alpine Woods Shifters series (renamed from Sundered Love) and will be available from Lyrical Press sometime next year.

Here's a blurb for Chasing Paradise:
A vacation is exactly what Ethan needs to escape the mate hungry females in his pack. Determined to have fun, Ethan can't think of a better way to start than sampling all the different flavors the shifter only resort has to offer, and not the food variety. But after he meets Gwen, no one else holds any interest for him. Ethan came on vacation to avoid mating. There's no way he's going to give up his freedom without a fight.

Gwen is devastated when she hears her mate denying everything they are to each other. She can't sit by, watching him fool around with other girls at the resort. Worse, crawl back, unable to resist the mating pull but not really wanting her. She needs to get away and her own vacation sounds like the perfect plan. But she should have remembered what her mother always taught her, never run from a predator unless you want them to chase you. The hunt is on...

Cover for Arctic Winds

How excited am I? Extremely! I just got my cover and I absolutely love it! Check out my cover for Arctic Winds, coming January 2011 from Lyrical Press.

Blurb:
After her skulk abandoned her four years ago, Samantha knew in her heart she would never truly be wanted. When she stumbles into a wolf town accidentally and is asked by their premier to stay, she believes it's the novelty of an arctic fox motivating him. She knows she'll be on her own again once he tires of her.

Jason finds himself pulled to Samantha from the moment she faints in his arms. His wolf is calling to him, telling him he's found their mate and the heat he feels for Samantha is impossible to resist. But his little fox is loaded down with emotional baggage and doesn't believe she's worthy of love. Can he overcome her fears? Or will pack jealousies and the local foxes convince her she doesn't belong with him before he has a chance?

A day in the life...

What is it about stores like Walmart, Target, and K-mart that causes perfectly reasonable adults to act like kids in a candy store? I went to Walmart for one reason and one reason only. Yet, before long, I found myself wandering down aisles and searching through five dollar movie bins "just to see what they had". And what do I do? I ended up buying two movies, a couple camisoles (who could pass up a three dollar tank top?), a new notebook (not because I needed one but because it was only one dollar!), and other misc. items I didn't need. What is it about discounted items that force reason to take a back seat to the idea of something new, shiny, and cheap?

After my misadventure, I implemented a new rule in my household. I cannot go into a store like that without adult supervision. Yet, when I told one of my friends about my apparent lack of sense and new rule, she confessed to the same problem. Is anyone safe from the lure of the discount bins? Maybe it's simply ingrained in the female brain as my male family members and friends don't seem to suffer the same affliction. So maybe my new rule should be, no superstores without male supervision. But alas, The feminist in me balks at that new phrasing. Perhaps I should just avoid those stores altogether or shop online as it's harder to binge buy in front of a computer.

Anyway, I'm thinking of creating book review days or guest authors/interviews on this blog to bring a little spice to it. What would people most like to see/read?

Exciting News!

It's been an exciting time for me lately. Not only have I been working hard editing Arctic Winds, but just this week I signed my contract for the second book in the series, Sundered Love (the title is a work in progress).

I've always heard people talk about how sick they are of something after spending so much time editing/working on it. However, I have to admit that throughout this process, the more I work on Arctic Winds the more I love it. As I'm reading through another round of edits, I love the polished piece that's taking shape. Even though January is still months away, I find myself getting more and more excited. My editor over at Lyrical has been an absolute gem to work with and I can't wait to get started on Sundered Love!

Hope everyone has a fabulous Friday!