Foster an Author Week

I’m currently participating in an amazing event running from October 22nd to 26th. It’s called Foster an Author week and organized by three amazing women over on Facebook who decided a few years ago to hook authors up with bloggers in a mutual love and promotion fest.

This is my first year with the event but my blogger is a three year veteran. I asked Shirley, from Shirley’s bookshelf, to provide some information about how she became a book blogger and FB page owner where she promotes all things romance. Her page is amazing, I’ve already found some exciting new authors by checking out her posts. I hope after reading Shirley’s story you’ll visit her page and share some love by liking and following Shirley’s bookshelf.

Take it away, Shirley 

I fell in love with reading when I was in the fourth grade and read Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder and have spent my life reading whenever I had a free moment.

In 2012, when everyone was coming down off the high of reading the Fifty Shades series, I stumbled across a blog post about a soon to be released series and learned that one of the authors was a native of my home state, Pennsylvania, and also a man. I was intrigued and couldn’t wait to see what a male writer could give readers in a predominantly female dominated industry. I was not disappointed, and shared his work on my personal FB page. Of course, once you’ve purchased books on Amazon, they make suggestions for other authors/books you might also like. I came across a series by a western romance writer who included historical facts about her home state of Texas in her books and they greatly appealed to the history geek in me. And, because I wanted others to hear about her work, I shared on FB. Well, some friends and family weren’t appreciating some of the things I was sharing, and I can understand that, so in May of 2013 I set up my own page, Shirley’s Bookshelf, where I could share whatever I wanted and people who liked what they saw could follow me and my family and friends didn’t have “suggestive” images showing up in their newsfeed. Initially I simply shared what I was reading at the time, and cover reveals, releases and sales for authors I followed.

In 2014, I attended my first ever book signing, where I met new to me authors, and had myself added to their mailing lists. I started to get invites to their book release events, and it was then that I learned about bloggers who also coordinated events for authors, and I signed myself up for their mailing lists as well. 2014, into 2015 is when I began to share more than just authors whose work I’ve read, and it was then that my page grew from the maybe 200 followers I had at the time, to the 2700 I have now. For some, that’s not many, but I’m happy when I introduce even just one person to an author they had not heard of previously.

I have had the opportunity to attend at least three signings each year since 2015, and the authors whose work I share on my page has continued to grow. I have been privileged to meet authors from around the country (a few from outside the USA), and from many different walks of life. Some of them have become treasured friends, and I feel blessed that they’ve come into my life and that I’ve had experiences with them that I might not have had otherwise.

I really enjoy spreading the word about author’s work and I especially feel great satisfaction when I’ve introduced a reader to a “new to them” author and they find a new favorite writer.

Shirley resides in Central Pennsylvania, USA, with her husband and fur babies Sugar and Maya. She is the proud mom to a son and daughter, and recently celebrated the 1stbirthday of her grandson. Her Monday through Friday, nine to five job is working as the executive assistant to the department that provides services to students with special needs at an educational agency, and evenings are spent with her family and spreading the word about her favorite books and authors.

Find Shirley’s Bookshelf on

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShirleysBookshelf/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PAMrsB

Email: shirleysbookshelf@yahoo.com

Giveaway Month - Competitions, Blogs, Prizes and Fun

July is officially giveaway month. there are so many blog hops and activities happening I hope I can keep up.

Win an ebook copy of Playing Jax on July 11th or Healing a Cougar's Heart on July 15th by participating in the Sizzling Summer Reads Event at The Romance Reviews during July. You need to register to play the game (it's free and easy) then answer the question to go in the draw for the ebook.

To win Playing Jax, you can find the answer on the Playing Jax page of my website at http://www.jangraham.com.au when you get to the website simply scroll over the Wylde Shore tab at the top of the page then click on Paying Jax in the drop down menu. To find the answer to win a PDF copy of Healing a Cougar's Heart, go to Sydney Cougar series tab and then click on Healing a Cougars Heart in the drop down menu. Simple.

Good luck with everyone who enters, There are also lots of other great prizes throughout the month so click on the Picture above to go to the site and take a look.

As part of the Summer reads event there is also a chat at the TRR forum with me on July 15th, I'll post the chat link and time closer to the date. 


Check out my Friday the thirteenth Blog post as part of the When Darkness Falls Blog Hop to win an ebook copy of my latest novella Seducing a Cougar (in PDF format). The post will go live on Friday the thirteenth and remain active until midnight on 21st July. All you need to do is leave a comment on the Darkness post to go in the draw (the post will have the blog hop poster in the corner of the page). Lots of other authors are also participating, so check out the blog hop link on the side of the page to see what other amazing prizes are up for grabs.

For lovers of BDSM (either practicing or reading about it) I'm joining in the fun of the BDSM Unleashed Giveaway Hop. Up for grabs will be an ebook copy of Playing Jax, the second novel in my Wylde Shore Series. Again all you need to do is comment on the post with the BDSM poster on it ( and leave a valid email address at the end of the comment) to go in the draw. The winner will be randomly selected and notified by email after the event finishes on July 21st.

Don't forget to check out the link on the side of the page to see what other authors are participating and what other amazing prizes you could win.

Secret Cravings Publishing is holding a Summer scavenger hunt on the 21st and 22nd July. I'll post more details later but as part of this event you have another chance to win a PDF copy of Seducing a Cougar, the fourth novella in the Sydney Cougar Series.

Hope you're all ready for a crazy July. I know I'll be exhausted by the end of it.

Roses and Chocolates Blog Hop

I loved the idea of being involved with the Roses and Chocolates blog hop because I very fond of both items. My trepidation surfaced when I found out the hop included writing a blog about a memorable time when I was given either chocolates or roses, that's when I came unstuck.

You see, even though I've reached the wonderful age of forty-six, I haven't really been given either item under circumstances that you'd call memorable. Yes, as Linda Ronstadt once sang...poor, poor, pitiful me. I have been given flowers, generally after someone died or as an apology from a lover after a disagreement. As for chocolates I don't generally get those at all. So, what am I doing wrong? Who knows, maybe I need one of the men from my novels, a man who wants to woo me and tell me how special I am with not only his words but gifts and gestures of love, like cooking dinner.

In my most recent novella, Mark, the hero is a gift giver, flowers, perfume etc. In Playing Jax, my second novel due to be released mid May there is actually a discussion about what flowers mean and why men give them to women.

I've decided that since flowers appear as a theme in both my latest works it must be saying something about me. I think I want flowers. I want a man who gives them freely without a hidden agenda or ulterior motive. In my next relationship I will determine to find a man who does just that. Maybe then, if the roses and chocolates blog happens again, I'll have a memorable story to tell.





Blog Giveaway:

Win a PDF copy of my latest Cougar Novella, Healing a Cougar's Heart. Simply comment on this blog post and tell me if you would prefer a lover/friend to give you chocolates or flowers as a gift and you'll go in the draw to win. Remember to leave your email addy as part of the comment so I can contact you if you win. Conditions for the competition are listed at the end of this post.

Enjoy an excerpt from Hearing a Cougar's Heart. 

The knock on her door brought her back from her thoughts. Flowers greeted her when she answered the door, in fact, a huge bouquet of the most beautiful flowers she’d ever seen. She eagerly accepted the delivery. No one ever sent her flowers. For a moment she wondered if she should have read the card before the delivery girl left. What if they weren’t meant for her? No, the young woman had asked for Isabelle, so they couldn’t be a mistake.

 She got a large vase from the cupboard, filled it with water and−hey presto−a stunning display of color sat in the centre of her dining table. She unpinned the card and sat down on the sofa. Her hands shook as she stared at the little envelope. It definitely said Isabelle O’Connor. She took a fortifying slurp of coffee and then pulled the card from its white wrapping.

 Let me show you how an honorable man treats a gorgeous lady. Please come to dinner with me tonight. Mark Dean.

She stared at the card, re-read it, placed it on the coffee table, stared at it some more, and picked it up again. His mobile phone number was printed under his name. Her mind raced to understand what it could mean. Well, apart from the obvious “have dinner with me” bit. Surely he didn’t think she was gorgeous? If anything, that should be a word applied to him, not her. She reached for her phone and began to dial.

Gorgeous. If that’s what he thought of her, it was an added bonus. Dinner with the man who had filled her dreams last night was a definite yes, please.

* * * * *

Other blog hop participants to check out.

1.  Lea Barrymire

2.  Michele Hart
3.  Rose Leigh Woods
4.  Carolyn Rosewood 
5.  Rita Bay
6.  JoAnne Kendrick
7.  Becca Simone
8.  Siobhan Muir
9.  Camile Carson
10. Wendy Soliman
11. Kasey Dean
12. Alicia White 
13. Lynn Tyler
14. Hennesee Andrews
15. Christi Bart
16. Nicole Morgan 
17. Missy Lyons 
18. Jan Graham 
19. Casey Crow
20. Simone Sinna  
21. Lea Kinkade

 Conditions of competition entry:

- Entering this contest means you have read, understood, and agree with all rules and regulations stated.- Entrants must be 18 or older (or age of majority in your country) to enter and to win.- No purchase necessary.- Void where prohibited.- All stated rules are subject to change without notification or reason given.- Chances of winning vary widely based on the number of entries received.- Prize is as stated. No substitutions or exchanges. - Contest host is not responsible to misrepresented/mistyped email addresses, spam filters, mailer daemons, and other internet wackiness that may crop up at the time of winner notification.

- Winner is final.- Contest Starts 00:01ESTMay 5th and Ends 12:59EST May 9th and open to International participants- Winner will be notified via email no later than 10:00EST May 10th -Respond by date to collect prize is 14 day, 12:59EST May 24th

Healing a Cougar's Heart

Purchase Now

Healing a Cougar's Heart will be released on April 27th through Secret Cravings Publishing. I'm so excited about the release of the third novella in the Sydney Cougar Series.

Isabelle O’Connor never considered herself the type of woman who needed a knight in shining armor to come and rescue her, until one does. Well he’s more a knight in blue jeans and white shirt. After all, it is modern times. Unfortunately, her perfect hero has a flaw... he’s a cop.  Isabelle decided years ago never to become involved with a police officer again, and she isn’t going to change her mind now.

Mark Dean loves being a cop. He also loves the hot redhead he rescued from a creep’s unwanted attention at a local nightclub. Mark knows that before he can gain Isabelle’s affection he has to convince her of something. Being a cop has nothing to do with her reluctance to date him. Isabelle’s heart never healed after the death of her husband and Mark makes it his mission to help heal this feisty Cougar’s heart.

It's all Happening - New Releases



Purchase Now

What a week I've had. Apart from some personal dramas things have been busy writing wise. The second novella in the Sydney Cougar Series was released on Friday. Catching a Cougar is the story of Justin and Katie. They hooked up for a few week but then Katie pulled the plug on the relationship and ran away like a scared little kitten. Justin designs a plan to catch her again and recruits some of their friends from The Cougar Club to help. If you're interested in purchasing the book click the purchase now link and it will take you to the publishers website so you can grab a copy.

The other exciting thing going on is Finding Angel is due to come out in paperback within then next four to six weeks. I'll keep you posted on the exact date and post the link as soon as it's available. I know some people have been waiting for the physical book to come out so I hope you'll be as pleased with the news as I am.

Happy Anniversary Secret Cravings Publishing

I love a celebration, I mean who doesn't? Special occasions remind us of the things in life we need to appreciate and be grateful for. Loved ones, family, friends, things we've achieved, and even the lessons we've learned from our failures. We can celebrate anything, and I know in Australia we often do. I mean the whole country nearly closes down on the first Tuesday of November each year for the Melbourne Cup (for those of you who don't know, it's a horse race). I see all my overseas friends sitting in front of their computers with stunned expressions. I kid you not, we celebrate a horse race. It's a huge day, workplaces stop to watch or listen to the race. The only movement in the whole country is people jumping up and down screaming at a TV screen.

My point is, celebrations are a great thing. For the last month, authors who are part of the Secret Cravings stable (I may as well stick with the horse theme now I've started) have been blogging and giving away prizes because it's Secret Cravings Publishing's (SCP) First Anniversary. I'm only new to the world of writing and publishing but so far it's been a great experience for me, much of it due to SCP. My first novella in their Hot Flash Line came out this month, three more in the same series are to follow this year. I'm thankful to be able to participate in SCP's first year and the anniversary celebration. Congratulations on being an excellent publisher. I hope your success continues to grow and that you keep putting out quality books for years to come.

Happy Anniversary Secret Cravings.  

Win a Copy of The Cougar Club.
My first novella, The Cougar Club was released through SCP just this month. I'm giving away a PDF copy as part of the celebration. So, for your chance to win, all you have to do is leave a comment on this blog (along with you email address of course). I'll be announcing the winner on the 16th for those who participate.  

Also if you participate in the competitions and make blog entries on all the celebration blogs you can go in the draw to win the major prize from Secret Cravings Publishing. for more information about how to win the major prize visit the link below.

http://secretcravingspublishing.blogspot.com/2011/12/one-year-anniversary-blog-hop-starts.html

4 out of 5 for The Cougar Club

Well The Cougar Club is out and today there's a review for it on Kinky Book Reviews. Riane gave it 4 out of 5 kinks...yippee. I'm so happy about the review. It's nice to know that other like what I've written. I'm also guest blogging today as part of the Kinky Book Reviews New Year Launch Party so rock along and check it out.

Click here to visit the review and guest blog. 

You could win a copy of Finding Angel

by leaving a comment under the post.

The Cougar club review is also up on the site,

so have a read and see if you'd liked to buy the

Novella.

I hope you all have a great day, I'll be spending my day working on Playing Jax, the second book in the Wylde-Shore Series. It's all about Steve Jax, his wife is dead and he believes he may never love again. I'm trying to convince him otherwise. Let's hope his heart isn't too broken and he can find his way back to happiness.

Sydney Cougars

It's nice when you start seeing your work come together in a way that makes it real. After all the writing, contract signing and edits, an author can start to wonder why did I decide to do this. Then the book cover arrives, and you let out a little scream of delight. Yay, now I know why I do this, because I love writing and creating stories that might entertain and interest others. For me it's not until I see a cover that I realise I'm actually doing something tangible. I'm not just spending endless hours sitting at my computer playing author. I'm actually being what I want to be.

So, today the cover arrived for The Cougar Club, the first novella in my Sydney Cougar Series. Unlike the initial cover art for Finding Angel (which made me cry, because it was just so inexplicably horrid. It did get revised, thank god.) I screamed with delight when The Cougar Club cover landed in my inbox. Zeke looks like I imagined him and so does Jasmine. The are soooo sexy. I just want to hug them both. Well maybe I could do a bit more than just hug Zeke :)

Life sometimes takes you on a bit of a curve. You can go off on a tangent that sometime works out, other times the tangent leads to disaster. The Sydney Cougar Series, more specifically The Cougar Club was a tangent for me. I was trying to get Finding Angel contracted with a publisher. It seemed like that would never happen. As I was looking at submission guidelines for different publishers, I found Secret Cravings Publishing (SCP). They had a call out for submissions for a new line of books. Their new Hot Flash imprint. Stories about older women and younger men. Cougar stories up to 20,000 words. I decided to give my self a break from the endless grind and worry, write a story, then submit it and see what happened. Jasmine and Zeke came to life, so did the club, and there crazy friends. I had the best time working on the novella, it just basically fell out of my head onto the page in about 4 days. I submitted it, expecting a huge wait to hear back. OMG, a week or so later I had a contract. My first publishing contract. I decided it was fate. It was meant to be. I could use this as a learning experience for when Finding Angel got a home. It didn't work out that way exactly, because Angel got published and came out before this, but, oh well. I've still learnt a lot from SCP, they're a terrific company to write for.

And SCP is continuing to be a first for me. My tangent is paying off, they recently offered me a multi book contract. Three more of the Sydney Cougar Series novellas. I didn't intend for The Cougar Club to be part of a series, but it has. The secondary characters from the book grabbed my attention. They needed their own story. I wanted to let people know what happened to some of Jasmine and Zeke's friends. I mean 20k words doesn't give a lot of detail, inquiring minds (like me) needed to know more of what was going on. When I submitted the second novella, Catching a Cougar, to SCP they asked how many more were in the series. I replied two more unnamed titles. I know who they will be about, but as for how the stories will unfold, that's still jottings on paper. So, SCP offered me a multi-book contract for the remaining three novellas. How cool are they, and how excited was I? I'm still smiling.

I haven't got a definite release date for The Cougar club yet, but it is in February, so only a few weeks to wait. If you'd like to have a sneak peak at what the books about, visit my website. The link is on the right hand side of the blog page. I hope when your read The Cougar Club that you find it's just the right amount of good storyline and wickedly sexy fun.

Come and Sit on my Lap Little Girl

Well it's that time of year. Yes the fat man will soon be squeezing his wobbly gut down a chimney near you soon. Well, if you haven't been too naughty that is.

I've always been a bit of a bah humbug kind of girl when it comes to Christmas. I still am to a certain extent, but I've discovered over time, that Christmas actually appeals to my perverse sense of humor. So, as a treat for myself, and hopefully you, I'm going to fester all over my blog for the next two weeks. To start off with though, I've decided I should give you a bit of an idea about where my bad Christmas attitude started. In case you haven't guessed, this is where I blame my family for everything...oh, and Santa of course.

As a child, I remember being terrified of sitting on Santa's knee. Yes I could sprout the argument of, it's the one time of year your parents actually encourage you to talk to a stranger who gives you lollies, but that's not what this post is about. Besides, I like it when men give me sweets and I've always found strangers interesting.

To give you an idea of my memories of Santa I've decided to show you a few pictures. Yes, me as a child with with the old fat pervert himself. I'm not the keeper of the photo archives in the Graham family, but I do have a few of the more terrifying memories captured on celluloid (I know I'm old.)

So here we go, my bah humbug attitude toward Christmas- the formative years.


1965: The chill out year

At three months old I obviously didn't give a shit

who's lap I sat on. Not that I'm looking at the old

jerk, but still, when you're three months old you're

still learning to focus.

 1966:  The terror begins

By the time I was 15mths old, I no longer had issues with focus. I could see that red and white monster and I wanted nothing to do with him. In order to stop me crying and actually get me anywhere near the old fool, some genius came up with the idea of sitting me on a bike. You'll all be happy to know I recovered from the conclusion I got when I toppled off the damn thing. However, I don't think my brother ever recovered from the death grip Santa had on his arm.

1967: I'm not here and neither is he.

Ah, 2yrs 3mths and the brain kicks in. Okay, so I'll sit on his lap and just try to ignore him. I can't smile, but I can bite my bottom lip to stop from screaming as old man Santa whispers encouraging nothings in my ear. If he'd just shut up I'd be able to get to my happy place. Now say the mantra you thought up...I'm not here, I'm not here, I'm not here.

                                              

1969: I'm going to get you for this my pretty!

By the time I reached four years of age, fear was starting to get old. I devised a new plan for the jolly fat man and the happy snap elf with the camera. Be nice, get the lolly and then make your parents pay. Yes, I'm still nervous and biting the bottom lip, but there's vengeance in those eyes. Just wait, I might not get you back right away but when I'm a teenager, I'll be your worse nightmare. My memory is long...you'll see.

 

1971: Are we done yet?

Yes, by the time I was seven years old, I'd truly had enough. Enough of the frilly dresses, enough of the bribes and threats, enough of sweaty old men, in red velvet suits, with white nylon beards. No more biting the lip, no more tears. Just that are-we-done look that persisted in pictures throughout my childhood and into my teen years.

I think, for a seven year old, I did bored pretty well. Of course I'm perfected it by the time I was a teenager. And for those of you wondering if 4 year old Jan got her plotted revenge. Of course she did. I was a horrible teenager. *evil grin and wicked laugh*

Tweet, Tweet, Twiddle de Tweet.

I may not rock in the treetops all day long, hopping and bopping and singing my song... but I do tweet. Social networking, the modern day authors new nightmare. When I first decided to concentrate on being an full-time author, I had now idea what I was letting myself in for. Ignorance is bliss doesn't really cover what I've discovered, but it goes a long way to explaining it. Once my first manuscript was completed, I went on the biggest learning curve of my life. In olden days, or at least my idea of them, authors wrote a book, got published, did a few book signings & interviews, then went back to their cave to write something else. I realise it's probably an incorrect notion or simplistic view of the olden day, but movies are really all I have to go on. I should probably add that if you were a crime or suspense writer, in between the signing and writing, you probably solved a few crimes or mysteries along the way, rescued a damsel or two and saved at least one city from destruction.

But I digress...

Once my manuscript was complete, I started to contemplate getting published. I know, it probably wasn't the best way to do things. I should have actively sought a book deal when the story was in plot form, but why organise something when I didn't even know if my ADD brain would even finish the manuscript. After all, I have a pile of them. Incomplete and dusty pages of dribble from pre-computer days, along with the mess of neglected archived files on mass storage devises, collecting cobwebs in their own techie kind of way.

But again, I digress...

So, while trolling publishers and investigating the how-too's and where-for's of the modern day literary world, I discovered the unthinkable. There is a monster preying on the lives of the modern day writer. Whether your published or not, the shadow of the creature lurks, tracking your every move. It's tentacles slowly reach for you, attempting to invade your soul. The beast's mystical powers of deception lull your once alert sense of foreboding, allow him to caress you and draw you closer. Now your within striking distance, your jugular exposed. Fangs pierce your skin, injecting a venom that targets your mind, eroding your creativity and encouraging you to seek distraction within the monsters arms. Once taken into the monsters embrace it is hard to break free, sharp talons pierce your body, clawing toward your heart. If the creature obtains your heart, it's all over, you are lost. You become enslaved. Trying to break free causes pain, you must obey the beast, seek solace, submit to its ever controlling will. You have become ensnared in the social networking world and your life will never be the same again.

I hear you all scoffing... Yeah, right! Crazy woman! But deep inside you know I'm telling the truth.

I started my dance with the monster about six months ago. A lot of the publishers I approached insisted authors have an Internet presence. Whether you're published or not, you need an online profile. Personal marketing gone made, attract readers for a book that isn't yet accepted for publication. Realising the fight to avoid said Internet exploitation was a losing battle, I conceded defeat and opened my google home page. How do you build an Internet presence? I felt the dark shadow drift over me, a chill quivered along my spine, the caress of something near my ankle caught my attention and I looked down. The tentacle of the god of knowledge encircled my ankle and wound it's way around my shin. Of course, you allow the beast to approach.

I already had a facebook profile, it was amusing at times. I posted stupid things and made the odd comment on friend's walls. I didn't mind going on there every so often, seeing what my real and pretend facebook friends were doing. I did however, recognise it for the time waster it was. So now, in order to look more appealing to prospective publishers I had to revisit not only facebook, but other sites I previously chose to ignore. My first step was to create a facebook page to highlight my work. It took me a nearly a day to set up. By the time I had filled in all the information, chosen pictures, sent invites, and read all the disclosure statements, I had wasted more time than I anticipated. I slowly started getting people to like the page...sloowwwly. Deciding I must be doing something wrong, I mean, why didn't I have a million followers in a week, I looked at what else I could do. A tentacle,  the god of inspiration, wrapped around my left leg. Genius....I'll write a blog. Time rolled by, a few days in fact. I had to find the blog site that suited me, then design the blog page. Again, more pictures, more info about me, my work... blah blah blah. The first blog post finally went live. Hallelujah! Praise the tentacle god of inspiration.

Eight weeks later, after posting on facebook, writing blogs, and sharing the blog to my facebook wall I had the strange feeling I should be doing more. There was a caress on my back, another tickle of inspiration as the tentacle god of seduction encircled my waist. I needed more social networking hits, more traffic to the blog, more facebook friends liking my page. I need to do more, to get more. Twitter, everyone talks about twitter. Sign up, write the profile, follow people, encourage people to follow me... more, more, more. Tweet this and tweet that. Link twitter to facebook, facebook to twitter, send the blog post to both. Now I'm getting the hang of self promotion. Now I'm getting word out about me. Now I'm connecting. The first offer of a contract, made me cry with relief. The second contract had me dancing around the house. Dancing hand in tentacle with monster, allowing the mystical powers of deception to fill my senses. Must tweet, post, blog. announce to the world I'm going to be published. When the email arrived asking for my website address I panicked. Then I felt the beast's warm breath on my neck, deception whispered in my ear. Its' easy, design a website now. A week later my website went live. Must tweet, post, blog, tell the world I have a website. The monsters tentacles pulsed around me, deception lulled me into a quiet satisfaction that I was doing everything as I should, I relaxed.

When the intervention came I tried to deny it. The lady of the industrial city didn't hold back her concern.
      "If you can write the first book in four months, how is it you've only written two chapters of the second book in the last six months. You aren't going to make a living on one novel. When was the last time your worked on the book? You do need to write you know, isn't that what your supposed to be...a writer."
I write. I write every day! I tweet, I post, I comment, I chat, I blog... I WRITE! At the periphery of my vision I saw a man. He was pale, thin, the tone of his muscles less defined. He'd was dejected, alone, obviously neglected...it was Steve, my hero from the second manuscript. What had I done?

Suddenly the hot breath on my throat annoyed me. The tentacles of seduction, inspiration and knowledge, tightened painfully. I turned to stare into the monster's eyes. Deception radiated toward me, he was eyeing the pulse at my throat, lips snarled back to expose fang dripping with venom. OMG, I write social networking waffle everyday. I flung my fists at the beast chest, I struggled. I screamed out to Steve, his gaze lifted, and he smiled. I held out my hand and he rushed toward me, prying the tentacles from my body with his bare hands. Work with me, his unspoken message invaded my mind, allowing me time to think clearly. I imagined a sword, fire licking at it's chiseled blade, chains empowered with magic to secure any mythical beast who threatened the weak. Steve took up the weaponry and stuck at the beast. Tentacles lacerated, I fell to the ground. He swung the chain. Fangs shattered, before it's mouth was bound, tightly shut. Steve encircled the beast's body with he remain chain, tentacles strapped to it's body, legs shackled...immobilised.

Steve and I embraced, he administered a healing salve to my wounds and we walked away, together. But what of the beast. Steve explained I needed to keep him, a bound reminder of distractions that lay in wait, taking my focus off the prize. The monster quickly shrank in size, he sits on my desk, approaching my keyboard twice a day at the times I designate. He whimpers and looks at me forlornly until I allow him to feed. We visit the social networking site together, no more than an hour or two a day. So far the existence is a happy one. Steve and I have resumed work, his strength regained, his presence within my mind now firm and, as always, protective. I am once again the master of my own destiny...and Mistress to a little shackled beast who wobbles around my desk complaining the chains are too tight.

Do you want the truth or something beautiful?

Submissions have been driving me nuts recently. Yes I've been doing them, apparently an author needs to do submissions to publishing houses if she actually wants her book to make it into print or even ebook format.... who knew...lol. I send off one, then get a thanks but no thanks letter and I send off another one to someone else. Trying to find a publisher for a novel is really the most frustrating thing I've done in a long while. Yes it's a fact of life if you choose writing as a career, I understand that but I'm not really finding pleasure in the dance I am now engaged in.

It wasn't until I went and had a sulk in bed the other day, that I realised finding a publisher is a bit like dating. I know my mind is strange but bear with me... I'm about to ramble and then hopefully reach a poignant conclusion.

When you meet someone your interested in and get to go out on a date you are faced with a few choices, and I'm not talking about where to go. I'm talking personal choices. I find the choice is basically summed up by the Paloma Faith song "Do you want the truth or something beautiful?"

You put on the outfit you keep for special occasions because it makes you look better that anything else you own. It might be that tight skirt that shows how perfectly rounded your butt is, along with the top that you bought when you went out shopping and your girlfriend said 'that make your tits look great, you so need to buy it.' You add the lace top stockings and your highest platforms that you sometimes refer to as your 'come fuck me shoes'. Next you get out the paint and move onto your face. You add a little foundation just to make sure the uneven tone is covered, the mascara and eyeliner highlights your eyes making them more alluring, the lipstick makes your lips look fuller and more kissable. You straighten your hair, ensure it has a nice shine..... by the time you get out in public you look like a new woman..... and for what? To impress someone you know very little about.

So he sits through dinner and talks at you (about himself of course) he burps loudly, looks at the asses of the other women who walk past the table and when he's disinterested in what you're saying, he stares at your tits. I mean really, you knew you shouldn't have worn that push up bra and top that makes them look great, what else did you expect? You console yourself that at least he's not yawning. By the end of the night you may or may not have decided to have sex with him, depending on how cute he is.

The next day after you've made him breakfast he looks at you and sees who you really are. Your hair is now a wavy mess with a few dry ends, because you showered late last night after he decided to cum all over your tits while having sex. Of course he was sound sleep so had no idea you'd even left the bed. You have no makeup on, your tits aren't as pert because you aren't wearing a bra and the fluffy dressing gown hides your shapely everything.  Arh... finally the truth.

Then the dance really begins, he might call, he might not. He may ask to see more of you before he decides no you're not what he's looking for. If he's nice he'll probably let you know he doesn't want to hear from you again. If not, you just won't hear from him. So, after a designated timeframe, and its different for everyone, you move on. You go out, find someone else and do the dance all over again. Hopefully before you run out of options you meet the one person in the world who thinks that your truth is beautiful.

A dance with a publisher is much the same, minus the sex and need to shower of course. You show an interest in them by sending in the submission. You give them a part of yourself to look at, usually the first three chapters of your manuscript. You make that part of you look as beautiful as you can. You dress the story up in your synopsis, you have the hook line, you try to make it sound interesting within the guidelines they insist you work within. You give them the pitch and hope they respond favourably.

If the publisher reads on past the initial query and synopsis (i.e. they decided to spend the night.) In the cold light of day things might look different. There are one or two spelling and grammar mistakes (well sorry, after editing 60 million times by myself I'm cross eyed and might have missed a few things here and there.) The manuscript basically fits into the guidelines they have for publication but it doesn't have all of them (oops did I have a DP scene, when I shouldn't have?). The now wavy hair looked better straight.

If they like the beautiful packaging then you might hear from them again, but even then they could still decide that you're not what they are looking for. If they're nice they will probably let you know they don't want to hear from you again. If not you just won't hear anything. So, after a designated timeframe, and its different for everyone, you move on the the next publishing house. You start the dance and hope for a different outcome.

And, just as it is with dating, hopefully before you run out of options you find the publisher who thinks that your truth is beautiful.