November 2011 Heart of La. luncheon

Okay, last year it was Sherrilyn Kenyon…who’s it going to be this year?  Louisiana’s own Sabrina Jefferies will be appearing at Heart of Louisiana RWA’s Reader’s Luncheon this year at the fabulous Jubin’s of Baton Rouge.  Our registration fee is already paid and the first Saturday in November is marked on the calendar.  I love this luncheon…not only did we meet some wonderful people last year, but it gives us a chance to see our friends again.  Like the incredibly talented ladies, Farrah Rochon and Dawn Chartier, whose tables will be graced by Trish and I, as well as another writer/drafter friend, Debbie Dalme.   I’ve met a lot of the authors who’ll be there for book signings, i.e. Sabrina Jefferies, Deborah LeBlanc, Barbara Colley, and Diana Rowland.  Sabrina and her friend, Claudia Dain, were the tumultuous twosome at RWA Nationals in Orlando last year…where one was, so was the other.  They were both fabulous and friendly ladies who always stopped to ask how Trish and I were doing.  I doubt if she’ll remember meeting me, but it’ll be nice to see Sabrina again.

Deborah LeBlanc will be the emcee this year, and I’m very much looking forward to seeing her also. I met her at the luncheon for the first time last year and have bumped into her at a few functions since then.  I think I’ve already bought everything she’s written, so I hope she’s published something new since I last saw her.

Later,

Lori

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

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/