September Contest!

* * * September Monthly Contest * * *

Blue Collars Vs. Billionaires

September, finally! Cooler weather is coming, and before then, we get Labor Day — YAY! So this month I’m celebrating the broad range of alpha heroes by asking which one you like best:

*Blue-collar heroes – mechanics, soldiers, fighters…

OR

*Billionaire heroes – CEOs, heirs with a cause, tech geniuses…

Tell me who you love! (Bonus points if you *show* me. ;) )

One lucky commenter will win e-book copies of TWO of my backlist books. (Already have them all? Enter anyway; I’ll give you two of another author’s backlist books instead!)

*** Likes and shares with your booklover friends are appreciated but not required! Contest ends SEPTEMBER 29th. ***

Hop on over and check out the contest on my Facebook page!

On My iPod

It's Friday! Normally on Fridays, I post a feature on my Facebook author page called "On My iPod" where I share songs inspiring my current project (songs that will later appear on that books official playlist). And because there's not a ton of crossover, I thought I'd begin sharing those Friday tidbits here on the News as well. Would you enjoy that?

Good! ;)

I'm still hard at work on both Dain and Olivia's story AND Deacon and Elliot's story. And the whole clan seems particularly drawn to Fall Out Boy for some reason. :) In fact, every time I think about Deacon and Elliot butting heads, one particular song comes to mind. Elliot is a bit of a firecracker, after all...

(Enjoy!)

Fall Updates!

Is it really already fall? It doesn't feel like it here in the South. It's still hot and muggy and sticky. Ugh! But the cotton is starting to puff out in fluffy white balls, so cool weather isn't too far off.

The summer has definitely been busy. I spent it at the coffee shop near my house, typing and editing madly in an effort to get new books to you. So what's coming? I guess it's time I let you know... ;)

The first Archai Warriors book, Griffin Undone, is almost ready. BUT...there's always a but, isn't there? *insert evil laugh here* BUT I've decided not to torture you with a new release in a new genre with no second book ready yet. So I'll be holding on to Griffin until book two is almost complete, and then I'll let you know about a release. No worries! It should be this coming spring if Sun and his warriors will cooperate. His woman, Risk, might make things difficult though!

In the meantime, I'm currently working on two books at once, the next installments in the Southern Nights series. Teach Me and Trust Me, books one and two in the series, were based on Conlan James and Jack Quinn, owners of JCL Security. The next trilogy (and bonus novella) will be centered on one of Jack and Con's security teams. Want to meet them?

Dain Brannan, AKA "Daddy"

Position: Team Lead; in charge of intel and research.

Dain is known for taking care of his team, especially their female member, Elliot, as well as he takes care of the love of his life, his wife, Olivia.

* * *

Elliot Smith, AKA "Otter"

Position: Dain's Second in Command

Elliot is as surly as she is secretive. The team calls her Otter because she's anything but playful.

* * *

Kingsley Moncrief, AKA "King"

Position: Team Liason

King might've been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but when it comes to danger, he's deadly.

* * *

Saint Ignatius Solorio, AKA "Saint"

Position: Weapons and Logistics Specialist

Iggy might be the joker of the group, but when it comes to his name, he's not laughing, so don't make fun. You don't want to end up on the wrong side of his weapons.

* * *

The team's stories begin late this fall with Dain and Olivia's story, as yet untitled. In the meantime, I'll be releasing the first three Southern Nights books in an all-in-one e-book anthology, so keep an eye on your inbox this fall!

Starting Anew

Starting a new book isn't easy for me. I see a lot of authors post about writing "The End," and then the next day's post is all about the book they just dived right into overnight. Believe me, I wish I was like that, but I'm soooo not! I'm currently working my way into Hank and Sage's book, and not only do I not have a title, but I don't have much actual "book." The scenes read more like sketches than anything else. There's no pizzazz, no wonder, no spark. It's like a story "bud" instead of a story ready to flower. Lord help me.

But really, this is how every book is for me. I am a plotter, so I almost always have an idea of where the book itself is going, but also where the next few scenes are going in detail. Still, it takes me a while to find the "spark" that ignites both my interest and the characters' personalities. And with every book I worry I won't discover that spark. Where is it? When will I happen upon it? What if it never appears and this book sucks wet stinky socks?

...

You get the picture. I've never not found the spark, but it weighs heavy on my mind until I do. In the meantime, I pick up tiny bits of my characters' lives and personalities, bringing them slowly to life. Hank, for instance, has a dog. I didn't know that until this morning. Of course, neither Hank nor said dog care in the least that I have no dogs and know almost nothing about actually owning a dog. Hank said he had a dog, and so he has a dog. Oy. Now to figure out the dog's personality. :)

Thankfully I have plenty of time to meddle in other story ideas while this one fleshes out. Ian and Cassie's book, for instance, which I'm hoping to put out as a Christmas novella. And another small surprise novella that may or may not come out this year. Just depends on if I have time to figure out those characters along with my two currently ornery couples. We'll see. So many love stories, so little time!

Have a great week!

~ Ella

Hard on Ourselves

I've recently lost some weight. I know, I should be jumping for joy, right? But before a recent trip to see family, I stood in the dressing room at Target despairing because my new size was "only" a TEN. I haven't been a size ten in twenty years. I didn't look in the mirror and see all the things that have improved about my body; I saw all the flaws I thought should be fixed still. Why are we so hard on ourselves?

Recently cyberspace has been full of articles that "debunk" the idea that marriage is hard work. (Something about a celebrity couple and marriage and what they had to say about it... Whatever.) A couple of weeks ago I happened upon a thread in a friend's Facebook feed asking if the women who followed her agreed or disagreed. So many women said marriage isn't supposed to be "work," and if it is, you're doing something wrong. Which of course means I looked at the marriage I've worked very hard on and despaired. "I must be doing something wrong."

No, no I'm not. Sometimes I think we only value what is easy, when in fact it should be just the opposite. It's easy to value the $50 dinner you only pay for, not prepare, but nothing can compare to that feeling of buying the best ingredients, spending time at the stove, and striving hard to make food you and others will love. Both are good options, but easy doesn't = better.

I'm beginning this week working on my latest book. It doesn't have a title yet, but it has a premise. The things you have to work for are often the best. Hank, my hero, isn't looking for love; he certainly isn't looking for anything complicated. But the moment he meets Sage, he knows she's worth it. She's complicated, and she's hiding secrets that she's afraid Hank won't want to deal with. She's hard on herself. But Hank truly sees her, and is willing to work to make their relationship fulfill both of their needs. There's nothing better than that.

And that's why he's my hero. :)

Try not to be too hard on yourself this week. Enjoy what you have, what has come easily, what has come the hard way, and look forward to both in the future. Every journey is worthy, no matter how hard we have to work to complete it -- we just have to be willing.

~ Ella

FUN New Contest!

I've got a contest going this week to guess my next book hero! Before I reveal the details, I thought it might be exciting to have my readers guess -- and possibly win a little treat ($15 Amazon Gift Card). :) Check out the hints on the photo below, then go to the Rafflecopter giveaway to enter your best guess (no points off for wrong names either!). The winner will be revealed (as well as the hero) in my newsletter this weekend and here on the blog. (Contest ends Saturday, 7/18.) To enter, go to the Rafflecopter giveaway page and enter your best guess! And if you want to learn more about this sexy hero, sign up for my newsletter before this weekend.

Have a great week!

~ Ella

The Rest of the Summer...

This summer has been filled with getting TAKE ME complete, getting ready for release, getting my head on straight as I tried to keep everything together and in order... You get the picture. :) Now I find myself in the enviable position of deciding where to go next. My plan all along has been to write Ian and Cassie (from Secrets To Hide), but over the weekend spent at the beach with family, that idea got derailed. By this guy:

Who is he? Well, I'm not quite ready to say yet. When a book first comes to me, I need it to marinate, to let all the flavors develop and see exactly where I want to go first before I talk about it. But I couldn't help teasing you! I do know I've never written a book like this before. I will say that you've met that gorgeous hunk before -- this book will be a spin-off of the Secrets To Hide series. But more than that, I'm not going to reveal, not yet. ;)

Ian and Cassie are still in the works (and still untitled, as you can tell!), but I felt they needed more time to gel in my mind. Their story will get written, never fear. I've been so consumed with the Southern Nights series for so long, almost a year, that I've had a hard time grasping anything  else -- which is why the big guy up there took me so much by surprise! You're gonna love him; I just know it.

Now I'm off to the day job and then more work on H-- Oh, wait, not supposed to say that yet... :p

~ Ella

#AmWriting

Gabe and Sam and Peyton are on their way! This month is the final push to get the rough draft finished and off to my fabulous editor, Rory Olsen. Look for a definite release date to be announced around mid-May -- or sign up for my newsletter to be the first ones to know! I'll surface as soon as these characters let go of me...

New Year's Resolutions

Staring at the blank page before you Open up the dirty window Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance So close you can almost taste it Release your inhibitions

Feel the rain on your skin No one else can feel it for you Only you can let it in No one else, no one else Can speak the words on your lips Drench yourself in words unspoken Live your life with arms wide open Today is where your book begins

The rest is still unwritten

~ "Unwritten," Natasha Beddingfield

This song has struck me hard the past few months. Why? Because I've spent a lot of time working. A lot. There's no better way to describe it except maybe that I've been drowning. So many of us find ourselves in this place at some point in our lives, wondering how to get out of the hole that seems to be consuming us. So many of us never find the answer, but I was determined to. I want to "live with arms wide open," not with my eyes forever on a computer screen. And so my New Year's resolution is just that:

I want to live with my eyes, arms, and heart open -- to my family, to my creativity, to my faith, and most of all, to those around me.

I'm still figuring out what that means for me. My first step is to LOOK UP. I spend a lot of time looking down -- at the computer, at the ground, at my feet because I'm too shy or too self-conscious or too scared to meet other people's eyes. Not anymore. I'm looking up, really trying to see the world around me, not just the characters in my head or the work that's waiting for me.

There will still be plenty of characters, of course. TRUST ME will be here on February 1st. TAKE ME, book three in the Southern Nights series, will be released this spring, featuring the enigmatic Gabe Williams and his twin brother, Sam. Hopefully Ian's book in the Secrets To Hide series will be written and released later this summer. And if all goes well, there just might be a new genre on the horizon. That's right; my paranormal series, The Archai, is on my to-do list this year.

And in and around all of these great books will be lots of moments of living intentionally, of looking up and truly seeing and living, not burying my head in the sand or letting work rule my life. What about you? What is your New Year's resolution this year? Inquiring minds (like mine!) want to know... :)

~ Ella

NaNoWriMo Naughty Girl Style!

I'm just everywhere lately, aren't I? :) I'm talking on the Nice Girls Writing Naughty blog today about NaNoWriMo and how to use conflict to further your story. Check it out: #NaNoWriMo Naughty Style: Day Two!

Funny Friday: The Writer's Life...

Sometimes when you sit down at the computer, ideas buzzing in your head, you find that sweet communion with your muse and out pours the story you long to tell. And then some days, you sit down at the computer, ideas buzzing in your head...and you get this:

:)

~ Ella

Tech Hubby

I've been married since 1995. I've always known my husband and I were opposites: I love books; he loves science tomes. I love rock 'n' roll; he loves Rush and trance. I like Big Bang Theory; he likes... Okay, we both share that one. The point is, my husband is very different from me, but I never realized just how valuable that could be until I started plotting stories that needed believable technology.

See, Tech Hubby keeps up with all the latest trends in science and technology. Part of that is necessity; he works in engineering in a city chockfull of engineers, so he's expected to know the latest advances. But he also just loves knowing the latest about computers and security and engineering and space exploration. As a long-time NASA employee, he knew astronauts, met with them daily, helped monitor space flights and experiments on the space station, and even now, many light-years from Houston, he craves information about Mars and the Hubble telescope and even commercial space flight. He builds his own computers and is always reading some new development in tech or communications or whatever makes my eyes glaze over. His degrees in physics and material sciences means he actually understands that information too, and when I ask him about satellite usage or how to fool computer programs or how to hack someone's phone or whatever, he can usually tell me. It's like having my very own expert right here at my side, except I get the added benefit of cuddling at night. :) Whenever I'm stuck, he's right there. It's awesome.

And no, I won't answer the question of what else he's an expert in. Pull your mind out of the gutter!

;)

I won't share inside knowledge about hubby's antics, but I will keep you up-to-date with all the exciting things I've got going on these days (outside the bedroom, you naughty readers!). To get in on the action (haha! that just totally came out there; it really did!), be sure and sign up for my newsletter. I promise not to hold back any sexy PUBLISHING details -- or (not my husband) man candy. ;)

*Photo courtesy of Robert McGoldrick.

Write What You Know

I’ve recently been reading Stephen King’s On Writing. The first half relates King’s memories of his life “so far” (I say that because the book was originally written on 2000, so it falls fourteen years short, so to speak :) ), and the second half involves King’s thoughts on the process of writing. It is a privilege to learn from the great writers of our time. The thing I find interesting about this particular book is that it focuses so much on what is, essentially, the making of a writer. In so many ways you can see the elements that pushed King to become the author he is now. You can see the determination every writer must have as he recounts rejection after rejection, writing—and submitting—from a uniquely and honestly, unbelievably young age. His childhood, his young adult friendships and family life and even a life-threatening car accident—each and every experience informed his writing, and it wasn’t because he was a teenage girl being rejected by her high school peers and using her psychic powers for revenge.

No, what he experienced was emotion.

Every beginning writer has heard the advice: Write what you know. It’s well meaning. It’s even true, but not in the way you think. If each of us had to experience the things we write about, we couldn’t write about a character being shot unless we had been shot. We couldn’t write a character with a terminal illness unless we’d had a terminal illness. I don’t know about anyone else, but I have no desire to go that far. Writers research every day, what it’s like to be shot, what living in different places entails, the details of technical and medical and historical advances and events. What we don’t have to research is the universal human experience of emotions.

Write what you know? How about loss? I might not have lost a parent, but I’ve lost a child. The emotion is the same, if in a different context. Same with anger. Happiness. Love. Desire. Need. Writers delve not just into their minds for knowledge, but into their hearts and souls. We pour what we find out onto the page, baring ourselves to our readers. We haven’t necessarily shared an experience we’ve had, but we have shared an emotional experience. It hurts and it’s scary and it takes a kind of courage many people don’t have, but we do it because we have to. Because who we are demands it. Because that’s what it takes to be a writer.

Write what you know.

Good advice. :)

~ Ella

Funny Friday: Ah, Creative Writing, How I Love Thee...

Or, apparently, I must love a newspaper contest for funny lines, but...who the heck cares? These "creative" descriptions are hilarious. And if, as one commenter suggested on the tickled post where I first saw these, you read them in the voice of Leslie Nielsen, you might just fall out of your chair... ;) So head on over to 20 Actual Quotes From English Exams and see what you think. My fave?

"Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Ballina at 6:36 travelling at 55 mph, the other from Claremorris 4:19 pm at a speed of 35 mph."

Hmm...or perhaps:

"Even in his last years, Granddad had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long it had rusted shut."

:D

~ Ella

*Photo courtesy of MinioN2.

Funny Friday: The Craziest Places To...Um...Have Sex

We romance writers, especially those of us with an erotic bent, can have some pretty weird conversations among ourselves, conversations like...oh..."where's the craziest place you've ever had sex?" And yes, we give some pretty out-there answers sometimes. ;) Here's how a few erotica authors answered the same question from Buzzfeed's Arianna Rebolini. Enjoy! ~ Ella

The 14 Craziest Places Where Erotica Writers Have Boned

*Photo courtesy of Jon 'ShakataGaNai' Davis.

Must-Read Advice for Writers

21 Things I Wish I'd Known Before I Started Writing: Must-Read Advice for Writers at All Levels By Robin Black

This article appeared on The Review Review website -- and my Facebook feed -- last week. After a particularly long and work-heavy month, I was taking a morning of downtime and actually managed to read an article I'm interested in. Yay! I found Black tips encouraging at a time when I'm struggling to handle my workload, deal with medical issues, and still manage to be enthusiastic about revisions on my current novella. It's not easy. But the validation of seeing some of the things I'm trying to tell myself reiterated from an experienced author helped me see that I am on the right path. I'm not delusional. This really is how I should see the world. And yes, "it will get better" is just as much a fact as "the downtimes will come again." Everything has its season; isn't that what Solomon said? :) Here are a couple of the tips I found particularly helpful:

" The best you can do is the best you can do. There’s a fine line between learning from other authors, and trying to be them. Be yourself. There are more than enough different types of readers out there for us all. I can’t tell you how much time I have wasted wishing my work were more 'hip'  and 'edgier.' And every single moment was indeed a waste of time. I didn’t even like much of the writing I wanted to emulate. I just liked the attention heaped on the people who wrote it. Write the book you’d most like to read – not the one you think will win over the editor du jour."

How often I have done this! I have lamented not being as good as so-and-so. I've lamented not being able to get my work in front of some big-time agent or editor. I've worried and wondered and agonized over the quality of my work -- and not believed my wonderful editor and critique partners and readers when they say they love it. It's got to stop! Can I doubt? Yes. Can I do it for more than a few seconds? No. As my daughter is fond of saying, "Ain't nobody got time for that."

"You cannot write the pages you love without writing the pages you hate. Nothing that you write is pointless, useless, or unnecessary. The product requires the process. The good days may be more enjoyable, but the tough ones are the ones they’re built upon."

Amen! Telling myself this was the only thing that got me through a period of severe writer's block (and yes, it does exist -- denying it doesn't make it so) over the last six months. I spent so much time agonizing over every word that I trained myself to have panic attacks when I sat at the computer to write. It has taken a lot of time, effort, and patience with myself to come out the other side, and still my confidence is more shattered than intact. That's okay. I'll get there. But it means going through the bad days as well as the good days -- and not being afraid to do so.

The final piece of advice speaks for itself, in my opinion. And, honestly, doesn't just apply to writing. Think about it.

"Don’t believe there are rules. There is only advice. There is only opinion. There are only my experiences and yours and yours and yours. . ."

Check out the full article and all of Black's tips here.

~ Ella

*Photo courtesy of AnimaTigris.

No Sick Days

There are no sick days in writing. Okay, for some people there are, but unfortunately I’m not one of them. Between the kids and the editing gig and just plain normal maintenance -- hey, this body didn’t get this way by itself. Actually, it did, but I’m trying to work on that! ;) -- I have to write when I have time, not when I feel like it. And that means writing when I’m sick. Depressed. Just don’t want to.

Suck it up, buttercup. You still have to write.

This week I’m on a deadline. My wonderful editor has sent me revisions that will make Just a Little More a “more better” story. And that means I need to actually follow through on them (imagine that!). I spent this past week struggling through therapy for a bulging disc in my neck, and this weekend both my son and I got hit with a nasty virus (him more than me). All I wanted was to curl up in the bed, cover my head, and sleep the bad feelings away…but I can’t. I have to write. The week ahead is already full of work, and the revisions have to be squeezed in around that. The whip must be cracked and the laptop must be opened. There’s no time to waste on a sick day.

My birthday is coming up in about six weeks. Think I could wish for a sick day when I blow out the candles? ;)

How ’bout you, do you get sick days? Wish you did? Save them for when you aren’t really sick? (Wish I had that option!)

~ Ella

Photo courtesy of mcfarlandmo.

Funny Friday: A Peek Inside the Writer's Brain

I'm heading out for a writing retreat this weekend with my Music City Romance Writers buddies, and I am SO looking forward to it. A weekend to refill my creative well, enjoy the company of people who actually understand what I'm talking about (I know because their eyes don't glaze over!), and write, write, write! In honor of my excitement (!), here are some writing-related memes for your Funny Friday enjoyment. Yes, this is the way we think, lol! So the next time you meet your favorite author, just know that this is really how their brain works. :) Have a great weekend!

~ Ella

And if you ever wanted to know what it's like to not be able to write? This.