Today, I’m Steering the Course. There’s No Better Route For Me.
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Anyone can give up, it’s the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that’s true strength.
– Unknown
I picked this quote today because I am working on revisions again on my novel in the pursuit of my own dream. I received some great comments from another author in my anthology who agreed to be a beta reader, review my manuscript, and send me honest and direct comments. Her thoughts were exactly that, honest and direct with some smiley faces too. And they were spot on. She mentioned some critical pieces I hadn’t thought about before. Her thoughts made me think deeper, and I loved them. Sometimes we get too close to our dreams and we need a little distance. Distance is hard. It’s hard to let go and think your work might need a little more improvement. But work is always a time for learning and growing, and I don’t think we ever stop doing either one. So naturally, strength is important. So is commitment to the process when it feels like you’ve already invested so much time. Humbleness, definitely. And a strong belief in the steps I’m in, right here, right now.
My plan.
I’m acknowledging the flaws in my thoughts and I’m thankful for her insights, and I’m also grateful for the time off I’d had to work on another project. To keep my mood and attitude running happy and full speed, I might need to revisit my personal missions statement for a little strength. That’s where the foundation begins, with who we are and what we want. Then of course, I have to carve out my next steps. Thinking. Brainstorming. I’m reworking chapter one, the most pivotal chapter in my book and I’m restructuring the flow into the next few chapters, enhancing the plot, shifting the character relationships a bit. My new theme focuses on forgiveness and friendship. What happens when our faith in others dwindle, maybe it’s really the faith in ourselves.
The picture of the lions made me think of my best brainstorming partner in the world. Becky. She’s doing the same thing I’m doing, trying to chase a dream of writing and keeping the momentum high. We help each other. We roll ideas constantly off of each other. And whenever I’m down about a plot line in a story, we text, or she texts me. So lions are a symbol of courage, and these two lions are hanging out, and taking a drink of water. I like to think of it as a brief little break, but with eyes still focused on the dream.
Success comes from ourselves and also the help from others. So thank you Anna. Thank you Becky. Thank you both for pushing me and helping me be the writer and author I want to be. Thank you to my family, too.
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Believe in you. Hugs and Happy Monday.
In 2132, "We The People…" Means Nothing
Perry Road Explores the Possibility of What Could Be…
A Bit About the Book:
In 2132, “We the people …” means nothing, and it hasn’t for a hundred years.
Or is she? Are they?
Erianna thinks going to Perry Road and joining the national registration program is her next step toward adulthood; the 2132 candidates for adult-classification, though, are in for a big surprise. Especially Erianna.
Thanks to Zane Warren, an awkward but hot guy who won’t shut up about a history that doesn’t—or shouldn’t—matter anymore, Erianna will know. Will learn. That includes finding out what actually happens after registration and doing something, anything, about it.
Fixing what went wrong, what caused the U.S.A. to split into two countries, though, is not on Erianna’s bucket list, but as she faces her future, she must decide whether to fall in line with the American Union’s plan for her, or to consider that Zane might not be wrong, and the time for revolution begins now.
I had a really geat bio in my head around midnight one night …. right before I fell asleep and it disappeared into the nothingness of unconsciousness. Bummer. So here’s something less well thought out.
I want to be young again, so I’m kinda sorta living it again. At least on paper. You see, I write paranormal romance. Now, that stuff can get really hot, and really gritty and well … mine does. But! My characters are teenagers, 18 and under. Like I was once … and want to be again.
Why would I want to be a teenager again? Geez. Because! If you met the man of your dreams at 14 was engaged to him at 19 and married him at 20, wouldn’t YOU want to do all that over again? Especially if you were still in love with him? I mean, c’mon! It’s love! That’s why I write, too.
You see… just because you pass a certain age doesn’t mean you forget what it was like to be 14, 15, etc. Actually, because I kinda grew up with my husband, we both still feel like the 14 and 17 year old kids we once were. So that’s where I’m coming from. You might think it’s totally lame, but you know what? That’s ok! Maybe you’ll like my other me instead. 
A Bit Of A Sneak Peek
“Well?” Cam asks.
For some reason, I don’t want her to know. I want to find out by myself if I’m going to get a real life, or if I’m destined to wear hand-me-downs from twenty years ago until I’m ninety. I want to prepare, to plan, to cry if we don’t get to go together, or if I’m not like her.
I’m not, of course—in any way like her. Who am I kidding?
After what seems like hours, but is only seconds, I say, “Nothing.”
“Damn.” She throws her arms up in the air. “Figures. And it’s almost five. So, you know, I gotta go. Mom’s sure I’m going to be chosen to pop out babies, like she is, so she wants to make sure I know how to cook before the fake chefs get ahold of me to ‘teach’ me.” Cam gives me a dramatic eye roll and places a hand to her forehead. “Like, oh, my Oz, Eri, you know? We have people to cook for us for a reason. Duh! If I learn to cook, what job am I going to give someone like your mom, you know? And why would I get picked to be fat and ugly when I look like this?” She bats at her blonde curls.
Wanting to change the subject—to anything but the woes of Cam’s perfect life—I walk to her, give her a hug and a quick pat on the back. “I’ll … call you when I get it, ‘kay?”
“You better. We only have two days to shop for the perfect outfit. Why couldn’t your birthday be October twenty-ninth instead of December?” She snatches up her coat—preparation for the winter blast that will tear into uncovered skin. “And … you’re not a fluke. You will get in the white house, and when January first comes, we’ll be official!” She boogies her way out, hips wiggling. For someone who’s not happy about the prospect of becoming a baby factory, she’s awfully chipper.
I know it’s because she’s waiting to hear my fate. To prove I’m not a fluke. To validate my relevance as her friend—the one girl Cam can give backhanded compliments, and, for that matter, insults all day long, and still walk back in with a smile as if nothing happened.
Cam walks through the hallway and says goodbye to my mom who’s probably still working at her makeshift office in our miniature kitchen—trying, I assume, to avoid the whole days’ events. As much as Cam wants me to not be a fluke, my mom wants me to be one. If I’m like her, nothing will change. Like Cam, I’ll be the same old Erianna, just one day older and as useless as all the other flukes in the world.
The front door opens and closes, and I move to the window. Once Cam disappears from view, and only then, I turn over my P-Comm and touch the one message that sits inside.
The one that says: “Invitation for Erianna Price Keating.”
Giveaway!
Running from September 2 – October 10, with a plethora of prizes! Or, if you just can’t wait, below, you can buy it now for just $2.99!
Where to Buy It?
Guest Author J.A. Belfield Shares Her Thoughts On Living The Dream
J.A. Belfield has been a big help to me in getting my feet wet in the publishing industry. She’s one of those kind people who always gets back to you. Always has sweet encouraging words, and I have to say, I’m really excited to share her guest post on my blog, and if you’re looking for something different to add to your literary collection whether it’s an ebook or a paperback book, I’ll be sharing those links, too.
So here she is everyone, Author J.A. Belfield with her thoughts on Living the Dream and Making It Happen.
Stop fibbing. You all know you’ve done it.
Anyhoo, making that fantasy into a reality was where the hard work really came into play.
You see, when I decided I had something I wanted to share with the world, the stigma of self-publishing was still pretty rife with prejudices. It was frowned upon. Like your writing wasn’t worthy if an agent or publisher didn’t want you.
In all fairness, some of the titles I’ve read over the past couple of years have changed my opinion on that. Because I’ve read some traditionally-published books that were seriously kind of Meh, just as I’ve read some self-published titles that have completely blown me away. This shift in opinion has stretched far wider than just me, though, to the point that few people turn their nose up at self-published titles anymore.
Unfortunately, this attitude shift came a little too late for me, so, regardless, I ended up going down the traditional path.
Now, here in the UK, there are very few (if any) Independent publishers. And being naïve and unaware of the breadth of the industry, I thought submissions to those in the UK were my only route. Which caused limitations—because pretty much every publisher I wanted to submit to wouldn’t accept unsolicited (un-agented) submissions.
So, it felt as though my only option was to go the agent route—which, again, caused more limitations.
If you think there are strict guidelines for submitting in the US, you should go buy a copy of the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook (the UK version of the Writers Market). Inside the pages of this guideline to getting your work out there is an in depth description of all the Dos & Don’ts of submitting. Unlike in the US, the UK agents still prefer(red) to receive submission via snail mail. BUT, a submission couldn’t be sent in, without first writing and requesting permission to do so. Which meant you could have a 6-12 week wait for them to reply to your ‘request’, and if they bit, you could then have a 6-12 week wait (sometimes longer) for a yay or nay. And some of these agents didn’t accept submissions currently out with other agents—which meant, for some of them, you had to go through the process one agent at a time.
Now, I’m sure you can do the maths yourself to figure out: THAT’S A LOTTA MONTHS, PEOPLE!
Then the rejection started piling in.
The rejections were anything from a ‘No thanks’ scribbled across the query letter I’d sent them, to a ‘It’s not you, it’s me’ kind of response.
Have you ever received a rejection? They SUCK! Each and every one you get deflates you a little more, and chips away another little piece of your soul and confidence and that happiness you were basking in during those moments of fantasising.
HOWEVER, this is where you either stand tall or fall.
I chose to stand tall.
So, I carried on writing. I joined a critiquing site and tried to improve my craft. And I started the slow process of learning more about the industry I so badly wanted to be a part of.
Know what I learned?
That I didn’t have to restrict myself. That I did have other options. That there were other ways.
Sure, I continued to hop down the agent route once I realised I had more to consider, and a far faster and easier (AND CHEAPER) method of reaching them, but I also sucked up the courage to start approaching some publishers direct.
So, I subbed a few different pieces of mine to a few different places.
For MONTHS (again—and I mean MONTHS!!!!!!) I either heard nothing, or got the ‘no thanks’, or (even worse) didn’t hear anything back at all. And the prospect of self publishing was starting to look more and more like my only doable option.
Within a month of each other, just as I started speculating about cover art and what I’d do about editing and stuff, I had three offers.
\o/ \o/ \o/ \o/
One of them was for a short story of mine titled Hereditary* by an E-Zine.
One of them was from a US romance publisher for a novella of mine titled Animal Attraction**.
And the last of them was from J Taylor Publishing for Darkness & Light, which started the journey of my Holloway Pack series (FINALLY!) reaching the world, in July of 2011—2 years after I’d first wrote the book.
I haven’t looked back since. And, as a result, I now bring to the table CAGED: Holloway Pack 3. 🙂
Isn’t she wonderful? Thank you J.A. Belfield. I am grateful to have you here today.
Book Links
Check Out My Sneak Peek!
“Do you remember the last time you danced on the lake, right before the blizzard in the spring?” my best friend Jess had asked the night before, in a long overdue FaceTime chat—the closest we’d come to seeing each other in months. “Feel the ice, and dance.”
What if today never ends?
What if everything about life—everything anyone hoped to be, to do, to experience—never happens?
Whether sitting in a chair, driving down the road, in surgery, jumping off a cliff or flying … that’s where you’d be … forever.
Unless …
In One More Day, Erika Beebe, Marissa Halvorson, Kimberly Kay, J. Keller Ford, Danielle E. Shipley and Anna Simpson join L.S. Murphy to give us their twists, surprising us with answers to two big questions, all from the perspective of characters under the age of eighteen.
How do we restart time?
How do we make everything go back to normal?
The answers, in whatever the world—human, alien, medieval, fantasy or fairytale—could,maybe, happen today.
Right now.
What would you do if this happened … to you?
Cloud Nine Girl 