“We are family. I got all my sisters with me . . .” Come on, everybody. Sing it! You all know that great Pointer Sisters song!
So how does that become a Tuesday Tip? Well, people often ask me about how to do effective promotion as a writer and there’s lots of ideas to discuss. A website, blog, Myspace and Facebook page. Penny for penny, the Internet is probably one of the most effective ways a writer, or any other artist, can meet people and spread the word about what they are doing.
But like anything else, going it alone on the Internet can be a lonely affair, as it can be going it alone at signings and other events.
But if you’ve got family, especially writing family, the world becomes a much smaller place. For me, I got my first writing family at my local RWA chapter in New Jersey. I recently joined the Orange County chapter in California since I have a number of friends in the chapter and like getting out to California.
One thing I’ve recently done is band together with other writers for some new endeavors. A few years ago I went to a conference down in Miami and got to hang out with some old and dear friends, but also got to know some new and really great women. We banded together to form an e-mail loop to share ideas and thoughts and not be so alone. We actually titled the group and our new website NUNCASOLA which means “Never Alone”.
Another thing I’ll be doing next year as part of a group of friends is hosting a mixer at the 2009 RT Convention in Orlando. We’ll be meeting readers, booksellers and other writers and sharing a good time with them. The STREET PARTY mixer was the brainstorm of my friend Kimberly Terry, but the lesson of the story is that together we can do more than we could alone.
When you’re considering promotion, consider not only the things that promote only you, but see if you can’t find a writing family to help support your efforts to get the word out about your writing.
For your enjoyment, courtesy of The Pointer Sisters and Rhino Entertainment, here’s WE ARE FAMILY!
Making any kind of choice can sometimes be rough. Making the difficult choice can alter the course of your life. It’s why I try not to second guess the choices people make in their lives. It’s why I lean toward allowing people to be able choose.
Which I guess is why I’m kind of surprised by some of what I’m hearing about Sarah Palin, the presumptive Republican VP candidate. I’m surprised to hear and read comments which seem to imply that there was something wrong about her choice to bring a Down’s Syndrome baby into this world.
I can’t imagine what it must feel like to be told your child will have special needs. A life altering experience for a mother, a father and a family.
I could understand how some would choose not to undertake such a difficult path, but being pro-choice is also about being able to decide to keep that child.
Some thoughts for today’s Thursday, along with a return to an earlier discussion about SENATOR Hilary Clinton and sexism since it seems we’re back to that now with this candidate. I’ve already heard her described as a soccer mom, beauty queen and the hottest governer in the country.
It’ll be interesting to see what else will be said during the course of the next few months.
On Wednesday, August 26th, I’m having a special guest blog by Lisa Jackson. She’ll be giving us a super sexy excerpt from her latest release, LEFT TO DIE. In addition, I’ll be picking two lucky winners to receive a copy of LEFT TO DIE, T-Shirt and notepad from everyone who leaves a comment before midnight EST on August 26th. The two lucky winners will also receive a box of books and a CALLING vampire novel t-shirt.
Plus — anyone who leaves the name of my next release (hint — it’s in December) as part of their blog comment will also get an autographed copy of HOLIDAY WITH A VAMPIRE.
Also remember, anyone who places this FURY CALLS widget on their website/myspace/facebook is eligible to receive a FREE CALLING t-shirt. Just load the widget and e-mail me a link to where I can find the widget. T-shirts will be available while supplies last.
Here’s the FURY CALLS Countdown widget. Just click on GET THIS WIDGET to get the code!
Last year I conducted a poll on multicultural fiction. I had a number of published authors (about 40) from diverse backgrounds offer their opinions on the state of mutlicultural fiction in publishing.
One of the topics on which I polled authors was Literary Segregation, namely, the practice of shelving books based on the author’s ethnicity or race or on the content of the book. This is something that happens in a number of book stores. I can’t speak as to whether it happens at many libraries as in general, I have not seen it done in my local libraries, but if you are aware of the practice at such locations, please chime in.
The vast majority of the writers were not in favor of this practice. Many felt that it reduced their sales and limited their opportunities for cultivating new readers who were not multicultural. During a recent discussion at the RWA National Conference, this issue arose once more and the consensus of the group that participated was again that this practice hurt diversity authors.
What do you think about this kind of segregation? Do you go to such sections in bookstores and/or libraries?
There seem to be many bookstores with African-American sections. Do you see similar sections for Latino books?
Hate to say it, but sometimes I’m a little more forgetful than I used to be. We all experience those brain fog moments for many reasons. Age. Stress. Medical reasons. So to stay sharp, I’ve gone back to doing something I used to do all the time as a kid — playing word search games and doing crossword puzzles.
For a great article from LIFETIME on playing games to keep your brain sharp, you can click here! The article mentions a number of games/DVDs, but you can also do puzzles, Soduku and other activities. Also check out what the article says about chocolate and cocoa! Always a good thing when science reaffirms the magic of such tasty things.
Also, for all you Harlequin fans, they are running a Buy One Get One Free promotion from today, August 12 to August 14. You can click here for the BOGO Sale going on at Harlequin.
Not to mention a big WOO HOO as the first book in the Coltons series has hit the shelves. You can click here for Colton’s Secret Service by the wonderful Marie Ferrarella. My contribution to this series, SOLDIER’S SECRET CHILD, will be out in December 2008.
Promo or Perish? It’s a topic I’ve talked about during several workshops and I’d like to share just some basic ideas for what you should do to get the word out about yourself if you’re either pre-published or published.
But first — my own bit of goods news! Some of you may know from reading the main site that I accepted a two-book offer from Grand Central Publishing (formerly Time Warner Books) for some new romantic suspense novels with a paranormal element. What kind of paranormal element? The heroine is a cancer victim who is developing superhuman traits as a result of a genetic engineering treatment. Worse yet, she has to battle to keep her humanity while being hunted down for a murder she did not commit! The first book will be out in 2010.
Now back to today’s Tuesday Tip — Promo or Perish. If I had to list the top things an author can do to get the word out about themselves, here’s what they would be:
Internet Presence
Whether published or not, have a website, social network page or blog where people can meet you, learn about you and reach you. Make sure to keep it current with some recent news about what’s going on with you. There’s nothing worse than visiting a page and seeing that the last time it was updated was a year ago.
Press Releases
There are tons of sites on the web that allow you to do press releases either for free or for a nominal cost. If something really good happens, a contest win, new contract, etc., send out a press release. Also make sure to get the contact details for local papers, television and radio stations. Local papers love featuring a “local person done good” story and those kinds of grass roots stories are wonderful.
Articles
Are you an expert on something? Can you write an article about that subject? Did you recently travel somewhere interesting or do something different? Can you write an article to share your discoveries? Of course you can! We all have interesting things that we’ve done or information that we can share. Write an article and post it to one of the many sites that will publish it on the Net. Make sure that whatever site you use let’s you keep the copyright in the article.
Networking
You have a website/blog, I have a website/blog. Let’s get together somehow. Exchange links with friends, fellow authors or sites that would be of interest in connection with what you are doing. For example, I’m on a number of romance, paranormal, vampire and Latino sites. If you’ve got a blog, do a blog tour or guest blog at someone else’s blog. Invite people to blog at your place!
Some of the local papers this morning are talking about the message of hope that Senator Obama brings to minorities. I wonder why none of them are talking about the message of futility that his nomination brings to a group that is a majority in number, but a minority in terms of power.
Want to know how many women have ever served in Congress as either Representatives or Senators? Click here for the list. According to the official Congressional website at http://womenincongress.house.gov/, “Since 1917, when Representative Jeannette Rankin of Montana became the first woman to serve in Congress, 244 more women have served as U.S. Representatives or Senators.”
How many women are currently serving in Congress? Click here for the list. According to the official website, “Eighty-nine of the 245 women who have served in Congress are current Members—74 in the House and 16 in the Senate.”
89 women out of 535 Representatives and Senators (click here for the breakdown on how many in each part of Congress.)
Doing the math, that means that roughly 17% of our Congress is female while women are 50.7% of the population.
I don’t know about you, but the political system seems like an Old Boys Network to me and the numbers are doing little to change that idea as is the recent experience with Senator Clinton. Before I continue, I want to make it clear that my intent is not to bash anyone or to support anyone. Rather, it’s a discussion on gender in politics in a very general sense.
Think about how many times the media referred to the emotions Senator Clinton showed on the campaign trail. I guess the point of that was to show that there’s no crying in politics?
Think about how many times Senator Clinton was referred to as Mrs. Clinton.
Think about how many times Senator Clinton was referred to as “Hilary.”
Going a little further with that last one, for those in office environments, ask yourself whether the men are generally referred to as “Mr. So-and-So” or by their first names. Then ask yourself how often women are referred to solely by their first names.
What does use of just a first name say? It’s definitely a sign of familiarity and you know that old saying about what familiarity brings. But when the men are Mr. and the women are familiar, isn’t that a subtle sign that one is on a higher level than the other?
Same thing with stripping the “Senator” title and using “Mrs.”. It’s a stripping way of the power behind the title. It’s a reduction in status.
Taking it to the next step. How many times have you heard that women have to work harder for less pay than a man in a comparable position?
So why is it that as a physical majority women lack political power? Or maybe you don’t agree with that and if not, I’d love to hear your take on things.
Those of you who work outside the home understand the dreaded words “The Office Fridge”.
I went to get some milk for my coffee this morning and there were two hard-boiled unshelled eggs there in a small plastic container. At least, I think they were eggs. The only remaining white part was where the boiled egg white was in contact with the plastic lid, thereby confirming to me the message in those Foodsaver commercials that air does weird things to food.
The rest was of the eggs were a weird brown color and I think one of them may have winked at me!
Of course, I dared not look at the rest of the fridge nor breathe since it seems like it’s time for that bimonthly emptying and major scrub down that occurs to remove the food that has now seemingly turned into someone’s science experiment.
I always wonder if the poor cleaning person wears a Hazmat suit for that task.
Unfortunately, those who deal with Office Fridges know that the science experiment part is only the tip of the iceberg. There’s the Office Fridge Thief who steals people’s lunches or worse yet — just takes a bite and PUTS IT BACK!! I kid you not.
Considering that our Office Fridge is in a fairly visible and trafficked area, you wonder how the Office Fridge Thief manages it. You also wish that one day that person would take a bite out of one of those science experiments.
So, have you had similar experiences with your Office Fridge? Did your fridge at home provide an unexpected surprise one day? Share the uglies this morning with us!
On a parting note, check out the cool countdown widget I created for FURY CALLS, the next book in THE CALLING Vampire series which will be out in March 2009. You can click here to download the code for the widget and post it on your sites/Myspace pages! Send me a screen print of it once it’s on your site or a link to the site with the widget and I’ll send the first 50 people who do so a CALLING t-shirt!
The birds, the bees and the butterflies surely have you thinking about certain things, but this Tuesday Tip is not about sex, but rather, bringing birds, bees and butterflies into your garden!
If you want to enjoy the sights and sounds of birds, a bird feeder and bird bath are the easiest way to bring birds into your area. What kinds of birds will depend on where you are geographically, but also on the kind of food you put out. Song birds and finches love thistle, millet and smaller seeds. Cardinals love sunflower seeds. Click here for info on choosing the right food and feeder.
Keep fresh water around for the birds that visit. If you’re using a bird bath, make sure to change the water frequently. Providing homes for birds is also beneficial. We have two small birdhouses beneath a wisteria arbor and for the last ten years, we’ve had the same birds return to nest. They are tiny beautiful little songbirds and quite amusing to watch.
Butterflies are beautiful in the garden. The single best plant that I’ve put in the garden is a purple butterfly bush. Toward the end of the summer when it is in bloom, I have dozens of butterflies flitting amongst the flowers as well as some bees. Also choose brightly colored flowers to attract both butterflies and hummingbirds. Pink, purple and blue flowers are the best ones for drawing in butterflies. Remember to not use pesticides on the plants!
As for bees, they are one of the best pollinators you can have in the garden, but there is a serious decline in the U.S. bee population. In my own garden, I see a lot less bees in the area of plants that used to see a lot of bee activity.
How can you make your garden bee-friendly. Leave some areas free of mulch so that bees can build nests below-ground. Have large patches of plants with flowers and make sure there are blooms all summer long. Like some birds, bees seem to gravitate toward blues, purples and pinks in the garden. Also, do not use pesticides on the flowers. Finally, have an area where bees can get some water. Click here to check out a list of bee-friendly plants.
Hope this will help your summer months be filled with the beautiful B’s — birds, bees and butterflies!
On another note — Carol G is the winner of the Women, Words and Wisdom blog contest. Please email me your postal address so I can send your prize.
Today’s the Day! My Women, Words and Wisdom story. When I first heard about the topic, I had no doubt what I was going to write about . . . my mom and the lessons she taught me.
Actually, one lesson in particular — That you could accomplish anything in life if you worked hard enough and never gave up.
My mom knew about never giving up. When she lived in Cuba, she didn’t like Batista so she helped make a change. When that change didn’t work out the way she envisioned, she tried to undo what she had done. That forced her into exile, but worse yet, had her making a very difficult decision — ending up in jail or leaving her two young daughters behind in Cuba while she fled to the United States.
When I mean young, I really mean young. I was just over two years old and my little sister was six months old. Even before I was old enough to have a child of my own, I understood how difficult a choice that must have been. Your life or leaving behind the things you loved most.
But my mom did it. And in the years that followed, she not only taught my sister and I that we could accomplish anything we wanted, she showed us by doing the same. She worked hard, struggling against a lot of odds back in the early sixties.
For starters, people didn’t want Cubans in their apartment buildings or neighborhoods even though they loved watching Ricky and Lucy. That kind of acceptance was mostly on the television tube. Mostly because there were some very kind people as well. Kindness overcame intolerance, a lesson also learned.
Mom was a working woman, something more common in the Sixties than in the Fifties, but certainly not as common as it is today. Worse, she was a woman in a man’s world — the legal profession.
But she persevered and worked hard. She pursued and obtained the American Dream — a house in the suburbs, car and college for her kids. Education was something she firmly believed in for her children because she believed, as had her dad, that they can take everything you own away from you, but they can’t take what’s in your mind. That’s yours forever.
So by example and by word, mom tattooed in my brain to never give up and always work hard. It’s something that’s served me well in my life. When things don’t necessarily go my way, I stop and ask myself, “Is this something I really want? Is this what’s best for me and my family?”
If the answer is yes — I go for it. Wholeheartedly and with every fiber of my being. Some say I’m mad crazy driven and they’re probably right. I’m my mother’s daughter and I know that I can accomplish anything that I desire if I persevere.
In the publishing world, that’s an especially good attitude. My friend Lara Rios blogged during the tour about Wisdom Applied to Writing and had Persistence as a necessary trait for writers as well as for all other aspects of your life. So true.
Persistence. Perseverance. Couple them with hard work. It equals Heart to me. It’s what keeps you always reaching for your dreams.
So I leave you those thoughts today from a very wise woman — my mom. I also have a special gift to you from me and from another friend who understands the words persistence and perseverance — Berta Platas.
Long before Indiana Jones found the Crystal Skull, six remarkable women came together and became the Skull Sisters. I had been working on this concept with some good friends and Berta and I were on the verge of selling the Skull Sisters series when the publisher decided to close the line!
Perseverance, I tell myself. We haven’t given up hope that one day this series will be acquired. For now, enjoy some action and adventure with some totally kick-ass heroines and the mystical crystal skulls. Be sure to pop over to Berta’s Blogspot to read from her story in the series!
Don’t forget that coupled with those thoughts, we’ve got a contest going on! Leave a message on this blog to win a prize of a complete collection of the SOUTH BEACH CHICAS books as well as a HOLIDAY WITH A VAMPIRE color t-shirt!
And don’t forget to check out all the other stops on the tour for their stories and prizes (look at the end of this post for the other stops!). I hope you enjoy reading from all these amazing women.
So last but not least, here’s the extra special Women, Words and Wisdom Free read — an excerpt from Book One in the Skull Sisters series! You can visit www.skullsisters.com for more info on the series.
Chapter 1
“Run!”
Sara Mendoza had taken no more than a step or two from the temple excavation when an explosion rocked the structure behind her.
She hurtled through the air, arms and legs flailing. A huge fireball from the detonation chased after her. As she neared her objective — a strategically placed crash mat — Sara tucked tight, preparing to absorb the blow from the landing. At the speed she traveled, the mat could be as hard as cement.
Her shoulder connected with the foam, but she maintained her natural momentum by rolling. Then that sixth sense that had served her so well in the past kicked in. Something was different from the earlier rehearsals.
Flattening instead of continuing with her controlled tumble, Sara raised her hand in anticipation of the blow. A tingle danced along her fingertips a second before sizzling heat skimmed along her body. A large piece of fiery debris sailed past her. With a dull thud, part of the scaffolding from around the excavation landed only a few feet away. It was a section that shouldn’t have come off the set.
The trio of pullers who had been busy helping her fly through the air thanks to the harness at her waist now quickly rushed forward with fire extinguishers to keep the crash mat from igniting.
Sara rose and stretched to work a kink out of her back. Reaching behind her, she undid the shackle which attached the cable to the harness beneath her shirt. Seeing that her co-workers had things under control, she hurried toward the trailer reserved for the stunt crew’s use. The RV was set quite a ways back from the temple built by the film crew in the Puerto Rican jungle.
She had one more scene to shoot today. She needed to mentally prepare and eventually change into the duplicate wardrobe that matched what the heroine of the movie would later be wearing. Plus — although she would deny it if anyone
asked — she was a little shaken about how close she had come to being pancaked by the flaming piece of the set.
“That was awesome, Sara. Way cool,” said the new assistant, a young man who was more boy than man and hoped to break into the business.
She forced a smile while they walked along and the assistant continued to carry on about her luck during her recent exploit. Her past luck during such feats had made her famous throughout the industry. No stunt was too hard or too dangerous for Sara Mendoza. The amazing part was that after nearly four years in the business, she was still in one piece, uninjured except for the occasional minor bump, bruise or road rash.
She snapped her hand up to silence the overeager assistant. “Gracias, Billy. Let’s just concentrate on the next one.” She hated the talk. Not that she was superstitious, but acknowledging her luck was almost like tempting the gods to remind her that she was human. Humans broke and bled and worse.
Right now soreness gradually awakened in the shoulder that had absorbed the brunt of the landing’s force. She opened the door to the trailer, but stopped the young assistant as he went to enter. “Do you think you can scrounge up an ice pack for my shoulder?”
“Do you need to see the doc? Is it bad?” he asked, almost too eagerly.
“An ice pack will do. Gracias.”
He scurried away, and she took a deep breath and entered the trailer.
Once inside, she walked to the small refrigerator, grabbed a can of Pepsi, and slugged down a good portion of the soda. Bracing her shaky hands along the counter in the kitchenette, she thought about the fact that she had just survived a close call. Not her first, but nevertheless scary.
Weakness slowly crept into her limbs along with a chill. A byproduct of the adrenaline rush from doing the stunt, she told herself, and finished off her drink. Combined with a little rest and some meditation to center herself, she would be ready for the next stunt later that afternoon.
A knock came at the door. Billy with the ice pack, she remembered, walked to the door and opened it.
His face was in shadow as he stood in the entryway, but Sara would have known it was Matt even if it was pitch black.
“Heard you had a slight problem,” Matt said.
Great, she thought. The shittiness of her day was now complete.
“I’m fine,” she said with a shrug, then grimaced at the twinge of pain and rubbed her shoulder.
Matt instantly moved to her side and eased away the collar of her shirt to expose the reddened spot at the top of her shoulder. Gently he ran his hand over the area and said, “I’ve already seen the crash mat and heard what the crew had to say. That’s not my idea of fine.”
She jerked back from his touch, flinching at the slight pain it created in her shoulder. “It’s nothing to worry about, ‘Mom’.”
“I checked and double-checked everything. That piece of the set shouldn’t have — ”
“Come off? We both know the unexpected can happen during a stunt. So just leave it alone already,” she nearly shouted, tired of Matt’s overprotective smothering. No one would intentionally rig the set to cause harm. Everyone on the crew was almost like family. None had a grudge to settle. At least, not that she knew, but in a cut throat business like Hollywood, anything was possible.
Matt clearly thought the accident might have been something else, but then again, Matt had been in paranoid mode since an accident on the set nearly two years earlier had badly injured him. He had been lucky to survive, but their relationship hadn’t. The stress and fear that remained with him after the incident had made it impossible for them to stay together.
Sara sensed that Matt itched to dredge up their battle about her stunt work. But instead he just stood there as she removed her shirt, followed by her black jeans to expose the flying harness. The main part of the harness encircled her waist snugly, while two straps slipped down and around the uppermost portion of her thighs. They were there to keep the harness from being jerked out of place during the stunt.
She tried to ignore Matt, who seemed disinclined to leave, but it proved difficult. Too much history joined them. A funny thing really. Matt had been the one to introduce her to the business. He had taught her much of what she knew. Had become her first lover.
Her hands fumbled with the webbing of one buckle and suddenly he stood there, brushing her hands aside.
He loomed over her, close to a foot taller than her own 5’4″ height. Broad-shouldered and still well-muscled despite the fact that he was now normally a stunt coordinator rather than an active participant.
She wouldn’t look at him while he undid the safety binding as easily as he had once undressed her. Caressed her.
She refused to notice the slight tremble in his hands when he accidentally brushed her skin with the back of his hand as he undid the second buckle and main lacings of the equipment.
The harness slipped off and Matt grasped it. She rushed to the opposite side of the trailer and grabbed her robe off a hook. Belting it securely, she turned and watched Matt check the equipment carefully, making sure that it was still in usable condition.
“It worked just fine.” She wished he would leave so she could get a little respite from his presence and prepare herself mentally for the next stunt.
“It’s great that the harness worked fine. What about the friggin’ piece of lumber that nearly flattened you? Was that fine as well?”
“I’m in once piece, Matt. That’s all that matters.” Despite saying that, she was a little spooked. Matt was right about one thing — he ran a tight ship where accidents rarely happened. She would have to keep a close eye on the preparations for the other stunts which remained to make sure no one was up to no good.
Meeting Matt’s gaze, she faked unconcerned and said, “There’s nothing to worry about.”
Matt nodded and seemed about to say something, but an angry buzz from her phone as it rested on the table prevented it.
She grabbed the cell phone and even though unfamiliar with the number showing up on the caller id, answered in order to avoid continuing the fight with Matt. “Sara Mendoza.”
“Ms. Mendoza? This is Detective Alvarez from the Huntington Beach PD. There’s been an incident at your home.”
Check out the rest of the tours on the Women, Words and Wisdom Blog tour:
Another thing I’ll be doing next year as part of a group of friends is hosting a mixer at the 2009 RT Convention in Orlando. We’ll be meeting readers, booksellers and other writers and sharing a good time with them. The STREET PARTY mixer was the brainstorm of my friend Kimberly Terry, but the lesson of the story is that together we can do more than we could alone.
Making any kind of choice can sometimes be rough. Making the difficult choice can alter the course of your life. It’s why I try not to second guess the choices people make in their lives. It’s why I lean toward allowing people to be able choose.
On Wednesday, August 26th, I’m having a special guest blog by Lisa Jackson. She’ll be giving us a super sexy excerpt from her latest release, LEFT TO DIE. In addition, I’ll be picking two lucky winners to receive a copy of LEFT TO DIE, T-Shirt and notepad from everyone who leaves a comment before midnight EST on August 26th. The two lucky winners will also receive a box of books and a CALLING vampire novel t-shirt.
Last year I conducted a poll on multicultural fiction. I had a number of published authors (about 40) from diverse backgrounds offer their opinions on the state of mutlicultural fiction in publishing.
Hate to say it, but sometimes I’m a little more forgetful than I used to be. We all experience those brain fog moments for many reasons. Age. Stress. Medical reasons. So to stay sharp, I’ve gone back to doing something I used to do all the time as a kid — playing word search games and doing crossword puzzles.
Also, for all you Harlequin fans, they are running a Buy One Get One Free promotion from today, August 12 to August 14. You 
Promo or Perish? It’s a topic I’ve talked about during several workshops and I’d like to share just some basic ideas for what you should do to get the word out about yourself if you’re either pre-published or published.
Some of the local papers this morning are talking about the message of hope that Senator Obama brings to minorities. I wonder why none of them are talking about the message of futility that his nomination brings to a group that is a majority in number, but a minority in terms of power.
Those of you who work outside the home understand the dreaded words “The Office Fridge”.
The birds, the bees and the butterflies surely have you thinking about certain things, but this Tuesday Tip is not about sex, but rather, bringing birds, bees and butterflies into your garden!
Today’s the Day! My Women, Words and Wisdom story. When I first heard about the topic, I had no doubt what I was going to write about . . . my mom and the lessons she taught me.
