Finishing Touches

If you follow me on Facebook, you know already that my trusty hammer is still on a pegboard in Ohio.

I'll be picking up a spare one from my brother-in-law today and will finally be able to start hanging pictures. I consider picture location one of the final acts of getting settled into a new home. I've already begun to position some of them where I think they'll end up, but one never knows until something's on the wall whether it's in the right location.

While all this has been going on, I've also been given the boot by Simon & Schuster, along with all my fellow Crimson authors.

While I work to get my rights reverted to me on the eleven books I have with them, I was putting the finishing touches on the second book in my new Flower Girl series. Book One, Winning Violet,  has been out since December, but S&S isn't willing to continue the series. As I see it, I have two choices here: 1) I can finish book 2, write books 3 & 4 while I wait to get my rights back for book 1 and position myself to self-publish the entire series next year, or 2) I can find a publisher who doesn't care if they have all the books in the series under their flagship and only care if the writing is good.

Since the first option means going an entire year with no income from this series and then having a considerable outlay of cash to get the four books ready next year, Option One is not feasible. That leaves me with Option Two. Readers don't look twice at who the publisher is, unless they are also an author, so I decided to pursue my second choice. Instead of abandoning Losing Lily, the second book in the series, I put the finishing touches on the manuscript and got it ready to head out into the world. Simon & Schuster had given me a due date of April 15, so I kept myself on track, even during my convoluted move to North Carolina. I finished the final edits on it this past week, so all I need do is read through it once more before sending it off to the interested publisher, who has vision enough to not care if they don't have the rights to Book One. A good series is a good series, regardless of who produces it. So Losing Lily and her beloved maze, not to mention her beloved Scotsman, may see the light of day yet. And I feel like I've been through the publishing gauntlet, trying to find a new home for the series.

Taking The Plunge

I've been so caught up in my new venture that I totally forgot what day it was. If you came here early expecting a new post, I apologize.

I'm sure you're now wondering what could occupy my time so much that I'd forget my blog post for the very first time. Well, wonder no more. I'm about to self-publish a Christmas novella, and have a steep learning curve in front of me. I'm trying to make it as simple as possible by putting it up only as an e-book, and only on Amazon, but still, there's a huge mound of information to get through. I've lined up an editor and a cover artist and think I've got most of my bases covered, but I'm sure I'm forgetting things that will come to light in the next few weeks.

But let me tell you about the book. It's my first Regency-inspired work. I had someone whose job it is to know this stuff read it through to see if I could effectively write Regency, since my historicals up to this point had all been American historicals. When I got a passing grade from her, I was left with the decision to try to find a publisher for it or do it myself. I thought this was the perfect opportunity to try my hand at self-publishing and to become a true hybrid author.

It's exciting and frightening at the same time. The story line is sweet and I love the hero and heroine. Can't wait to introduce you to Jeremy and Sophie. The book will hopefully be up by November for your viewing pleasure. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Is It All A Matter Of Position?

I find it interesting that the Kama Sutra, the bible of sexual positions, lists 100 different scenarios, yet when writing romance, you have only so many positions from which to choose. Shouldn't romance have as many different positioning options as sex itself?

i recently received some very good feedback on my latest contemporary, which is book one in a trilogy about a mother, daughter and granddaughter who all retreat to the family lake house when they get into romantic trouble. Because each book deals with an individual love story, the heroine for the first book is in her 30s, the mother will be in her 50s and the grandaughter, who, when it's her turn for a story, will be in her 20s. How do you position a series like this, when the heroines are all different ages?

Here's the short answer–you don't.

It's not women's fiction, since it doesn't have multiple subplots or deep female relationships. It's not category romance because the age of the heroines is all over the place, instead of being cute young things just getting started in life. The advice I was given was to choose one or the other, and rewrite my book to fit neatly into one of these existing positions.

But I don't want to write about cute young things just getting started. I love the fact that my characters have had a life before my story starts. That they've earned every line on their face. That they've loved and lost before. This is second chance romance, even for the granddaughter. Why isn't there a category for that?

Guess what? There is. It's called self-publishing.

Maybe it's time to take the plunge.

MJ Schiller's Blog Tour--Stop One

M.J. Schiller, Rocking the World ~ One Reader at a Time

Hi, all! I’m MJ Schiller and Becky was kind enough to have me on her blog today to talk about my recent foray into self-publishing. Just a few weeks ago I put my romance, TRAPPED UNDER ICE on sale on Amazon, Smashwords, BN.com, and the I-book store (along with some smaller ebook retailers). It is the first in my Rocking Romance Collection, a set of stories which all include a rock star as a main character. Becky was curious about my decision to self-publish after being published by Crimson Romance, so I thought I’d share some thoughts on that.

I got a Kindle for Christmas and, I have to say, I love it! I was resistant to e-readers because I love books so much. I’m one of those geeky people whose heart beats a little faster when I enter a book store. I love the smell, the colorful covers, the very feel of books in my hand. One of my favorite Christmases— I think I was about ten — was the year my dad gave me four Nancy Drew books for Christmas. Four of my own! I didn’t have to borrow from my friend who had ALL of them. (That would have been around fifty-seven of them back then. There are a hundred and seventy-five now!) Just getting a peek of that yellow spine sent me into orbit! So how could an electronic device compare to that? But, much to my chagrin, the e-reader is really a bookworm’s dreams come true. I hold an entire library in my hands! If I finish a book, I need only click on another. It’s fantastic!

With the advent of the e-reader much of publishing now happens in cyberspace. The landscape of the publishing world is changing and the market has shifted. Since people are buying their books online, that is where the marketing is, too. No longer are publishers sending their authors out on book tours. We do blog tours, like my stopping by here today. Thus the majority of the marketing is done by the authors themselves. Since I’m doing the marketing myself, and I wrote the darn thing ( ; I feel I should get the lion’s share of the profits. When I work with a publisher they get seventy percent of the profits, I get thirty. Sure, being traditionally published gives your work some credence, and there are benefits with brand recognition, but I don’t feel those benefits weigh out to seventy percent. I may sell less books, but will it be over forty percent less? I guess I’ll just have to wait and see. The initial outlook is good. In the week TRAPPED UNDER ICE has been out on the market I have sold more books than in the four months my Crimson title has been out. But time will tell.

Now, without further ado, I’d like to introduce you to TRAPPED UNDER ICE. This one is the book of my heart. It’s the story of a three time platinum record-producing rock star, Chad Evans. Despite his success, Chad is still haunted by growing up in an abusive home. He tries to play his heart out on the stage, but can never quite seem to leave it there.  

Enter Beth Donovan, lunch lady/writer (just like moi. Coincidence? Not on your life.) Beth is attending a Trapped Under Ice concert though she still mourns her husband, whom she lost three years prior. After the concert, she and her daughter, Cassie are attacked by two men. Chad comes to the rescue and sparks begin to fly the likes of which his pyro crew has never seen!

Though drawn to each other, the pair has a lot of baggage to get through. And then there’s the fact that they come from two completely different backgrounds. Oh, and did I mention someone has been sending Chad death threats? You just have to check this one out.  ‘Cause, come on, what could be hotter than the love between a rock star and a lunch lady?

Thanks for joining us today. If you’re interested in hearing more about my self-publishing journey, I’ll be on Peggy Bird’s (http://www.peggybirdwrites.com/) blog tomorrow, continuing my conversation and explaining what I did after I made the decision to go it alone. I would be happy to answer, or attempt to answer, any questions you may have. ( ; Thanks again, Becky, for having me here today!

Here's a bit about MJ that you may not know:

I was born in the heart of Tornado Alley, and I’ve been a bit mixed up ever since. Not really, but I’ve always wanted to use that line. The medical community has established no solid connection between the place of my birth and my off-beat personality.

I grew up in St. Louis and graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a degree in English education. I left the workforce, however, when my kids were born. Unbelievably I now have an eighteen year old and sixteen-year-old triplets! Yes, I write to escape teenagerdom. Although I love them dearly. I also escape via rock concerts and karaoke. My first book, TAKEN BY STORM, was published by Crimson Romance last fall, and my next book, the second in the ROCKING ROMANCE COLLECTION, titled ABANDON ALL HOPE will be coming soon!

You can find me at www.mjschiller.blogspot.com , or MJ on FB, or Twitter.

You can find TRAPPED UNDER ICE at Amazon, BN.com, the I-book Store, and other e-book retailers.