I just sold my first three chapters……..

Tags

Callm the Black Wolf, dealing with rejection as a writer, Etopia Press, His Judas Bride, Loving Lady Lazuli, Shehanne Moore, The Unraveling of Lady Fury, writing sub waiting

That’s Baa-Sheep by the way. Baa-sheep is here by way of celebration. Well, he’s sure not here by way of guzzling.

That’s Callm by the way , as seen today by the wonderful Sweet and Spicy Tales blog. http://t.co/WVZ4X1vSxu Nothing to do with guzzling or sheep. Just pure Kara enticing…..

That’s..

        well we know who this is. . Polly. while this, this  is

probably my fav image, as you must have guessed by now. Seriously this is how I was really feeling for the last three weeks.

Why? Well, I guess everyone thinks the hardest part of being a writer is getting that first book accepted. And it is. Then you think it’s getting the second. And it is. Everything is at the time till you’re there That’s the thing about life. But then….then comes the dreaded sub on the third book.

I don’t know how other authors fare with the waiting….

I prefer to keep quiet about it than let anyone know the amount of nails I’m biting because acceptance isn’t automatic, no matter how many books you have out there.

Then I can alternatively either

                          or just sit quietly in the corner about it.

That’s why I opened the email from my editor on Friday in fear and trepidation. Yes, even me too. Come on it’s just my characters that have nothing left to fear. Think they do anyway.

Anyway the wonderful news is that Etopia Press want my jewel thief story. Loving Lady Lazuli. Yes. So the first romance story I ever started but then abandoned after three chapters  will be coming out. Why did I abandon it? Well, I was trying to make it too formulaic and it was killing my two leads, so I put it aside for Kara and the Wolf who actually sold after my second book, Fury.

I guess what I am trying to say that in addition to never giving up, you should not try to write what you can’t read, what isn’t you. What I was doing with these three chapters was fitting together a story where the main conflict was him wanting to believe this wasn’t the woman who had ruined his life and her believing he didn’t have a clue, until one day he discovers the truth.  It made for really twee reading and let’s face it, are people really that stupid? I was yawning my own head off, watching it clatter round the floor with boredom. Sticking six inch pins beneath my fingernails would have been preferable had  I had any six inch pins.  Now from the start both know but the conflict is all about them falling for each other anyway.

It is called Loving Lady Lazuli and I believe I posted an extract last December. Here it is again. Unedited ok, from the very end of chapter one so there may be changes.

   “Why shouldn’t Belle know her? Hic.  We all do. Oh Devorlane, I forgot, there is just so much, so much you just don’t know.  So much we really do need to catch up on—later. But you remember Barwych Hall? The house  s’about a half mile from here?”

“That old dump?”

      He remembered it well.  Hall was perhaps an over-generous term. It did not boast above six rooms and had been uninhabited for almost, if not quite, as long as he  remembered.

      She shrugged. “Lady Armstrong lives there.  She’s our neighbor.”

      “Neighbor?” 

  “Yes. She lives s’lere with some serving girls, Pearl and Ruby, she brought from London. Very, very refined girls. So I’m afraid, we get no gossip. Not even a snifter.  Anyway, why are you so  s’interested in Lady Armstrong? Do you know her?”

     Know her?

    Ten years ago on Christmas Eve, the most stunning, most ethereally beautiful girl he had ever seen, accepted a lift in his coach. She kissed him. Then disappeared into thin air.

   He had never forgotten it. The ice-fire of her lips. Or her. Or the gift she’d somehow slipped into his pocket, while he sprawled there, dazedly thinking if this was heaven, he’d forfeit the rest of his life now.     

     The Wentworth  emeralds.        

     His father needn’t have looked that far after all.

     Now, unless he was completely mistaken, that damned bitch was sitting by the library fire in respectable widow’s weeds, the coral lips parted in pretended conversation with his mother’s fawning ward, Belle.   

Yup I guess the by line will be something like

She is dead and buried, he is the one man who knows she’s not.

Now for the big laugh…… This is the painting I chose to sort of sum her up…….

and this…this is from a photo of  one of me done as a joke-don’t ask…I don’t want to say how many years ago…

As lady lazuli is part of a series I hope there will be more…..

On NOT Getting Published

Tags

Braveheart, dealing with rejection as a writer, Etopia Press, Publishing, Sharon Struth, The Hourglass by Sharon Struth, Writers Resources

Oh God, another helpful post on that. Just what you don’t want to read on a wet Wednesday if you’ve just received your twentieth rejection slip of the day on your perfectly crafted  manuscript and the sugar bowl is all out of sugar so you can’t even sweeten the coffee and that drip, drip sound isn’t just your enthusiasm dripping away but a leaking roof tile.

Can’t these slimy  authors just feck the hell off with their success stories and leave you alone to your misery?

Well.  You will be dancing on your leaking roof to know we can’t. Because today I am going to introduce you to a special guest. Polly Positive. .  

Oops sorry. Just what you don’t need to see on a wet Wednesday… No. Here she is.

Polly isn’t actually mine before you don the boxing mitt and smack her where the sun doesn’t shine. She belongs to author Sharon Struth. Oh dear….another author shoving their success stories and their buy links in your face. Mine are over the page by the way. 

But the fact is it is a lottery getting a publisher. and while we’re busily getting our teeth kicked in, on the prowl we do hear all these marvellously depressing  success stories.  There’s even me oh blah, boast, six days to Etopia Press.  We don’t always hear of the dark moments behind them. The years behind the six days. The times we think ..right that’s it.

Personally I’ve recently come across two fabulous articles. One by author and writing pal, Noelle Clark–oh that’s another thing we do, blab about our fabulous writing buddies. Noelle’s article is a very nice piece though about writers who weren’t in the first flush of youth when they finally made it.

Hey! Not as depressing as all that. You can read it here.  http://www.noelleclarkauthor.com/2013/05/late-bloomers-are-budding-with-great.html

The second was by Sharon Struth. She talked so honestly of her struggle to find a publisher, I’ve asked her here today.

Shey. I wasn’t actually  first drawn to you as a fellow writer because we share the same stable. It was Polly Positive. Sharon, can you tell us a little about that?

Sharon.  I’m so glad you liked Polly Positive, who publically appeared in a piece I had published in “Better after 50.”  She’s a constant companion, only veering from my side on occasion. I’m a true optimist, so naturally that helps a great deal in my new job as a writer. Here’s a link to my “Polly” story: http://betterafter50.com/2013/05/its-never-too-late-for-a-new-career/.

Shey. So how old were you when you started to write? Or is that big girl’s secret!?

Sharon. I became a full-time writer around five years ago, at the age of forty-eight.

Shey. Just how it feel when that phone didn’t ring?

Sharon.  I’m a realist. I knew that a writing career would take time, hard work and commitment. I knew it wasn’t for anybody lacking in a thick skin. My skin isn’t terribly thick but I had Polly Positive (you know, my sidekick mentioned above.) She reminded me to stay focused on my tasks, not worry about the outcome. 

Shey.  Even when you had an agent? And still waited?

Sharon. Having my agent has been a true godsend. For the first time, I didn’t feel alone. I had an ally who wanted to see my work published, too. Sure, once she began to submit, we got rejections. I stayed positive, at least for a while…

Shey. I’m just thinking of the line from Braveheart here.

And dying in your bed many years from now…. Was that an all time low? Did you consider giving up?

 Sharon. I had one dark moment where my writing career seemed so bleak that I went into total blackout mode. Polly Positive left my side and I was one step from getting out the “Want Ads” to find an office job to go to each day rather than my trusty computer. Well, the planets must have been in perfect alignment that day because that’s the exact moment my agent called with an offer on The Hourglass, my new release. I still can’t believe it happened that day but am thrilled that it did!

Shey. What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

Sharon. Learn everything you can, write every day and find other writers to hang out with (critique groups, professional groups, RWA etc.). Oh, most of all, never give up.

Shey. So there you are. Of course Sharon does have a book out. But I think we can only commend her on her steel teeth. Finish our coffee, phone a roofer AND get back to that manuscript.

Blurb for THE HOURGLASS by Sharon Struth:

Can forgiveness survive lies and unspoken truths?

Until Brenda McAllister’s husband committed suicide, she appeared to have the ideal life: a thriving psychology practice, success as a self-help author, and a model family. But her guilt over her affair with Jack’s best friend prevents her from moving on. Did Jack learn of her infidelity? Was she the cause of his death?

The release of Brenda’s second book forces her into an unexpected assignment with arrogant celebrity author CJ Morrison, whose irritating and edgy exterior hides the torment of his own mistakes. But as she grows closer to CJ, Brenda learns she wasn’t the only one with secrets—Jack had secrets of his own, unsavory ones that may have led to his death. While CJ helps Brenda uncover the truth about her husband, she finds the path to forgiveness isn’t always on the map.

Excerpt:

An unexpected gravitational pull swelled Brenda’s anger. Her cute quip ran into hiding. She no longer cared about winning this man’s favor. His rudeness left her feeling as if she’d been doused with hot coffee this time. Brenda clenched her fists. A year of internal browbeating over Jack’s suicide had left her easily irritated.

Brenda gripped the frail edges of her self-control. “I once again offer my apologies for the accident, by definition an unplanned event with lack of intent.” He looked down his sturdy, Grecian nose at her, so she stood and put her hands on her hips. “Shouldn’t you, as a writer, know that?”

Every line on his face tensed. “I could do without your sarcasm.” He leaned closer. “Thanks to you, I missed my meeting. Maybe tomorrow morning you could get room service.”

The brunette unleashed a tight smirk. CJ motioned for them to move on.

Brenda fumbled for a good retort. As he stepped away, the last word went with him. The same way Jack had the last word in their life together. A silent explosion went off inside Brenda’s head and propelled her anger forward.

“Mr. Morrison?” She raised her voice to be heard above the crowd.

He looked over his shoulder and arched a questioning eyebrow.

Brenda crossed her arms and fixed a phony smile as she nodded toward his companion. “It’s so nice of you to bring your daughter to the conference.”

 FOR A TRAILER AND BOOK GROUP QUESTIONS, VISIT: www.thehourglassnovel.com

 Buy THE HOURGLASS at:

Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Hourglass-ebook/dp/B00CIX1YDO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369939228&sr=8-1&keywords=the+hourglass+struth

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-hourglass-sharon-struth/1115199538?ean=2940016552453

 Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/The-Hourglass/book-bZt6Dbk3kkuXEZC0m2PStg/page1.html

 All Romance E-books: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-thehourglass-1173513-149.html

                                ~ About the Author ~

Novelist Sharon Struth believes you’re never too old to pursue a dream. The Hourglass, her debut novel, received first place in the Dixie Cane Memorial Contest and second place in the Golden Heart. She writes from the friendliest place she’s ever lived, Bethel, Connecticut, along with her husband, two daughters and canine companions. For more information, including where to find her published essays, please visit www.sharonstruth.com