This One Goes Out to All You Mothers...

WARNING: This blog post contains a picture of a real-life, disturbing-looking wound. The squeamish should exercise caution and/or go read another blog, maybe one about unicorns and/or fluffy kittehs and bunnehs, or similar.

Have I mentioned that my Senior-in-college son, Balthazar, plays guitar in a friend's band? He met the fellow up at school, but M (the friend) lives in the tri-state area. Anyway, M's a mover and shaker, and hustles to get them gigs, no matter how humble the venue (think unfinished basement of someone's house). Whatevs, folks gotta start somewhere, and I admire that will-play-for-beer/pot spirit.

They regularly gig during the academic year and on breaks. During the January break, Balthy advised me that the band was heading back up to school on a Thursday afternoon for a show, and then going on to New Haven for another performance that coming Saturday. I noted that a blizzard was expected over the weekend and urged caution, a notion promptly scoffed at by the spawn of my womb.

So I went to work on Wednesday and by the time I got home Balthy was already out with some friends. I knew he'd get back in the wee hours and, as it was a school-night for me, I wouldn't be able to see him till he returned from New Haven the following week. Such is life.

Well, the blizzard did hit, hard, and I nervously checked in with Balthy on Saturday. I was relieved to learn the Connecticut gig had been canceled. The Kid and his friends would be driving back from school on Sunday night. My anxiety level spiked again, as the parkway they'd take is hella curvy, poorly lit, and bound to be a snowy mess.

I spent Sunday in a state of useless hypervigilance, frequently sending up prayers that the kids all made it to their respective homes safely. When Balthazar's key turned in the lock around 7:30pm, I let out a whoosh of relief and thanked God for being so utterly groovy.

Balthazar joined me in my room, plopped on my bed and started chatting. He commented on how good my dinner, which was being kept in the oven so as to stay warm, smelled. In a fit of motherly relief and benevolence, I said he could have it. He thanked me, then gave me his weird, "Boy, are you gonna hate what I'm about to dish up" smile.

Me, on alert: What?

Balthy: I'm gonna show you something that's gonna freak you out. (He stood and his hands went to the waistline of his jeans.)

Me, enthusiastically: Didja get a tattoo?

Balthy, still with the shit-eating grin: Nah... (He pushed down the jeans and showed me the stuff of mothers' nightmares.)

Me, feeling the blood drain from my face: What's that?

Balthy: A dog bite.

Me, through numb lips: From what kind of dog?

Balthy: A big one.

Me: ...when?

Balthy: Wednesday night.

(My eyes shot to his face.) Me: Did you seek medical attention for this?

Balthy, grin widening impossibly: Nah, had to travel with the band the next day, remember? Been puttin' Neosporin on it, covering it with gauze and whatnot. The worst part is that the dog ruined the pair of skinny jeans that I'd just bought that day.

Me, miraculously refraining from throttling him: You're a fucking idiot.

Lest you think I exaggerate the horror that was the semi-healed dog-bite, here's a pic.

Balthy's dog-bite, four days after the event.
Yep, those are puncture wounds. From fangs.
PUNCTURE WOUNDS FROM FANGS.

The ruined skinny-jeans.

I made the little blighter eat (my dinner!) while I got dressed and after he finished we slogged our way through the snow-packed streets to the emergency room of the hospital right around the block (thank God for small mercies).

I have to say, that was our quickest emergency room visit to date, as we were in and out in under an hour and I missed only about the first ten minutes of Downton Abbey (What? It was the final season!). At that point, there wasn't much to be done: the medical staff gave the wound a cursory inspection but, as it showed no sign of infection, asked if he was up to date with his tetanus booster, prescribed a course of antibiotics, and took down the dog-owner's contact info so the state health department could follow up and obtain proof that the dog (either a Rottweiler or a Pit Bull) was up to date on its shots.

(OK, there was one gratifying moment when the triage nurse asked when the bite happened and, upon learning it'd taken place FOUR DAYS PRIOR, looked up from her paperwork to sharply admonish Balthy, "It's Sunday!")

Anyway, Balthy has survived the bite (so far!) and, I hope, has learned NOT to let something like that go untreated for FOUR FUCKING DAYS. Also, I've learned that I need to go for my tetanus booster. Maybe y'all should consider it too, if it's been over ten years since you've had one.

The reason I dedicated this post to mothers is two-fold:

1. You all have been through this kind of terror-striking-incident with your own kids and, I'm sure, can so totally relate, and;

2. In honor of all us mothers, I'm making the e-Book version of my Greek-myth-based romance novel, THAT FATAL KISS, FREE for Mother's Day weekend 2016! Be sure to Facebook, Tweet, and otherwise share the hell out of this post to all and sundry and, if you'd like to pick up your own FREE copy, click here from Saturday, May 7 through Monday, May 9, 2016***!

***I think the times for Amazon's promotional events are Pacific times, so don't take any chances and snatch up your free copy on Mother's Day itself!***

"One Good Catch" is out NOW!!!

My last post was a cover reveal for One Good Catch, the second installment in a series by my fellow romance writer and bloggy-type pal, Heather M. Gardner. Well, that bad boy's out NOW and I am just so totally stoked about it I wanted to let all y'all know! You can check out the book blurb here; read on for an excerpt!

~~~)(~~~

Kate crossed her arms. “I’m not complicated.”

“Oh yes, you are. Incredibly complicated. And off limits.”

“Look, it was just a kiss. If you can’t handle a little first base, it’s your problem, not mine.”

Rhys stopped in front of her, shaking his head. “What?”

“I’m not some kid anymore, Rhys. I can kiss whomever I want. And I do. If you want to continue living by my brother’s rules, then I suggest you head back to the bar.”

“I guess I have more respect for Steve than to try and feel up his sister after being back in town for less than a day.”

“That’s fine. Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

“Fine. I’ll sleep just fine.”

“Then, goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” he said.

Rhys reached for her, his fingers tangling in her hair. He pulled her in to kiss her again. Kate enjoyed this kiss even more than the first one. It was full of his exasperation, plus his inevitable surrender, making it incredibly hot. Her victory was intoxicating.

~~~)(~~~

And so was that excerpt, dang! Seriously, though, I can really identify with Kate: nothing fires me up more than knowing the man I'm so totally into is completely losing control for want of me. W00F!

If you're in want of some more woofery, you can pick up a copy of One Good Catch by clicking one of the links below. I know I do/will!

Kobo

All Romance Ebooks

B&N

Amazon

Melissa Maygrove's "Come Back"

I know; you look at the book cover image over on the left and wonder what the devil a sweet'n'spicy romance novel like that is doing in Goth Mom Lite's dark little claws. Well, even Goths can hanker after a wholesome love story set in the old American west (hey, the dudes from Fields of the Nephilim wore friggin' gaucho hats, and you can't get any Gothier than those cats).

Anyway, I'd been away from teh Interwebz for so long that when I learned fellow blogger and writer Melissa Maygrove had released her debut novel Come Back, I emitted a very unGothlike "SQUEE!" and made haste to purchase/devour it. Just the idea of it made me reminisce about the halcyon days of my youth, when I watched shows like Little House on the Prairie and believed that Good always beats out Evil and True Love comes to all. So if, like me, you're experiencing any bitterness or cynicism about life and/or love, Come Back is the perfect antidote.

Right, so; rather than cutting/pasting the book blurb, I thought I'd let Maygrove's truly gorgeous book trailer (Dudes, it gave me goosebumps, and I'm totally not exaggerating) tell you what you need to know (I recommend popping the viewer out for your visual pleasure).

::Sighs of romance-novel-digging-happiness::

My book-reading had been really slow. Then I picked up Come Back and inhaled it. It engaged me straightaway and I really just adored it. I wrote a little review for it on Goodreads and when Melissa e-mailed to thank me, I offered to interview her and feature the book on my blog this week. That's how much I liked the book, folks; I freakin' volunteered to do work I didn't have to do which, as anyone who knows me will attest, is about as likely an event as the proverbial pigs becoming airborne. Anyway, I winged some questions at the gal, to which she lobbed back the following answers:

“Come Back” is set in the old American West—how do you think you’d fare in that era? What modern convenience would you most hate to lose? Which do you think you’d do just fine without?

Melissa Maygrove

In some ways, I'd fare well. I've always felt I was born a century too late. But, due to some heart defects I was born with, I wouldn't have survived if I'd been born even one year before I was. So, in that respect, I wouldn't have fared well at all.

I'd hate to lose air conditioning. (Blogger's note: Gawd, so would I!)

I'd be perfectly peachy without TV. :)

In the book, heroine Becca and her family are part of a wagon train of people seeking better fortunes in California. It’s noted that folks making their way out west often had to dump things along the way. In your research, did you uncover any unusual items being found along those wagon trails? If it were you who had to part with something, what would be the first thing you’d toss?

I didn't really come across anything unusual, but that was where the inspiration for the book came from. My daughter and I once read a story together about a teen traveling west on the Oregon Trail (Becca and Seth travel the Gila Trail). When I read about westward travelers dumping belongings, I thought about how a young woman who'd been abandoned might use those things to survive, and off my imagination went.

Hm... I suppose I'd dump heavy items, such as furniture that wouldn't be needed until I reached my destination and could be replaced. Of course, if I'd done as the wagon captain instructed and hadn't overloaded my wagon, I wouldn't find myself in that unfortunate situation. ;)

What do you think was the greatest challenge facing a woman of Becca’s age, back in the mid-1800s?

The hardships of life (large families, the manual labor of growing and preparing food, chores, etc.) combined with the fact that women had few rights. We romanticize things in novels. Many men were honorable gentlemen, but many weren't, and it was a patriarchal society.

What bit of advice might you offer a man courting a gal in the old West? Would you offer that same advice to a 21st Century man as well?

Treat your lady with respect and don't ever strike her or betray her. That's important no matter what century you live in.

Amen, sister!

Below's an excerpt and all the pertinent buy/author links. I hope y'all will give Come Back a closer look; I recommend it to anyone in need of a bit of heart-warming and blood-bubbling lovin'.

*     *     *     *     *

A humorless chuckle echoed in the musty space. “And after years of living with a man who has no means to support you, will you still love me then?”
 
Becca wrapped her arms around him and pressed her cheek to his back. “I’ll love you no matter what.”
 
He straightened and his hands left the table, but he made no move to touch her. “Thanks for trying, but like I’ve told you, you’re not a very good liar.”
 
“I’m not lying.” She clung to him tightly and fought back a sob.
 
He didn’t react. Just stood there like a tower of stone.
 
A surge of anger pushed back her tears. If he didn’t want her, he was going to have to face her and say it. She wasn’t giving up this time.
 
Becca let go of him and stepped back. “If you regret marrying me, then turn around and tell me so.”
 
She gave him plenty of time to respond, but he didn’t move. Didn’t speak.
 
Embracing him again, she splayed her hands across his chest. She stood on her toes and grazed her lips across the back of his neck.
 
A shudder rippled through him and raised little bumps on his skin. Her tower of stone was beginning to crack.
 
“You can push me away and act like you don’t care,” she whispered, her breath skimming his ear, “but I’m not giving up. Do you want to know why? Because I’m not the one pretending.” Becca slid her hand lower and molded her fingers around the evidence of his arousal. “You are.”

Seth ripped her hands from his body and spun around with a growl. His lips were on hers before she could suck in a breath. He banded his arms around her, crushing her to him, and ravaged her mouth like a man possessed.
 
“You picked the wrong man to love,” he rasped when he came up for air.
 
“No I didn’t!” she shot back as his mouth came down on hers.
 
Seth’s hands roamed her body, matching the desperation of his kiss. And she gave it right back, groping and clawing as if she couldn’t get enough. She never would.

*     *     *     *     *

(W00F!)

Where to find Come Back:

Amazon / Kindle / Barnes & Noble / Nook / Kobo

Goodreads

Where to find Melissa Maygrove:
Website / Blog / Twitter @MelissaMaygrove / Facebook / Google+

 

*     *     *     *     *

That Fatal Kiss is HERE!

OK, well, not right here, but, you know,
available for sale on the following sites:

E-Books

Amazon.com (for Kindle)

Barnes and Noble (for Nook)

Smashwords
(for most other e-readers,
including those by Apple, Sony, and Kobo)

Print Version Coming Soon!

For a chance to win a free e-copy, simply enter a comment, below*.
Three winners will be chosen at random.

*Edited to add: comments left up to/including Sunday, September 29, will be entered in the drawing. Winners will be announced the following week.

And just in case you need a reminder of what the story's all about:

Feared by mortals for his inexorable power, and loathed by his fellow Greek gods for the same, Hades rules the Underworld alone.  A stark eternity looms before him until he discovers Persephone. Struck by the youthful goddess’ beauty, kindness, and spirit, he must have her. But Hades believes Persephone could never love him, and so he conspires with his powerful brother, Zeus, to take her by force.

Persephone too seeks a mate but her possessive mother, the goddess Demeter, frustrates her husband hunting. Then Hades abducts Persephone, tearing her away from the Upperworld she loves to reign with him in the dank depths below. Though outraged, Persephone cannot deny the desire ignited within her by the dark lord’s touch. And even as she hopes that Demeter will unearth her, Persephone aches to surrender to the heat in Hades’ immortal soul.

And don't forget to visit all the stops along my blog tour this week!

Monday, September 23, 2013

Defending the Pen (Yolanda Renée)

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Daily (w)rite (Damyanti)

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Melissa's Imaginarium (Melissa Bradley)

Friday, September 27, 2013

Mina Burrows

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Word + Stuff (Trisha F)

24 Hours Till Release Day!

Don't...don't you want me?

And so the countdown begins. Tomorrow, I unleash my debut novel upon the world.

Can you say butterflies in the stomach? 'Cause I sure can.

To lend me their support, these ginchy blogging gals are hosting my That Fatal Kiss blog tour, as follows:

Monday, September 23, 2013
Defending the Pen (Yolanda Renée)

Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Word + Stuff (Trisha F)

Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Daily (w)rite (Damyanti)

Thursday, September 26, 2013
Melissa's Imaginarium (Melissa Bradley)

Friday, September 27, 2013
Mina Burrows

Please visit these groovy gurls on their respective hosting days, and be sure to come back to my blog TOMORROW for my release day giveaway!

A Spotlight on "Rearranged" by Tina Carreiro!

Because I'm a big believer in writers having one another's backs, I will occasionally put a "spotlight" on an author's upcoming or hot-off-the-shelf book. Today, the spotlight's on...

Rearranged by Tina Carreiro!

The Book:

Carly West is good at taking care of herself—she’s been doing it since her mama died. She can even make marrying a man she didn’t choose work. But when gorgeous ranch foreman, Wade Dawson struts into her life, everything changes. Her life starts to unravel, lies are uncovered, and the only comfort she finds is in the arms of a stranger.

Wade Dawson has one thing on his mind, to fulfill his brother’s responsibilities and get the hell out of this small town. But he soon finds out he wasn’t only hired to watch the ranch, but to see that the farmer’s daughter makes it down the aisle. It’s the first job he isn’t sure he can follow through with. But if he doesn’t, his brother’s reputation and freedom is at stake.

Bound by obligation to marry another man…

Bound by blood to save his brother…

Will one night destroy it all?


The Excerpt:

“Fast I can do. It’s soft and slow I’m goin’ to have a problem with.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Different meanin’ for different people, mine’s personal.” He placed his palms against the wall by her ears.

“I don’t understand.”

He leaned his forehead against hers. “Fuck… you’re killin’ me, darlin’.” His fingers skimmed across her cheekbone and disappeared into her hair. “Do you remember what I said about kissin’?” His hazel eyes trapped hers.

“It can be dangerous?”

“Yes. And slow… slow is very dangerous.” He leaned forward, brushed his lips across hers, and all the air left her lungs. Something strange started in the depths of her stomach, and her skin flushed. Her nipples tightened, growing to the point of pain as they rubbed against the cotton fabric of her bra.

His eyes flicked toward them, a deep grunt sounded from his chest, and his hand tightened in her hair. He held her with a firm grip and leaned his forehead back against hers. “Reach down, and undo my jeans.”

She was trapped. Even if she wanted to retreat, there was nowhere for her to go. He’d invaded her space. Intense eyes stared right into hers as if he was demanding her deepest secrets with one hand buried inside her hair and the other curled around her neck. A rock hard, well-defined stomach pressed against her belly. The skin-on-skin contact ignited a slow burn that was sure to grow into a wildfire any minute. If she weren’t leaning against the wall, she’d collapse.

The Author:

Tina spends her days writing and creating fantasy worlds until she’s forced back into reality where she pretends to be “normal.” When not writing, she’s a full-time cub scout/camping/gymnastic/PS3 mom for her son and daughter and a devoted wife to her leading man, the love of her life-husband. She’s addicted to writing, romance novels, zombie movies, and coffee with caramel macchiato creamer. She fully believes in karma and pours her heart into everything she does.  She loves life and embraces every moment of it.

The Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Buy Rearranged by Tina Carreiro here:
Amazon / All Romance / Barnes & Noble  
Print - Amazon

Sparks ~ Now I Mean BUSINESS...

...cards.

So, like, in my quest to learn all I can about romance publishing, the better to sell my mythological romance novel, I became a member of Romance Writers of America (RWA). This is a fabulous organization which provides all sorts of resources for folks wanting to go either the traditional publishing or indie route. There are local RWA chapters across the country too, so I connected with the NYC chapter and attended my first meeting a couple of Saturdays ago. I was THRILLED to be in a room full of chicks and dudes who love romance so damned much they write it. (Rock on!)

At the meeting, lots of great author news and info on smaller romance writer conferences was shared, there was a Q & A with a panel of digital publishing professionals, and then breakout sessions. The one in which I participated was a small critique group, which proved to be wonderfully supportive and inspiring. I had a fabulous time and can't wait for next month's meeting!

(Sorry I'm so exclamatory! I'm just so totally stoked about it all!!!)

Ahem.

Anyway, I wanted to exchange contact info with some folks before I left and was chagrined when a couple of them handed me their gorgeous business cards and I had to scribble my e-mail address on a dog-eared slip of paper. Ugh. I felt like such a loser. (Please understand, none of the gals made me feel like a loser—I managed to feel that way all by myself.)

But seriously, I realized that, if I want to be considered a professional writer, I should present myself professionally and whatnot. So...I ordered myself some business cards! Check out the "preview" of the front and back images:

Isn't this just the coolest?????

The funny thing is, when I selected this template, I really liked the sinuous image of the smoke but didn't see anything other than smoke, right? When I sent this pic to my sister, Star, to get her opinion, she wrote back:

i like it--but i want to check to see if this is on purpose because if it's there it should be intentional:  in the smoke on the front of the card i see something that looks like, i dunno, some kind of fantastical creature. if that's what you're going for, success! if not, do you see it? do you wanna?

And I had this Scooby Doo sorta, "Roh?" moment. Really? A fantastical creature and I missed it? I mean, how's that even possible?

So I called over a co-worker ('cause, you know, you're totally supposed to be doing this kinda shit at your day job) and she's like, "Is that supposed to be an x-ray of a leg and hip socket?" I had to LOL, but I could see what she meant.

After she left, I kept staring at the smoke and then the magic happened: I saw two figures, the one on the right taller than the other and smiling somewhat wickedly, while the figure on the left seemed to be holding a bouquet in her arm, which made me think of the hero and heroine of my upcoming debut novel, when Hades first encounters Persephone (and snatches her up).

Well, naturally, this appealed to me, but I wondered what other eyes might see. I hollered at another co-worker, who saw all of the above, plus a fetus. Surreal!

Hermann Rorschach was hawt.
By Anonymous [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Though it's not intentional on my part, I rather heart the whimsy of it—that the smoke appears as different things to different folks. It's like my own kooky Rorschach test! Dig it!!! (And ordered it!) (Well, them. 250 cards, to be precise, from Vistaprint.com.)

So what do you see
in the smoke?

Writerly Things ~ Revediting

*Expletives were not deleted from this post.*

A marked-up-for-editing snippet from my book, That Fatal Kiss, coming this September!
Lord willing and the police permitting, as my Portuguese forebears would say.

I've been on "stay-cation" since Tuesday, June 18. I had a bunch of revisions/editing to do (hence, "revediting"), based on the notes of the super gal* I employed to copy-edit That Fatal Kiss (TFK). Spent the first couple weeks mostly catching up with Facebook and the Twitter, futzing with my blog's font and text color (as you may already know), and watching lotsa Bones re-runs on the tee-vee. So, you know, I was super productive.

Knowing full well that I needed to get my ass in gear if I wanted to release my book on time, I pushed myself as hard as I could to get through my revediting during my last week off. Nearly every waking hour, for the past 7 days, were spent working on my manuscript.

Please understand that I'm in love with my main characters, Hades and Persephone. I adore them. I lust after them in a quasi-incestuous way. (OK, I lust after Hades, but I think Persephone's a super cool chick.) I've enjoyed tagging along on their courtship journey, immensely.

But I swear, if I have to:

• do one more damned "Find and Replace" because, somehow, I missed getting rid of a word the first hundred times I edited this book;
• pore through this manuscript, looking for quotation marks that are in a font different from the text (how the fuck did that happen???);
• "...delete one more goddamn adverb!" she typed vexedly;

just one more motherfucking time, I may have to cut my own throat.

I am so heartily tired of working on this bitch. SO. TIRED. I'm more than ready to hire someone to do a final post-revediting proofread, format this shit for e-readers, and make this fucker available for purchase online. TFK, I am DONE with you! DONE, DONE, DONE!!!!!

::sighs::

OK, I know I'm not done with you. I know we still have some matters to sort out before I can unleash you upon an unsuspecting world. And you know I heart you, baby, right? Right??? I just need a little breakie-woo. And then I'm-a polish you off, dress you up real purty-like, and put you up on them virtual bookshelves so others can fall in love with you too. XOXOX

*The super gal I hired to edit TFK is Jena O'Connor. Jena has a B.S. and M.A. in English, teaches English at the high school level and has taught writing at the college level, and has released her own romance novel, Mixing Up a Memory. She's friendly, prompt, highly skilled, and has extensive knowledge of the romance genre. Also, her rates are amazingly affordable and she does great work. If you need an editor, I highly recommend you check out her Web site, Practical Proofing.

At Home With The King & Queen of the Underworld

As I mentioned last week, groovy fellow blogger Allyson Lindt promotes her new contemporary romance, Conflict of Interest, by hosting a reverse blog tour. Rather than guest posting about her book on other bloggers' sites, she's welcomed other writers to pimp their books on her site during the month of May!

Today, she features my interview with Hades and Persephone, Rulers of the Greek Underworld, who are also the hero/heroine of my romance novel That Fatal Kiss (coming later in 2013!). CLICK HERE to read the interview and be sure to leave lots of lovely comments over there! (S'il vous plaît!)

UPDATED TO ADD:
Y'all, I'm gonna leave this post up, in lieu of a Thursday post and in the spirit of unabashed self-promotion. 'Cause, you know, why not? ;-)

Erotica ~ Aphrodisiacs from A to Z

Readers, please note that my Adult Content warning was never yet so merited as it is today.

Forewarned (twice, now) is fairwarned.

Erotica is a term I've struggled to understand. As a once-very-frequent, then not-at-all-frequent, then once-again-regular reader of romance novels, I've read a lot of sexy sex-scenes. I latched onto romance novels when I was in about fifth or sixth grade, as the nuns in my grammar school supplemented the classroom's library with Harlequins and Silhouettes. (I know, it's weird the gals woulda put that stuff out there, but what they made accessible to us would now be termed "sweet" romances, with kissing and broody male posturing, but not much in the way of nookie.) From there, I graduated to other 80s romance fare and received an education, boy. Ahem.

III Polly Philips and the Young Italian
by Édouard-Henri Avril

Anyway, I've since read loads of romance novels and the ones I've read in the last, oh, 15 years, give or take, have lots of sexy-sex in them. So I'm not really sure what distinguishes them from erotica, except that some say romance novels are courtship tales which may/may not have sex in them, whereas erotica will always have sex at the core of the protagonists' relationship(s). Readers, if you can provide me with a better definition than this, I'd love to see it, please.

Y U SO SEXY?
I'd say, "Duh," but I like to think I'm a bit more elegant than that. You know, you read about what this dude's doin' to that gal and how homegirl reciprocates in ways which are illegal in some of the 48 contiguous, you might get a little turned on, right? (Moreover; duh.)

RECIPES*

• Memoirs of Fanny Hill by John Cleland
• The Story of O by Dominique Aury
• Alt Sex Stories Text Repository

*All links lead to extremely explicit sites. If you are under 18 or easily freaked out by frank discussions and fictional tales about sex, stay the hell away from those sites and don't give me a hard time 'cause you went and clicked on the link(s) anyway, jeeeeeeeez.

Click here to learn more about erotica (and see primary Source material for this post).

Blogging from A to Z April 2013

Indie-Publishing Timeframe? (IASOS)

So, here's my first Indie Author SOS post, which I address to other writers who've gone boldly where they hadn't ventured before—the thrilling/terrifying world of independent publishing!

I plan to publish my Greek-myth inspired romance novel, That Fatal Kiss, later this year. I'm shooting for the first day of fall which, from today, is about 9 months away.

Those of you who've been down this road already, what do y'all think: is 9 months enough time to get this shit together? (You know, assuming I've got my shit together?)

I'm in the final (hah!) revision stages and anticipate having my final (hah!) draft complete by the end of January. Yeah, this January. (I'm emphasizing this for my own benefit, so I'm sure to kick my own ass into getting it done by the time I've publicly said I would. Feel free to bust my chops if I've not kept my word.) (But gently; I'm a delicate flower.) (Yes, I am. Stop laughing.)

In an upcoming IASOS post, I'll list the things I believe need doing to make this indie-pubbing lark a reality, but until then, should I budget for more time, less, or does 9 months seem about right? Please leave your thoughts in the comments and feel free to Tweet/Facebook this to encourage other indie authors to chime in!

The easiest way to share this post on the social media of your choice is to click one of the little icons above this post's tag: "Posted by Mina Lobo at 12:00 AM." THANKS!