Who Is Your Target Audience? Do You Know?

Have you taken the time to figure out exactly who’s your audience? If you’re not published, what readers will you target? If you are published, who do you think will read your books? These are important questions to answer if you’re looking to build your brand. And you should be. You want readers to see your name and know what type of books you write. You want them to know what to expect when they open your novel. But who are your readers?

Please don’t tell me your readers will be anyone who reads, or all romance readers if you write romance. You really need to be more specific. Not all romance novels are written the same. Some are funny and light, while others are dark and scary. Some focus on historical periods and others take place in the future or in some fictional world. Just because these types of books all have romance in common doesn’t mean they share the same readers. In fact, for the most part, they won’t.

That’s why it’s so important for you to recognize who your readers are or will be. You need to know where to focus your marketing efforts. How can you reach your specific target if you don’t know who it is?

I write dark romantic suspense and I realize not all romantic suspense readers will like what I write. Look at the difference between light and dark romantic suspense. Light r/s is when the killer’s POV isn’t presented, and the crime has been committed before we turn the page, so there isn’t much blood, gore, or violence. Dark r/s, as you can imagine, is the opposite. Readers get to see how evil the killer is because they can experience his thoughts through his POV. Depending on the level of darkness of the story, violence, torture, blood, and gore may be shown, not just talked about. Readers of light romantic suspense might be disturbed by the level of violence and creepiness my villains bring to the table. For that reason, it’s very important that I show my cards immediately. I try to start my stories with a dark prologue so readers understand what they’re getting into. I also know that people who love the TV show Criminal Minds will like my books. Readers who enjoy Allison Brennan’s level of dark will feel comfortable with mine.

While the perfectionist in me hasn’t allowed me to send my stories to agents or stop editing my books to death—I’m working on that—I’ve still given this some thought. As a result, I’m going to make some changes to my blog come September. Monday will be all about crimes, murders, serial killers, and the like. I want to attract readers who enjoy this type of information because they are my target audience. Wednesdays will be Writing Wednesdays, so I’ll continue to post writing related material or critiques. I’ll keep Fun Fridays as they are because I’m addicted to those darn puzzles. I’ll post a schedule to remind everyone of these changes as September approaches. For now, enjoy two writing related posts a week and one puzzle post.

What about you? Have you figured out who your readers are? What are you doing about it? How are you targeting them?

Lynnette Labelle
www.labelleseditorialservices.com

Live Through Me - Part 5

Here’s the last installment of my adventures at the RWA conference.

Friday morning, I was so excited for the first workshop. Two hours with best-selling author Roxanne St. Claire!!! She was going to teach us how to mend a broken scene by showing us some scenes taken from her first drafts. She explained what her editor told her was wrong with the scenes and showed us how she fixed them. This was by far the best workshop I attended.

Next, I went to a one-page plot workshop. I have to be honest, while the presenter was able to cram her plot onto one page, I don’t think that would work for me. I need too many details in my plot outline.

After that, I met up with a good friend and old critique buddy of mine, author Roni Loren. We went to the NAL book signing. The best part of this was that the authors signed the free books and addressed them to me. So cool. I’ll keep those forever.

I didn’t have time to eat lunch that day since we’d stayed in line to enter the book signing. Luckily, I had a couple of granola bars stashed in my bag just in case. The hotel had water stations all over, so we never had to worry about dragging bottles with us. What a relief. The books were heavy enough.

My next workshop was Clawing Your Way to the Top. My biggest take-away from that was that the new shelf life for books in bookstores is only 45 days. It used to be 90. In other words, if you’re not a best-selling author, after 45 days, your book will be returned to your publisher. Ugh.

The last two workshops I attended didn’t really teach me anything new. By the end of the day, I was tired of listening to speakers, so I skipped my last workshop and returned to my hotel to drop off my books. I met up with my roommate and her friend. We went out for supper and later caught a Broadway act. My first. John Leguizamo. Wow. He was amazing. If you get a chance to see him, you must go.

Well, that’s the end of my adventures in RWA land. I didn’t pitch. However, I did get up enough nerve to approach an editor and tell her I liked her energy. I’d seen her at a workshop earlier in the week. The best part? I brought 36 free books home, so I’ll have enough reading to last me quite some time.

Would you ever approach an agent or editor at a conference? Or have you? Spill the beans. What did you say or do? How did she react?

In case you missed it, I'm teaching Hook, Line, and Sinker: How to Hook Readers and Reel Them In. Click the link for more information about this online class.

Lynnette Labelle
www.labelleseditorialservices.com

Live Through Me - Part 4

Here’s the next installment of my adventures at the RWA conference.

I was supposed to go to the workshop Character Mining next, but it was cancelled. Bummer. However, this ended up being a good thing. I went to Money Talks: the Best-Kept Secrets of Digital Authors. What. An. Eye. Opener. Holy cow! Maya Banks is a best-selling author with three traditional publishers and Sanhaim (an e-publisher). She said she was making more money with Sanhaim than she was with the three traditional publishers combined. Isn’t that nuts? One of the reasons is that she has sixteen books out with Sanhaim but still…

Throughout the conference there has been a lot of talk about self-publishing and one thing everyone seemed to agree on is if you’re going to do it, you absolutely need a freelance copyeditor. I couldn’t agree more. I’ve seen too many books that could’ve done well if a freelance editor (like myself) had gotten her hands on the manuscript before it went out.

My last workshop for the day was Getting Past So Close. This was more motivational than informative, at least for me. For some, getting published is easy, but that’s not the norm. This was a great reminder to stay positive despite all the negatives that can be thrown your way in this industry.

After the workshops were over, I walked back to my room to drop off all the books I’d acquired during the day and thought I might get to sneak in a little nap before going out again. Nope. My writing friends, authors Erin Kellison and KC Klein invited me to go out for dinner with them and they were ready to go. So, I dumped off my bag, turned around and walked the 10-15 minutes it took to get back to the Marquis, where they were staying.

While we were eating at a restaurant, a woman collapsed at the table beside us. Her family tried to get her talking, but she clearly had some sort of healthy issue. Within minutes, the men in blue arrived and shortly after that, the EMTs joined the scene. We’re not sure what happened but think the woman may have had a stroke. In any case, our hearts went out to that poor family. I hope the woman was okay.

Have you ever been in a public place when something like that happened? What did you do?

In case you missed it, I'm teaching Hook, Line, and Sinker: How to Hook Readers and Reel Them In. Click the link for more information about this online class.

Lynnette Labelle
www.labelleseditorialservices.com

Live Through Me - Part 3

Here’s the next installment of my adventures at the RWA conference.

After lunch was over, the workshops began. I went to Hips Don’t Lie: Body Language Between the Sexes, where I learned humans are vulnerable in three main areas: the neck, the heart, and the groin. When you see someone covering those areas (crossing arms or legs, hand at the throat, arms down with hands over the groin, etc…), they’re trying to protect themselves both physically and emotionally. According to the presenter, straight men aren’t good at reading body language, but women and gay men are especially good at it. Interesting, eh? Remember that when you’re writing and trying to show the difference between your hero and heroine’s POV.

Next, I went to Discovering Story Magic. This was a two hour workshop and the presenter still didn’t have enough time to go through everything. However, I was finally able to see how a storyboard works and am planning on using it as a tool when I’m evaluating manuscripts as well as editing my own. The presenter also showed us how to make a character grid to make it easier to verify the character’s arc. If you have a chance to attend this workshop, I recommend it.

After the workshops were over, I met up with my roommate again. We went out for dinner and hung out in our hotel room the rest of the night. We were both a little overwhelmed and wanted to get a good night sleep. Kind of boring, I know, but I’m a workshop whore, so I needed to have a fresh mind in the morning.

I started my day on Thursday with Virna De Paul’s workshop. Virna did a great job presenting Bargain Hunter: Getting the Best Bang for Story Structure and Turning Points. Okay, maybe I’m a little biased because she’s my friend and it was cool to see her teaching the workshop, but I still believe this is a worthwhile workshop.

Next on the agenda was Not Another Sex Scene. I have too many notes on this workshop. I’ll write another post all about what I learned in this workshop after I’m finished going through my first RWA experience.

I was very excited about my next workshop: The Romantic Suspense Market: Advice from the Pros. Best-selling authors Karen Rose and Stephanie Tyler were paired up with Shauna Summers, editor for Bantam Dell. My biggest take-away from this workshop is that you need to be able to express how your characters and story are different from all the other romantic suspense novels out there. The same advice would apply to any genre. Editors want a unique twist to stories that have been done before, but they don’t want something so far out there that they won’t be able to sell it. Readers have expectations, too, so both the writer and editor must keep that in mind.

The next workshop I attended was Got High Concept? by Lori Wilde. I must admit, I’ve heard conflicting reports on what exactly is “high concept”. Everything I’d known it to be was wrong according to Lori. It’s not Jaws meets Harry Potter. It’s not the back cover blurb or a series of hooks. So, what is it? I can’t say I have a good enough grasp on the definition to be able to teach anyone what it is. Lori sells all her books using high concept. However, other authors and agents at the convention said it wasn’t necessary. A good book is a good book. Period.

If you’ve gone to a conference, were you overwhelmed? Did your mind feel like it was going to explode? Did you party at night or was your brain too fried? What do you think of “high concept”?

Live Through Me - Part 2

I’m back from vacation and can now continue to share my adventures at my first Romance Writers of America conference. Here’s the first post, in case you missed it.

After the orientation, my roommate and I went to the Goody Room, a designated area where authors leave promotional material for others to take home. This can be books, trading cards, bookmarks, chocolates, lip balm, business cards, and all kinds of other treats. We grabbed as much as we could, then stopped for a quick visit at the RWA Online Chapter party—since I’m the chapter’s newsletter editor, I couldn’t resist—before heading back to our hotel for the night.

The next morning, I went to the Opening Session with guest speakers: Steve Berry, Diana Gabaldon, and Tess Gerritsen, who answered questions on the fly. Books and coffee were provided by Ballantine Bantam Dell. This session was fantastic! Not only did the speakers answer the questions, they interacted with each other, making the whole experience seem less formal and more fun.

I had a break in my schedule, so I met with my friend, author Virna De Paul. We chatted about our stories, writing, the business, and conferences. She also introduced me to a friend of hers and the networking began. This really opened my eyes because I realized networking doesn’t have to be done with complete strangers. You can often meet many people through the people you already know. Okay, should’ve been obvious, but the thought hadn’t crossed my mind until then.

One of the things RWA tells you to do (if you went to the First Timers’ Orientation) is to sit with strangers rather than your friends and force yourself to make new friends and/or contacts. With that in mind, I ventured to the Broadway Ballroom for the Keynote Luncheon. On the way there, I met a woman on the elevator and we decided to eat together. As it turns out, she’s self-published and looking for a freelance editor. How lucky for her (wink) I just happen to be a certified copyeditor. We moved toward the front of the room, even though it was packed with people. I didn’t see how we’d find a table with two empty seats, but we did. We introduced ourselves to the others at the table and chatted for a bit while we ate our lunch.

I should mention every time you sit down at a luncheon, there are books waiting for you at the table. Free books. Gotta love that, right? Madeline Hunter was the keynote speaker for this session and was wonderful.

If you’ve ever been to a conference before, how did you go about networking with other writers?

Live Through Me - Part 1

Last week, I had my first taste of a Romance Writers of America conference. I’ve never been to a conference before, but I’d heard this is one of the big ones and not to be missed. My next few posts will be dedicated to my experiences at RWA.

I arrived in New York on Tuesday and, after getting settled in the “overflow hotel” aka The Manhattan, went straight to the conference to check in. Right away, I received a bag and a handful of free books. Then, I went to the “Readers for Life” Literacy Autographing. This event was coming to an end but was still packed with people. I managed to meet up with two of my author friends who were doing signings (Erin Kellison and Virna De Paul), and I had one-on-one time with my idol, Allison Brennan. I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t recognize her at first because in her pictures she’d always had black hair and red lipstick. At the signing, her hair was much lighter, she wore glasses, and if she had lipstick on, it was a pale shade. A different look for her but I don’t think the woman could ever have a bad look. Of course, she is on a pedestal, so… Allison gave me some great advice and has brought my muse back to life. I’ll be eternally grateful.

By 8 PM, I made my way over to the “First Timers’ Orientation”. I wouldn’t say this is a necessity, but I walked away with a better understanding of what’s expected of us and what we should expect. For example, we were told that the workshop presenters won’t have a problem with people getting up and walking out in the middle of their workshop. Sometimes people have pitch appointments they have to go to, and other times, the workshop simply isn’t what you’d imagined. I never had the guts to leave and always wanted to give the presenter the benefit of the doubt. Surely, there must be something they could teach me. Maybe it’ll come closer to the end of the workshop. That never happened. In hindsight, I’m still not sure I’d walk out, but I’d definitely consider it next time.

Since I have too much to tell you about my first experience at a writers’ conference, my next few posts will be continuations from this one.

Have you attended a conference? Have you ever walked out? How did you feel?

Tell Me!

It’s sharing time.  Since I’ve had a spike in followers lately and expect to see more with the Crusaders stopping by, I thought this would be a nice time for us to get to know each other.  Please answer these six questions in the comment section and read what others have said as well.

1)      What genre(s) do you write?

2)      What genre(s) do you read?

3)      Where are you on your publishing journey? (published, agented, contest finalist, intermediate, beginner)

4)      Do you belong to a crit group or have a critique partner?  If not, are you searching for one? (Hey, maybe some of you can “hook up” through this.)

5)      What’s been the hardest part of your journey so far?

6)      What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned on your journey?

Thanks for sharing.  Nice to "meet" you.

Here are my answers:

1)      romantic suspense (and I might dabble in paranormal suspense, but so far those are just ideas)

2)      romance of most types, especially r/s and p/s; and a little bit of this and that—It’s the story that hooks me more than the genre.

3)      I’m a contest finalist.  I’ve never submitted to an agent or publisher because the perfectionist in me has yet to give me permission.  Plus, I’ve been really busy with my editing business.  You manuscript comes before mine.

4)      I have two super crit partners.

5)      I think every month I could come up with a different answer for this.  Right now, I’m struggling to balance everything: work, writing, kids, hubby, exercise, and life.  However, in the fall, the twins will be in school full time, so that’ll make life a lot easier.

6)      I’ve noticed too many writers send their stories in before they’ve learned enough about the craft.  There’s more to getting published than just telling a great story.  You need to understand HOW to tell that story.  From this, I’ve learned to take my time and not rush through my writing.    

Looking forward to learning more about you.

BRB

BRB = Be right back.  Well, I won't be RIGHT back, but I'll return later on today to post.  Right now, I have to get the twins to their first swimming lesson.  I'm so excited for them, but nervous at the same time. 

They have lessons the next couple of weeks, so my posts will probably appear after lunch, unless I manage to write something the night before.  Just know that the posts will come.

Catch ya later.

The Escape Artist

A while back, I’m not sure when exactly—I’m really not the best at keeping track of time—I listened to Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum novels while working out at the gym. I swear not a single chapter went by that she didn’t mention the hamster, Rex, and what he was doing. Well, after having lived with hamsters all my life up until my late twenties (and later), I started to miss the little fellas. Thanks a lot Janet. I had to go out and buy a cute, cuddly, teddy bear hamster. Funny how a novel can do that to you.

The story doesn’t end there. Yesterday, I woke up to find Cookie, my hamster, missing. He’d escaped. I’m not sure, but I’m thinking maybe I didn’t quite latch the door on his cage. *smacking head* Our day was pretty much decided for us at that point. I mean, we couldn’t let the little guy die somewhere in the house. That’s just not right. So, we spent the morning going through everything, which forced us to clean the dust bunnies behind the fridge. Still no Cookie.

The funny thing is that I’d heard him scratching or chewing in the middle of the night and woke up thinking he was on the loose, but figured that wasn’t possible, so I went back to sleep. Too bad because hamsters are nocturnal and the best time to find him would’ve been when he was the most active.

We checked all the nooks and crannies with the constant question, “If we were hamsters, where would we hide?” going through our minds. I noticed the cabinet door in the kitchen was slightly ajar. That happens. In this case, the popcorn machine hadn’t been put back properly and was protruding, so I re-arranged things and shut the door. I told my husband, there’s a possibility Cookie was inside, but hamsters tend to race around following walls, so I doubted it. Not good. I really should learn to trust my first instincts. As it turns out, that’s exactly where he was. I found him because we made a point of keeping the house silent, no computer hum, no washing machine swishing, and no TV. I guess the noise we made looking for him, woke him up, so he decided to snack on my crepe maker’s electrical cord. Grrr… When I found him, he had sliced and diced it and was ready to add some salad dressing. There were bits of plastic and copper wire all over in the cupboard, and a collection of dog food. He must’ve stopped by my dog’s dish during his little adventure, filled his cheeks, and continued on his merry way. Once settled, he emptied his pouches and rested. Who wouldn’t after such a long jaunt? Not to mention the fall. Yikes. When he climbed out of his cage, which is positioned on the counter against the wall, he must’ve fallen straight down. Judging by the damage to my crepe maker, I don’t think he was affected by the fall. Thank goodness.

So, all of this to say thanks to Janet Evanovich who wrote so convincingly about that little hamster, Rex, that I HAD to get my own hamster and now have lost half a day looking for him. Just one more example of an experience I had to go through so I’d have a story to tell later on.

Do you ever feel like you’ve been put through certain situations or circumstances just so you’d have something to write about? Yeah, I know, that’s probably not the case, but it sure would be interesting if it were, no?

I Do My Own Stunts

This weekend, we borrowed a Polaris Ranger Crew (a side-by-side ATV with the capability of seating six people). The twins were at the park with their class and my husband and I decided to surprise them. Of course, it wouldn’t have been much of a surprise without our dog, Parker, so we took him on the Ranger and went to the park.

After our little visit with the twins and their class, we left with Parker in the box (the rear of the Ranger). I kept looking back to make sure he was still there, even though he’d never fallen out in our old Ranger. I’m just a nervous Mom. Then, we took a turn a little too fast. At this point, I was confident Parker was staying put, but glanced back just to make sure. I was shocked to see my little white Bichon running in the middle of the road. Not wanting to slam on the brakes, my husband slowed. My mind was racing. A truck just turned onto the street and Parker was still wandering on the pavement.

Without thinking, I jumped out of the moving Ranger. I was stunned for a few seconds. I never expected my body to jolt like that. Guess I watch too many action movies, where nothing seems to faze them. Then, I realized my dog was still in danger. I ran into the street, causing the other vehicle to stop, grabbed Parker, and dashed back to the Ranger.

I have to admit, if someone had asked me how I’d have reacted to such a situation, I would never have guessed I’d jump out of a moving vehicle, but I did. Goes to show we can’t always predict our own behavior, never mind that of others.

Have you done anything crazy like this?

We're Five!!

I can’t believe it. My twins are five today. *sigh* Another major milestone to check off my list. The next one will come in September, when they start Kindergarten, but I can’t even think about that.

For now, I have to focus on their upcoming party. Princess and the Frog, of course. I was fortunate enough to find some princess and frog (not Princess and the Frog) wooden decorations for them to color. They’re so proud of their creations and can’t wait to display them for the party.

Unfortunately, our award-winning baker won’t be in town this weekend, so she can’t make our cake. As a result, I’m trying the only other bakery in town and am crossing my fingers. I already bought the little Princess Tiana doll and frogs to put on the cake (and later used as toys), so all the cake decorator has to do is create a swampy theme. Shouldn’t be hard, right? Well, for me it would be, but not her. In the meantime, I’m off to pick up cake mix and frosting-in-a-can. The girls want to bring cupcakes to preschool tomorrow to celebrate their birthday.

No writing for me today. What about you? What are your plans? Where are you in your WIP?

Monday Me: Conference Questions

I’ve never been to a conference before, but am trying to convince my hubby that this is the year for me attend the RWA national conference. I mean, Nora Roberts and Jayne Anne Krentz are guest speakers for crying out loud. How could I miss that?

Unfortunately, I just received notice that flights through Airmiles will go up 20% in February, so I have to book my flight soon. Oh, the pressure.

This is where you come in. For those of you who’ve been to conferences (especially, RWA conferences), what have your experiences been? When do you arrive? When do you leave? What’s a typical day at a conference like? How do you get set up with a room-share (to save on hotel costs)? When do you book agent appointments and sign up for workshops? What are the benefits to attending a conference? Any bad experiences to warn others about?

I really appreciate all the information you can give me. If you feel your comment is too long or private, email me at: lynnette_labelle at hotmail dot com. Thanks again.

Monday Me: Happy Happy

This past week, I’ve received The Happy Award from Diana Paz, Jessica Brooks, and Stephanie Damore. Thanks, ladies.

Since today is Monday Me, I figured I’d share ten things that make me happy. Oh, yeah. That’s part of the rules, too. So, here we go, in no particular order:

1. My family (including the pets)

2. Writing

3. Editing (especially the work of others… must be the teacher in me)

4. Reading

5. The arts (dancing, singing, acting, drawing—okay, so writing should be here, but it’s way more important and deserves it’s own spot.)

6. Crafts (scrapbooking, cross-stitching, crocheting—Although, I haven’t had time for much of this since the twins were born. Wonder why?)

7. Watching my favorite TV shows (Criminal Minds, Medium, Ghost Whisperer, Desperate Housewives, and The Bachelor)

8. Walking (more so in the summer than the winter)

9. Being in a big city (I’m from a big city, but am now living in a little town. I really miss the big city life.)

10. Visiting with friend (something I don’t do often enough anymore).


I’m passing this happy award on to a few of my new followers. Please hop over and check out their blogs.

-Hilary Wagner
-Kristi
-Sunder
-Kimberly Franklin
-Wendy

I’d like to hand the award out to all of my followers because you make me happy, too. Go ahead, take it. Spread the love by leaving links on your blog as well, but before you leave, please share one thing that makes you happy.

Family Crisis

I'm sorry. I won't be posting today. Something very serious has come up and I have to deal with it. I'll be back when I can.

Update: Thanks for your kinds words and prayers. We're dealing with the situation as best we can. It helps to have such kind people on our side. Thanks again.

I'll add a regular post later this morning, once my brain absorbs some caffeine.

Pet Peeves

Okay, I was going to post about something else, but that'll have to wait. Instead, I have to point you toward Janna Qualman's post. I laughed my butt off, but that might just be me. You see, she and I suffer from the same pet peeve: people spelling our names with only one n. Janna decided to set the record straight so people could learn how to spell her name correctly. I often tease people when I first get to know them that my name has two n's, but in reality, it drives me nuts. So, for the record, my name is spelled...

*drum roll*

L-Y-N-N-E-T-T-E

Blame it on my dad. My mom had originally spelled it with one n, but my dad insisted since it's Lynn + ette, it should be spelled that way.

What about you? Do you have a name that's hard to spell?  What's your pet peeve?

WOW

During the past couple of months, I’ve acquired some new readers. *waves* Welcome. Kick back and enjoy the conversations. Some of you may not realize this, but I run a free
writers’ support group called Writers on Writing. Our group is growing and open to anyone who’d like to join.

Writers on Writing is an exciting networking opportunity, but not a critique group (although, crits can be done off loop). WOW is all about supporting writers through their journey. We give cyber hugs when someone’s been rejected, celebrate the acquisition of an agent, and party with the sales or releases of new books. We also love to talk about writing. If one of us has a question about the craft, for example, someone will surely have the answer. We draw attention to great blogs, announce irresistible online writing classes, and point the way to some eye-catching articles about the craft or industry. If this sounds interesting, send me an e-mail to lynnette_labelle (at) hotmail (dot) com. Make sure you spell my name with two n’s or I won’t get your message. Please put “WOW” in the subject so I know it’s not spam. Then, I’ll send you an invitation and you can begin sharing your journey with us. Looking forward to seeing you on the other side.

For those of you who already have a support group, how has it helped you on your journey?

Monday Me: TAGGED

While I was on blogging vacation, Gavin tagged me. Since I like to keep my posts fairly short, I’ve reduced the questions from 26 to 8. Here they are:


1) Do you type or write by hand?   I used to write everything by hand while at a coffee shop or bookstore and then type out my work when I got home. I didn’t mind this process as I was able to edit as I typed. However, I have since acquired a laptop and couldn’t go back. I still edit as I go, but do it differently now. I write a scene or two at a time (if I’m lucky) and when I come back to my manuscript, I re-read what I’ve written, fixing anything that doesn’t work before I continue. I still consider this a first draft, just my way of writing it. Then, I send the chapter off to my crit group and edit the work again once they’ve shredded it. After that, I’ll go over the story as a whole and polish, polish, polish.


2) Do you save everything you write?   Most definitely. I even save the scenes and characters I delete from my WIP. You never know when those pieces might come in handy either in this work or another one.


3) What’s your favorite thing you’ve ever written?   The story I’m working on right now. That’s why I’ve stuck with it for so long. This is my third version, but I love this one much more than the others. This is the one, baby!


4) What character have you written that’s most like yourself?   I had to laugh when I read this question. I can’t say I have any one particular character that resembles me. All of my heroines have a little bit of me in them.


5) Where do you get your ideas for your characters?   They just come to me. I suppose they’re a mix of people I know, characters I’ve read about, and personalities I’ve seen on TV or in movies. However, I never think about it that way. They simply become real to me and do whatever suits them.


6) Do you ever write based on your dreams?   Yes, often. I have many future plots outlined that stemmed from dreams including the story I’m working on now.


7) Are you concerned with spelling and grammar as you write?   Always. I don’t know if it’s my natural editor that won’t shut off or the teacher in me who won’t keep quiet. I don’t mind though. This way, I have less to edit later.

8) Does music help you write?   Not really. As a stay-at-home mom of twins, things are pretty loud here most of the time, so when I have a chance for quiet, I take it. The only time I listen to music when writing is to drown out others like when I’m at the library or in a coffee shop.

And now to pass the love along. I’ve tagged:

-VR Barowski
-Karen Amanda Hooper
-Anne Riley

Check out these great blogs to learn more about them.  And, just for fun, answer one of these questions about yourself in the comment section.

Monday Me: Tess's Question

A while back, I asked my readers what they wanted to know about me. Well, it’s time to answer another one of those questions.

Tess Hilmo asked: “I'd like to know more about what specifically you write and maybe why you like to write that genre (you know, what influences your writing choices)”

Thanks for the great questions, Tess. I started writing short stories for children and then moved to YA romance novels. Those were back in the days when I was in high school or when I taught junior high, so I was involved in the lives of young people. After I quit my teaching job, married my husband, and moved to the US, I felt I was finally adult enough to write what I read: romantic suspense.

I’ve played around with different styles and finally discovered my voice is a lot darker than I’d expected. Unfortunately, that means starting over with my current manuscript since the killer wasn’t sick enough and wouldn’t be able to become more psycho because of a backstory and character issue. In any case, while there’s more work involved in re-writing a good portion of my story, I really like this new version better. It’s so much closer to what I read and love.

Why am I choosing to write the darker, edgier romantic suspense? Maybe I’m a little demented myself. You should see my home library. It’s filled with true stories about murders and there’s a whole section on serial killers. I’ve just always been fascinated with the psychopaths of the world. What makes them tick? How do they get away with the horrible things they do for so long? Even the TV shows I watch are crime based. One of my favorite shows is Criminal Minds which is about FBI profilers. If I could go back, I’d consider that profession. Or maybe not. It’s much safer to become a profiler in a novel than in real life, right? Actually, in order to write about a serial killer, I really need to have an understanding of what he’d do if he were in the situations I put him in. So, in a way, I have to profile him before I write his story.

What about you? What genre do you write and why? Do you have any questions you’d like me to answer? Ask away.

Dreaming of my Own Heavenly Reality

Someone who worked with my husband recently quit to move somewhere else, which has gotten me into the “what if” mode. What if we could up and leave? Where would we go? Neither one of us have been too far from home, so we’re limited with our knowledge of what’s really out there. However, you might have some information that could help us make the decision to stay or go.

What’s the criteria for my search? Well, there needs to be engineering jobs there because that’s what my hubby does for a living. We’d want to avoid any major weather areas with tornados, hurricanes, and earthquakes. We’d prefer to get out of the extreme cold, but don’t want to get into intense heat either. A place with a lot of lakes would be nice since we love the water, but getting into a bigger city is more important. Right now, we live in a very small town. A population of 50,000 near a big city or a larger city of 100,000 or more would be ideal.

Here are a couple of places I thought might be nice, but maybe you know more than me… Pennsylvania? Colorado? Do you know of any cities in these areas that fit my criteria? Do you have any other places elsewhere to suggest?

Most likely we won’t be moving anywhere since my husband suffers from the fear factor. Since he’s the breadwinner in the family at the moment (I’m a stay-at-home mom), a lot of stress is put on him to make sure he can provide for us. I understand that. But it would be sooooooo nice to move out of this teeny, tiny town. (I come from a city of 300,000 people, so a town of 3,000 is like a neighborhood to me, not a city.) Hey, a person can dream, right? So, give me a place to dream about.

Monday Me: The Little White Rascal

Thursdays, my twins go to Mrs. B’s house, where she teaches them preschool lessons in her basement classroom. Normally, I drop them off in the morning and pick them up after school without issue. Last Thursday was an exception.

As it turns out, Mrs. B lives directly across from the elementary school, so finding a parking spot is often a challenge. However, last week, that wasn’t the problem. When I pulled up, I saw a little white dog scurrying in and out of traffic on the snowy, icy roads.

“That looks like Mrs. B’s puppy,” I thought and rushed to her house.

Mrs. B greeted me with sad eyes and admitted one of the preschoolers had accidentally let little Sophie out of the house. Since Mrs. B couldn’t leave her class unattended, she had no choice but to let her puppy enjoy her new found freedom.

Well, I had a choice and I wasn’t about to let that little dog get hit by a car. So, even though I wasn’t dressed to be outside for long, I took off in the direction of the wandering white puff ball. Sophie recognized me and thought I was playing a chasing game with her.

My heart raced, not from all the running I’d been doing, but for fear the little mutt would get run over. I constantly rushed into traffic, my hands in the air, desperate to stop all vehicles until Sophie was safely on the sidewalk. My goal was no longer to catch her, although, that would’ve been a bonus. I needed to ensure her safety above everything else. I couldn’t let this innocent pup die, especially not in front of all the children leaving for home.

Fifteen minutes into the adventure, a man came to help me. We tried to gang up on her, but she was too fast. Then, we attempted to encourage her to enter the school, so she’d be caught between two sets of doors. She’d go right up to the entrance, turn, and take off again. After a few minutes of this game, she decided running into the street was more exciting. Great.

My assistant disappeared, so I was on my own for another fifteen minutes, freezing my butt off, but determined to keep Sophie safe.

Then, the school busses arrived. And one by one, I had to stop them, run between them, and chase the white dart back across the street. Not fun.

My ears felt like they were ready to fall off. My fingers were numb and I was no closer to catching the puppy than I was when I started, but I wouldn’t give up. That little mutt, whether she knew it or not, depended on me to keep her from danger.

Luckily, at that point, a boy who recognized Sophie, came to my aid. We cornered her. He quickly, scooped her up, and handed her to me.

What an experience. I shook for hours from the adrenaline rush. But, I’d do it all over again.

Have you ever tried to catch an animal on the run?