Decisions….Decisions!

Okay, so I’ve decided to self publish. Yes, I’m sending my work to agents and publishers. Yes, I’m constantly editing my manuscripts to make them tighter, better. Yes, I’m getting some fantastic feedback in the form of high quality rejection letters…any of you authors out there know that a high quality, personal rejection is much easier to swallow than a ‘form’ rejection. UGH!   But all in all, a good rejection doesn’t put money in your pocket.

So, as I said, I’ve decided to try the self publishing route. E-books and print on demand from both Amazon (Kindle) and Barnes and Noble (Nook).

The dilemma? Choosing a genre for my stories. They contain suspense and romance but I’ve been told they don’t exactly qualify as Romantic Suspense. WTH??? So, I kick into research mode and pull up all sorts of articles stating the differences between Fiction, Romance, Suspense, Mystery, etc.

What it comes down to is this…I write fiction. I write from both the women’s and men’s points of view. They have romance, some have mysteries, all have a little suspense, but not as the main storylines. The five (and a half) books I’ve written are a series, in that each book will have characters that are included in the following book.  I’ve even found a fantastic name for the series that works in the Lousiana story settings.  I call it “La Fleur de Love” series. My books are novels, because they all come in between 90,000 to 100,000 words. They have subplots with multiple characters and storylines.  The problem is, I can’t seem to follow the strict guidelines called for by the industry for one particular genre. So what does a rambling, rebel writer such as myself do in this situation?

She sells it as Mainstream Women’s Fiction. Why? Because it allows me to do what I do best in writing, which is to bend the rules…color outside the lines…have some fun with my stories.

All I can do now is get them out there, and hope I find a family of readers who have as much fun reading my work as I have writing it.

Later,
Lori

SOLA and KMM

January 15, 2011 SOLA Writers RWA meeting in Metairie, LA / Karen Marie Moning’s Arrival for Fever Con in the French Quarter

Last Saturday, daughter in law Trish and I took off on another small writer’s adventure. We left around 6 a.m. and made it to the library in Metairie by 9:30 for the chapter’s monthly meeting. New York Times best selling author (and friend, I’m proud to say) Shirley Jump was there as a guest speaker and giving a condensed version of her workshop, From Good to SOLD. Attending this meeting gave Trish and I the opportunity to meet up with friends, Dawn Chartier and Debbie Dalme, as well as surprise another friend, Farrah Rochon, with our unexpected presence.

We got to witness as Charlotte Parker, their in-coming president, presided over her first meeting as Prez. The meeting began at 10:00 a.m. sharp, and though Charlotte claimed to be nervous, I didn’t see any sign of it. She introduced the guest speaker, Shirley Jump, who spoke to a full house thanks to an advertisement in the previous week’s paper. Shirley has a remarkable way of giving you examples that make it easy to get her point across. After an hour of easy to follow lessons on plot, conflict, scene, sequel, dialogue, and showing versus telling, the meeting adjourned. I bought four books from Shirley, and had her authograph them for my soul sister, Arlene, and my daughters.

Everyone drove to the Picadilly down the street afterwards for lunch, where I got to spend another two hours talking to Shirley, Dawn, and Farrah, and getting to know other members of their hospitable group.

Le Pavillon Hotel in the the French Quarter of New Orleans

It just so happened that Karen Marie Moning, author of the Highlander and Fever series, was coming to New Orleans for the release of her latest book in the Fever series on the same day as the meeting. So Trish and I headed on down to the historically posh Le Pavillon Hotel in the French Quarter. Thank God Dawn led us there or we’d have been totally lost. While there, we met up with several other Fever Fans, a mother and her daughter, whom I truly believe I’ll be hearing from again…What do you say, Suzette and Christine?

We also met the absolutely adorable and sexy sounding Phil Gigante, who is the THE VOICE of Barrons in the audible version of the Fever books. He was sweet enough to take a photo with me, and even agreed to record a verrrry sexy message into my I Phone’s voice recorder. Unfortunately, after he left the hotel, I discovered that the entire time he thought he was recording, it was paused. RATS! And I was all ready to download the APP that would enable me to transfer it to this site as well as my blog. Let me just tell you ladies, here and now, it would have been a wonderful addition to my websites. What a set of pipes that man has to match his fantastic personality.

Trish and I would have LOVED to stay and get to know those women better, but we had to leave to make the three hour drive back home that same evening. So, instead of actually getting to meet and speak to Karen Moning, we had to be satisfied with watching her check into the hotel from several feet away. We left by four forty-five, just in time to avoid having to pay another three bucks to keep my car parked conveniently in front of the hotel. But still – that wasn’t bad for a spur of the moment trip to the French Quarter we hadn’t planned on making.

Many thanks to Debbie Dalme for calling her friend, Jennifer Zeffer and having her introduce us to everyone in their group. It was a blast and a truly enrichening addition to our trip to the SOLA Writers meeting.

Mais, chere, where I come from, we call that LAGNIAPPE! (lon-yop)

Good Morning!

Here’s a new blog site I’ve added to my list. Silvia Ney was at our Bayou Writers’ Group conference (the one I didn’t get to attend) so I didn’t get to meet her. She’s got a great blog on writing, though if any of you are interested.  She’s also running a contest and the prize is 1000 word critique of your work.  Go check it out – she has some great tips for writers!http://www.writinginwonderland.blogspot.com/

Christmas…Hope or Hype?

Okay, I admit it–I love holidays, especially the ones that fall during the autumn and winter months when it’s not so unbearably hot here in the south. I love it when the time changes back to the real time with short days and long, cool winter nights. I don’t even mind if it’s wet and cold, although I do sympathize with those unfortunates that have to work in it. I wish the words Daylight Savings Time could be erased from the English language! I like having all of that extra time to be inside my home in the evenings. I know…I’m weird but that’s just the way it is.

My excitement begins to build beginning at Halloween when my hubby and I deck the carport with decorations and sit there as we pass out the candy and other trinkets to the hundreds of children who show up every year. It grows as Thanksgiving nears and I burn up my laptop and internet with early holiday shopping. By December 1^st, I’m absolutely giddy with excitement.

One thing that puts a damper on my mood is to see Christmas decorations out while ghosts, goblins, turkeys, and pumpkins are still on display. I mean, really…two months of glass balls, glittery ornaments and candy canes? Must we suffer through the Christmas hype for that long? Doesn’t anyone out there feel as overwhelmed as I do?

I like Halloween. That doesn’t make me a heathen who partakes in satanic rituals. I love to see the children in their adorable, creative, and yes, sometimes a little scary, costumes. I love giving them candy, as well as small items like erasers, bookmarks, or necklaces. The children in town count on us to be there and I don’t want to disappoint them.  I hope we see them every October until I’m dead and buried.

I love Thanksgiving. That doesn’t mean I condone the slaughtering of Native Americans by the settlers. Native Americans whose ancestors, by the way, also settled way back when and got stuck there once the land masses separated. My ancestors didn’t do it. I come from Cajuns, people who were forced out of a country rather than swear allegiance to a royal who wouldn’t allow them to practice their religion. Those who survived the trip to Nova Scotia were deported from there later on – families split up – women and children left to fend for themselves without their husbands and fathers.  No aid, no apologies, no casinos, or welfare. They survived on their own, fending for themselves, and keeping to themselves to avoid the people who ridiculed them. My ancestors were treated no better than slaves or Native Americans but they survived and thrived in this wonderful new world.  

Am I politically incorrect for celebrating Thanksgiving? According to certain Facebook ads and You Tube videos, apparently I am. Cajun people, however, learned to take advantage of any reason to celebrate the lives we’re blessed with. I’m simply thankful to God for allowing me to live in the best country in the world.  (Yes, I still believe that, and I feel that anyone who doesn’t should pack their belongings and haul their ungrateful butts to a different part of the world.)  

I adore Christmas.  I know it’s not about online shopping, Black Friday, or good bargains. To me, it’s about stories like The Little Drummer Boy, It’s a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Carol, and much to my husband’s dismay, anything remotely Christmassy playing on the Hallmark channel during the month of  December. [1]

It’s about the joy of new birth, the gift of life, the wonder of miracles, and the brightest of all stars to lead us from the darkness into a bright, promising world.  It’s about treating others with kindness and generosity. It’s the Salvation Army bell ringers in front of a Wal-Mart, the Toys for Tots boxes, the call for food bank donations, coat drives, and being a secret Santa at the local church. It’s teaching my grandchildren that Christmas is about GIVING when I take them shopping to buy their parents an inexpensive gift.  It’s seeing the excitement and joy in their faces as they watch their moms and dads open the gifts they chose especially for them. It’s the joy in a child’s heart when her mommy wraps her in a hug and showers her with appreciative kisses…even when she knows the penguin salt and pepper shakers will stand out like a Chippendale dancer in a mosque amongst her Tuscan style kitchen décor.

It’s not about who has the prettiest tree or how many gifts are stacked up beneath it. It’s not about whose home is covered with more lights, whose yard filled with more snow globes, Christmas carousels, or inflatable Santas. No matter the denomination, if you’re a Christian you should know it’s about the greatest gift of all – the birth of Jesus Christ, our Lord and savior.

December 25th is the date chosen for us to celebrate his birth. Does it matter that we know he wasn’t born during the winter time? I don’t believe it does. What does matter is that we keep Jesus in our hearts all year long, not just during the month of December, and not just in the hour or two you may spend sitting in a church once a week.

It’s about the hope that one day we all learn to replace our greed and selfishness with kindness and generosity, that evil will be erased from the face of the earth.  It’s about looking someone in the eye and saying in a booming, cheerful voice, ”Merry Christmas!” instead of mumbling a weak “Happy Holidays” or “Season’s Greetings” in order not to offend someone who isn’t a Christian.  It’s about caring more about your belief than being politically correct. Finally, it’s about believing in something we cannot prove … and that, my friends, is called Faith.

Here’s praying you all have a holy and blessed Christmas. Please remember to give of yourself this Christmas Season.

Lori

 [1] Check out one called “The Christmas Card”. There’s a young gentleman named Nick Ballard from Moss Bluff, Louisiana playing the part of Jonesy, a soldier serving in Afghanistan. He’s my inspiration for one of the characters in my manuscript, Jackson Broussard, in Last First Kiss.  You can see a photo of him on my website under the Men of Louisiana page.

Giving Thanks

A little over a week ago I had over three dozen people in my cozy home, ranging from the age of 84 years to 2 and a half months old.  While some people may balk at having to host that many people, I fight for the chance to do it. I love family and I enjoy having everyone over at once. It’s always loud, full of commotion and laughter, as well as a few tears. The tears came this year when my four year old grandaughter smashed her fingers in the door. Poor little girl cried so hard she could hardly catch her breath. The second near tear situation came when my five year old Godson bit my ten year old grandaughter. I don’t think he broke the skin but his dad fussed at him good, none the less. Percentage wise, the tears were minor compared to the laughter and feelings of absolute joy at being with family members seldom seen.

What can I say about the menu? My bird in a bag (oven bag, that is) was succulent and juicy, the spiral cut ham, sweet and scrumptious. My sister and her husband brought a venison stew, whose main ingredient had been walking around minding its own business three days earlier, if my brother in law is to be believed. Absolutely delicious. I lucked out with my rice dressing – one of my best, by far, and it’s hard to screw up apple pies from Schwan’s. Throw in two different versions of cornbread dressing, two versions of green bean casserole, spinach casserole, cabbage, pecan and pumpkin pies,  not to mention a huge bowl of disappearing cherry delight dessert, and you’ve got a veritable feast. 

Sounds like alot of food, doesn’t it? It had all the makings of a bonanza of left overs crowding my refrigerator for a week. Fortunately, when all was said and done, the turkey was nothing but a stripped carcass, and the ham bone had just enough meat left on it to throw in a pot of dried black eyes the next day. We had a partial apple and pumpkin chiffon pies left, along with some rice and cornbread dressings, but that was it. 

During the day, I passed around crossword and word search puzzles I’d created using clues about members of my rather large family. I had door prizes for those who finished the puzzles first. I half expected it to go over like a lead kite with my family thinking it was a lame attempt at having them learn things about each other. Surprise of all surprises, they actually got into it and had fun. It turned out to be a total success and I’m already working on one for my family’s get together at Chicot Lake Park for an early Christmas.

Even though some family members had to leave earlier to go home, a good majority of them stayed to watch the New Orleans Saints beat the Dallas Cowboys in Dallas that afternoon. It wasn’t a pretty game, and our boys in black and gold performed far from their best-but it was good enough to beat Dallas that day and that’s all that counts at the end of the last quarter.

It made for a wonderful ending to a blessed day with the family members I love and cherish.

Now…it’s on to Christmas!

Great Expectations

Hello all. I want to talk about expectations today. What do we expect out of life? Do we expect to be treated fairly? To be treated with respect? To be loved unconditionally? Expectations are fine, but as we grow older, we learn that life doesn’t always treat us fairly, whether or not we deserve it. We also learn that, in order to be respected, we must first respect others. And we learn that unconditional love is sometimes doled out sparingly under extremely specific conditions. As a matter of fact, it’s pretty much relegated to the Holy Trinity and the family pet…in that order.

I celebrated my fifty-second birthday today. I had great expectations two years ago, on the big five-oh. I expected to be published by now…I’m not. I expected to be skinny…I’m not that, either. I expected to be better off financially than I was then, due to the success of my writing career.  (Refer to aforementioned expectation about not being published.)   Have I given up? Of course not. I’ll continue to write, whether I’m published or not, because I love it. I’ll continue to work out at the gym because, even if I never get down to my goal weight, I feel better by doing so.  

I’m a lucky person. I know this, because two people I care about have recently experienced devastating losses in the past two weeks. My thirteen year old grandaughter, Cat, lost her father on October 4th. He was only thirty-five.  At thirteen, poor Cat has to find a way to deal with the loss of a man who adored his little girl. How do you get over something like that? I wish I knew. 

A week later, my sister, Shelley, lost her husband to his battle with cancer. I say battle in the truest sense of the word, because Carl was a fighter…a true warrior when it came to his illness. “It took four cancers to kill him.” My sisters words, not mine.

I look at my husband and think, how do you get over something like that? Again, I wish I knew, so I could pass on some words of wisdom to her. 

As I said, I’m lucky, and I know it. My husband is here and relatively healthy. I’ve had one cancer scare,  but I’m cancer free now and healthy. We are surrounded by children and grandchildren whom we both adore. We’re both working and we are privileged to live in the best country in the world, despite its less than desireable political leaders (in my humble opinion, anyway).

So, what do I expect from life? I expect the chance to work hard for the things I want, to enjoy my grandchildren, my children, my husband, my work, my friends, and my writing. I expect to learn from the experiences that life has doled out to me and my loved ones, whether good or bad.  

What have I learned in fifty-two years? I’ve learned that it’s never too late to change your life for the better. It’s acceptable to stretch for that higher branch, reach for a happiness you’ve only dreamed of.  Two things that are never a waste of time are a good education and love.

I expect to make the most of my life. I hope that when it’s my time to leave this earth, people will remember me as the type of woman who made the most of her opportunities. I hope that when I’m gone, people will smile when they remember me. If I can accomplish that, my life will have been a success.

Hope in an email!

 

I have a bit of news for everyone.  While at RWA, I entered a crazy copy contest during a spotlight for Grand Central Publishing – it was just a game in which I had to create of list of words and try to be creative.  (See the image below of the crazy blurb they created using my word list.) A couple of weeks later they told me I’d won a fantastic free critique session from them because of it. I got my query letter, five page single-spaced synopsis, and first fifty pages of my manuscript ready and sent them off to be critiqued by one of GCP’s editors. 

Just before that, I sent a query letter w/short synopsis to Ms. Deb Werksman of Source Books Publishing.  I received an email from her on Monday that said she sent the query to Ms. Leah Hultenschmidt, the editor in charge of fictional romance, for ‘further consideration’ and that I should be hearing from her soon.  It had the sound of a form letter, but since it’s my very first non rejection letter, I’m taking it as a sign of hope.   I’m praying I get the results back from GCP’s critique session in time to put their suggestions to good use and send the improvements to Source Books when (not if – see how positive I’m thinking?) they request it.  So to all of you bloggers out there,  say a prayer for me and wish me luck!

I’ll keep you posted,

Lori