A quick word from me 🙂

Today, I’m sitting at my computer near my kitchen table smiling. It’s been two long years since I began the rewrite process of YA story I just couldn’t sit still with. The character came alive, but her story seemed to move and transform every time I tried to write it. I have it printed on my table ready to deliver to my beta readers. I’m so excited. I know there will be strings to tie up, but I have this sense in my gut, that this, finally, is the right draft of the right story.

I let my son carry the printed draft to the car. He said, “Wow mom, this is a lot of work.”

Yes. Yes it is.

And with that being said, I’m here to push the hard work of a friend. Lori’s new release is out there, and I think it’s pretty great how she’s here to share her own process and dreaming with you.

So here she is …

… Lori MacLaughlin

Photo by Shena Tschofen

Thanks so much, Erika, for hosting me!!

I’ve always been a “pantser” — meaning I write “by the seat of my pants.” I don’t use an outline, and I don’t plot much in advance. I have enough scene ideas to know the general plot direction. And I always know the beginning and ending. Armed with that knowledge and the maps I’ve drawn of my imaginary world, I forge ahead with my stories.

Tagging along with my main character, Tara Triannon, is a lot of fun. I get to watch the action unfold as if I were watching a movie in my head. Sometimes it’s hard to slow things down enough to get the words written, particularly if the plot skews to the side and takes off while I’m still picking my jaw up off the floor saying, “Wow, I didn’t see that coming!” But then, Tara is never predictable, which makes writing her story so much fun!

Tara has always been my alter ego. I love her spirit and her fierceness. When I first began creating my stories, I imagined the kinds of adventures that I’d like to have if I could somehow transport myself into my imaginary worlds. The more swordplay, the better. Fast-paced action stories appealed to me with character development built into them and a little romance thrown in.

I learned over the years, though, that getting that first draft down is the easy part. Then come numerous editing phases and critiquing sessions with fellow writers and then more editing. It may sound like a long and tedious process, but it’s so worth it when you see your beautiful story emerge from the cocoon of extraneous words.

I chose the self-publishing route for my books, partly because I didn’t want to wait the amount of time it might take to go the traditional route and partly because I liked the idea of having full control over the publishing process. It took me about a year from the point when I set my writing up as a business, rather than a hobby, to when my first book came out in both print and e-book.

Things I did:

1. I started my own business, Book and Sword Publishing, so I could publish my books under my own imprint.
2. Bought my own ISBNs.
3. Set up my website/blog and started building a social media presence.
4. Hired a professional editor and revised based on her feedback. (My book had already been critiqued and revised before reaching this point.)
5. Hired a professional designer to collaborate with me on the cover.
6. Had the book proofread.

If you’re going to self-publish, #’s 4, 5, and 6 are of utmost importance. The only way self-publishing will ever lose its stigma is if all self-publishers put out a quality product.

No matter which publishing route you take, establishing a social media presence as an author and editing/polishing your manuscript to its finest before submitting to agents or self-publishing are critical for success.

And one last all-important writing tip — Don’t give up! Believe in yourself and in your writing dream. You can get there!

If you’re not a writer, what’s your dream? If you are a writer, where are you in your writing journey? And are you a pantser or a plotter?

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road in steppe receding into the distance

TITLE: Trouble By Any Other Name

Sequel to Lady, Thy Name Is Trouble

AUTHOR: Lori L. MacLaughlin

RELEASE DATE: May 16, 2016

GENRE: Fantasy

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About the Book:

Tara Triannon is no stranger to trouble. She’s yet to find an enemy her skill with a sword couldn’t dispatch. But how can she fight one that attacks through her dreams?

With her nightmares worsening, Tara seeks answers but finds only more questions. Then her sister, Laraina, reveals a stunning secret that forces Tara to go to the one place Tara’s sworn never to return to. Her troubles multiply when Jovan Trevillion, the secretive soldier of fortune who stole her heart, is mentally tortured by an ancient Being intent on bending him to its will. And worst of all, the Butcher — the terrifying wolf-like assassin she thought she’d killed — survived their duel and is hunting her again.

Hounded by enemies, Tara sets out on a harrowing quest to discover the true nature of who she is, to come to grips with the new volatility of her magic, and to defeat the evil locked in a centuries-old trap that will stop at nothing to control her magic and escape through her nightmares.

Where can you buy the book?

Currently four options are available:

Amazon          Barnes & Noble          Kobo               iBooks

Author Bio:

Lori L. MacLaughlin traces her love of fantasy adventure to Tolkien and Terry Brooks, finding The Lord of the Rings and The Sword of Shannara particularly inspirational. She’s been writing stories in her head since she was old enough to run wild through the forests on the farm on which she grew up.

She has been many things over the years – tree climber, dairy farmer, clothing salesperson, kids’ shoe fitter, retail manager, medical transcriptionist, journalist, private pilot, traveler, wife and mother, Red Sox and New York Giants fan, muscle car enthusiast and NASCAR fan, and a lover of all things Scottish and Irish.

When she’s not writing (or working), she can be found curled up somewhere dreaming up more story ideas, taking long walks in the countryside, or spending time with her kids. She lives with her family in northern Vermont.

You can find her here:

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