I’ve been wanting to write another Christmas novella for a long time.  The last one I did was UNDERNEATH THE MISTLETOE in the MISTLETOE MAGIC Anthology from Champagne Books in 2005.  I saw Cobblestone Press had a deadline of Sept. 1st to get in any Christmas stories for consideration of their 12 Days of Christmas line.

That was just a few days ago.  I knew I didn’t have much time, but the minimum was only 10K.  I didn’t want to write a WICKED submission, which could be shorter, so I knew I’d have to at least write 10K.  With 146 pages and close to 30K written on  RENEGADE, I decided to take a break from it yesterday to see if I could muster up some kind of holiday short story.

And by golly, that’s what I did.

It took me all day, but 11,282 words later, I’d written myself a brand new book!  It’s not long at all, however, it is just over the minimum word count.  I’ve read through it twice, polished it to a shine and sent it off to the Powers That Be over at Cobblestone.

The book itself is entitled HEAVEN SENT and I love it.  Here’s the blurb and logline.  I’ll keep you updated as to what happens with this one.  You might just get to read it by Christmas! 

~*~*~

When God gives you an angel, you don’t turn your back.

Montana Territory, Christmas, 1881

For five years, Pryce Daniels has mourned the passing of his wife.  He’s
lived alone in the Montana wilderness, yearning to feel the warmth of a
woman wrapped around him once more.  This Christmas, God has heard his cry.

In a bright streak light, an angel has come down to Earth, intent on healing
his heart.  But her memories of Heaven are fading, and soon, she doesn’t
remember who she is.

A swift, consuming passion overtakes them both, but Pryce’s doubt threatens
their delicate bond.  Before he can accept his gift from God, he must first
let the memory of his wife go.  But his hesitation might just cost his
glorious angel her life.

~*~*~

I’m just so impressed I got it done in a DAY and that it’s finished and submitted.  Where are all these stories coming from?  Dang!  Muse came back from vacation with a VENGEANCE!  LOL

~~Becka

Heya gang.  If you’re like me, then you HATED the last incarnation of my website.  The scrolly pics had broken and it was just downright ugly.  At the time I picked it, anything was better than my previous “old time western” website, which I loved when I first got that as well.  I guess as we evolve online, so too do our tastes.

I scoured the web for a WordPress template that was “romancey”.  The sexy ones just weren’t ME.  The flowery ones were kinda lame.  The ones with couples were either wedding templates or splashed with horrid colors.  Then I stumbled across this one.

Sure, it’s not perfect.  It doesn’t scream that I’m a romance author.  But I liked it because it has my posts on a notebook, with handwritten notes on the side bar, and what appears to be “Imagination” coming off the “pages”.  The first thing I thought of when I saw it was writing my stories, as there are usually notes, notebooks, and imagination all around me.    Therefore, I chose this theme over all the rest.

Not sure how long I’ll have this incarnation, but for now, it works and I really love the colors and the simplicity.  All my book information is still here, over there in the right-hand sidebar.

At least now, my blog is more the focus of my webpage rather than some ugly black/pink/gray funky page with broken pics.  LOL

Do you like this new template?  Let me know!

~~Becka

Before I was published, I had so much fun writing.  It was the excitement of it all, the hope for a contract, the endless possibilities of what could happen if I applied myself.  The sky was the limit, the options boundless.

Submitting and actually getting into the biz can be a sobering experience.  What you thought was a perfect manuscript is returned to you with thousands of red marks from your editor.  You finally get your first honest feedback about your story that isn’t endless praise from friends and family.  And sometimes, those reviewers, especially the snarky ones, can really hurt a blossoming author.  Well, her feelings, anyway.  It’s a hard lesson to learn, to disconnect your personal feelings about your creation from the review.

But once you get accepted at a publishing house, you again feel invincible, and you write more and more.

Until, that is, writing begins to feel like a chore.

At some point, after a few years of promotion and chats and public appearances, your writing feels more like a job and less like a hobby.  You do a lot of work that doesn’t necessarily involve WRITING.  Promotion is a necessary evil to sell books, and no one is going to do it for you (unless you throw money at a publicist).

But there’s the rub.  Unless you’ve got goo-gobs of books and a massive following, you aren’t going to make much money in ePublishing.  But those popular authors did much more than promote their asses off, they wrote kick-ass stories.

Endless promotion, minimal $$ for maximum effort, and tiring appearances where nobody shows is quite wearing on an author.  Believe me, I know.  After I had my baby Sophie, I seriously asked myself The Question.

Do I want to continue to be an author?

I had one more book contracted (KINDRED).  I’d promised my fans a fourth book to the BEAST series.  But after that?  Was it worth it anymore?  I couldn’t find time to write.  One of my daughters is struggling in school, so I had to rethink how to teach her.  On top of it all was a newborn baby.  A messy house.  Endless ironing.  Writing was just another “chore”.

But where had that spark gone?  Where was the excitement?  The almost “It’s Christmas Morning!” mentality?  When did I lose that along the way and become a jaded, cynical author?

When I examined my true feelings behind my writing, I realized that must be why I couldn’t write a word for MONTHS.  I was tired of promotion.  Tired of piddly royalty checks.  Tired of booksignings where I’m signing books for fellow authors at the signing with me.  Where were these elusive “readers”?  Sure, authors are avid readers too, I should have been thankful.  But I wasn’t.

My pride had gotten in the way, you see.  I felt I “deserved” more.

Once I had that epiphany, I realized why I wasn’t writing.  Why I no longer had the passion.  I’d allowed my pride to get in the way of my imagination, thus blocking my muse from writing anything more than a blog post, a text, or a tweet.  THIS is the reason certain authors turn into Divas.  The mentality that the world owes them for writing their stories.

Oh my Gawd, was I turning into a DIVA?!?  Not exactly, but I guess I was on that path.  So I knocked some sense into myself.

For my entire life, I’ve written stories for my own entertainment.  They were my means of escape, of traveling to exotic locales, of meeting new, exciting people.  Being in control of what happens to my characters was thrilling for me, because I knew no matter what I threw at them, they’d eventually have a happily ever after.  The emotion and the angst, THAT’S what I loved the most, not the promotion, not the appearances, not even the royalties.  If you’re good enough, your story can transcend all that material bullshit (pardon my French).

When I realized that wisdom, I let go of my pride and allowed my muse to go where she would, without inhibitions, without expectations.  Since I’ve “released” her, I’ve written two stories, finished one that had been eluding me for two years, and started another, of which I’m already fast on my way to page 100, and this all within a SIX WEEK timeframe.  For those keeping score, that’s two novellas, one short story, and one full-length novel.  I’ve scheduled in my writing time during the day, after chores and school, between 3pm and dinnertime.  Nowadays, I get frustrated when I’ve got to stop my train of thought to feed the family.  I’m constantly plotting, bouncing ideas off my crit partner (Donica Covey) and finally getting into that groove I used to be in when the “world” was new.

Writing is fun again.  Why?  Because it isn’t about the hype, the fame, the money, or the entitlement.  It’s about the STORY, something Samhain Publishing* knew all along. 

~~Becka

*”It’s All About The Story” is Samhain’s company motto. 

It’s been so long, I’m sure none of you remember…

Long ago, Samhain Publishing sent out a call for novellas involving dragons.  I’d had an idea, so I wrote up a proposal and the first three chapters.  They decided to pass on my story.  So, I decided to send the idea to Champagne Books because I thought the idea was too cool not to write.

Fortunately for me, the publisher loved the idea and sent me a contract right away.  I signed it, then sat there and stared at this book for the longest time.  I thought perhaps it was the genre, as I’d just completed the Legends of Mynos for Samhain, so perhaps I was burned out on fantasy romance.  I wrote other stories in the interim in an attempt to get the creative juices flowing.  Well, at first, it was like picking the words from my brain with a red-hot poker. (lol)  But I got through two other contracted projects.  After that, I stagnated for months.

Just recently, I told you about the two other stories I’d finished, BLACK ANGEL & THE FALL OF JERICHO.  I was on such a roll with those two, I wanted to see if I could keep the ball rolling, and KINDRED was the ultimate test.

To give you some perspective, I signed the contract for KINDRED in 2007.  My publisher never set my release date in stone, so I never had a deadline.  Perhaps that’s why I didn’t have a fire under me to finish it.

But from the moment I opened those first few chapters to now, (one week’s time), I’ve finished the book!  Sure, it’s only a novella clocking in at 23,660 words, but I’m SO DANG GLAD this one is finally off my chest!  I just turned it in to my publisher and should hear soon any further details on this little story.  I’ll let you know.

This plot came to me because it was something I’d always dreamed about as a kid – that I was really a princess brought to Earth for my own safety and one day I’d have to return and marry the Crown Prince I was promised to.    The premise isn’t anything new, but I’ve wanted to write that for awhile and this story was born.  Here’s the blurb to tide you over:

~*~*~

While caring for her dying grandmother, Alana Capria hears the most shocking news of her life.  She’s not human, she’s a dragon-shifter.  Not only that, she’s from the extremely rare and powerful House of the Sun, brought to Earth as a baby to save her from assassins.

Rionshalintaris is her betrothed, the Crown Prince of Dragoran, and a blue dragon-shifter from the House of Ice.  He’s been looking forward to bonding with Alana ever since they were children.  Rion is overjoyed she has returned to Dragoran, and is most eager to claim her as his own.

But the red dragons of the House of Fire endeavor to kidnap Alana in an attempt to overthrow the Crown.  Can Rion protect the woman he loves and bind Alana as his Kindred before it’s too late?

~*~*~

Whew, I’m so happy to have this one finished, you don’t even know.  It’s my official “last” contracted book.  Hopefully I’ll hear good news on the other two submissions I have in!  For now, I’ll do what every other good writer does while waiting for word on a submission – keep writing.  Onward to RENEGADE! 

~~Becka

I just realized this morning that I shouted from the rooftops, all over the Internet, about my new news EXCEPT my blog.  Since some of you don’t follow me on Twitter/Myspace/Facebook/GoogleGroups/carrier pidgeon/pony express, I thought I should tell YOU, the one person who doesn’t know.

In the month of July, (and partially the month of June) I’ve written two stories, one novella and one short story, polished them, written blurbs and synopses, AND submitted them.  I’ve been a busy bee.

The first story is a novella, entitled BLACK ANGEL, and it’s currently up for consideration at Samhain Publishing.  I haven’t heard word from them yet, but I’m sure I’ll be shouting at you again if/when they decide they want it (which I really hope they do because this story poured out of me, I love it so much).

The second is a short story I wrote specifically for Harlequin Historical Undone, their short eBook line.  I’ve been eyeballing that line for awhile, but the story I’d originally meant for that one got “too big”, so I decided to save that idea for a full novel and think of something else.  It’s funny where inspiration comes from.  I was on some random forum I never visit (because they were yakking about something I was searching for – don’t remember now, so don’t ask) anyhow, there was a poster there named “Jerrica”.  I thought hmm, that’s either some odd version of Jessica or the femine version of “Jericho”.  Once I thought of Jericho as a man’s name, a character instantly popped into my head.

And wouldn’t you know, he was a cowboy! 

Well, with a name like Jericho, a title isn’t too hard to think of.  Thus, THE FALL OF JERICHO was born.  Truth be told, I’m more nervous about getting accepted or rejected for “Jericho” than I am for BLACK ANGEL.  Probably because Samhain is a known entity and already one of my publishers.  I’m not looking to make a lot of $$ off of JERICHO, because it is just a short story eBook, after all.  But what I figure this book CAN do for me is open a door in New York as well as reach an abundance of new readers who might be interested in my backlist.

That is, IF they accept.  **biting nails**

Anyway, since your next question is no doubt, “Hey Becka, what are these about?” I’ll share with you my blurbs. 

BLACK ANGEL:

Lost in a snowstorm, Brielle of Brightwater prays for all she’s worth for the Goddess Eliana to save her.  Her deliverance comes in the form of an unlikely savior, with obsidian skin and ominous, leathery wings.  Despite his appearance, she’s convinced he’s an angel, sent to her by the will of the Goddess.

Alric Flievve is Genessa, a race of beings from another world.  He’s been banished for a crime he didn’t commit, and is fascinated Brielle sees him as anything other than a demon.  It isn’t long until forbidden feelings abound and their hearts are as entwined as their bodies.

But their love is challenged when the doorway to Alric’s world suddenly opens and two Genessa from his past step through.  Hell-bent on death and destruction, they target Brielle, and they’ll stop at nothing to see Alric suffer as he’s never suffered before.

When their dark, horrible magics begin to twist Brielle’s soul, can Alric’s own power overcome their hate and jealousy before they take the life of the only woman he’s ever loved?

~*~*~*~

THE FALL OF JERICHO

The walls around his heart come crashing down…

Mercy Ainsworth never stopped loving Jericho James after he’d left town four years ago. When they were kids, she’d pledged her virtue to him after a stolen kiss behind the schoolhouse. Now that he’s returned, one look is all it takes to convince her he’s still the reason the sun rises and sets.

After the death of his sister, Jericho became a hardened bounty hunter, vowing to find the man who killed her. When his travels bring him back home, danger follows him, and the girl he once loved is now a woman who desperately needs his help.

Sparks fly as old embers are fanned into roaring flames, but will love alone be enough to keep Jericho by Mercy’s side?

~*~*~*~

So, cross your fingers, toes, arms, legs, t’s, and eyes for me.  I’m gonna need all the Lucky Chickens I can get!

~~Becka, who is riding the wave of her current “muse-gasm” to finish a story I’d shelved for a LOOONG time.  Hopefully I’ll finish that one soon as well.