Badass Babes and Buckers

I sat down with my literary agent this week and we hashed out our respective to-do lists. Mine is all about writing. It isn’t all book writing however. I have to write three different bios, fifty words, one-hundred-fifty words, and long (whatever that is). I need to write queries, summaries and tag lines for each of the books. I have to create a tagline for myself. The title of this blog is the one I came up with—writer of badass babes and buckers (as a joke); she didn’t laugh.

On November 1st, I’ll be starting a new book, either LAST (in the East Aurora series), or the fifth book in the Crested Butte series . . . if you’re reading this and want to vote, feel free to tell me which one you’re most anxious for.

The other thing I have to do, and this is the most difficult, is I have to cut about sixty pages out of each of my other books in order for them to meet the submission guidelines for the publishers who have either requested the manuscript or I’ve been referred to. This will be painful. Really painful. I cannot even comprehend doing this. However, I can leave the books at the length they are now, and sell 500 copies, or cut them and sell 500,000 copies. The decision is easy put that way.

I have a class to teach today, and then I’ll come back home . . . and write. My house is clean, my chores are (mostly) done, and for the first time in three weeks, I have a quiet weekend at home. There are no soccer games, basketball games, swim meets, writers' conferences, book tours or out-of-town guests this weekend. I almost don’t remember what a free weekend feels like. I’m anxious for the reminder.

Life is good, great really—a mantra I need to keep repeating. It is easy to get bogged down in the perceived stresses of life, when in reality, the life I lead is a really, really good one. My worst case scenarios are the stuff dreams (not nightmares) are made of. I am very fortunate. Not letting the petty crap in is an every day challenge. Someone this week asked me what was wrong now. I can’t get those words out of my head. That isn’t who I think I am, but obviously it is who I am communicating I am. This weekend will be all about nothing being wrong.

Badass babes and buckers—can’t be too much wrong in my life if that’s what I write. Right?

Book Tour Part I: Black Mountain Ranch

A week ago I was in Crested Butte, one of my favorite places on earth. To be honest, I’d give anything to be able to wiggle my nose and be back there right this minute. And where I am and what I’m doing is nothing I’d complain about . . . 

It was a whirlwind of a week. We left on Tuesday. Our first stop on the tour was Black Mountain Ranch (http://blackmtnranch.com). It was everything I wrote and more. Someday I’d like have the time to interview cowboy/rancher/owner Nowell, who assured me he could write several books himself about the romances that have begun at the ranch. 



I signed a book for him, which he accepted gladly with the caveat that he would have his girlfriend read it first. I was tempted to tell him that real cowboys aren’t embarrassed to read my (steamy romance) books. I held my tongue. 

The trip to and from the ranch was almost as interesting as driving around the ranch itself. There isn’t any question that the Antler Craft will appear in a future book; effectively describing this place will be daunting.

Our next stop was Juicy Lucy's Steakhouse in Glenwood Springs. As much fun as it was for me to revisit these places I liked enough to include in my books, it was more fun to watch Vicki and Carolyn’s reactions when they entered a place they’d only read about previously.

There are more stories about cab drivers and dirt roads . . . but some I need to save for future books. Next up: Book Tour Part II: Crested Butte.

Book Tour: Pre-Tour Anxiety and Elation

I’m leaving this morning to go on my first “book tour.” It seems as though it is something I should document, something I should remember.

I’m headed to Crested Butte, with a stop off at Colorado Black Mountain Ranch on the way. We’ll stay in Glenwood Springs tonight, eat at Juicy Lucy’s, and then take Kebler Pass from Aspen to Crested Butte tomorrow. Any of you who have read DANCE, might recognize a few of these names. Doug gave me a couple names of places to check out while I’m over there . . . because he’s decided we’ll ski Aspen, Snowmass and Buttermilk for my birthday this year (you will hear no complaints from me about that).

I’ve been up since 4:45 this morning, when I took Frank to swimming. Everything that can be done, is done, including all the laundry, several meals in the fridge, and all the work I could possibly complete. I’ve been behind since the start of the academic year at the academy, so to be caught up, finally, is a tremendous relief. I can go into this trip relatively stress-free.

I hope there are still leaves turning, just because it will be nice to see. I have no idea whether we’ve missed them all. The Aspen grove on top of Kebler Pass is the largest in the world, so if they are still golden, it will be a breathtaking sight.

I alternate between being ridiculously anxious and nervous, and being elated. My plan is to enjoy this trip, no matter what. I have few expectations, other than enjoying five days in a place I love, seeing things I’ve written about, and visiting favorite shops and restaurants. My understanding is that Saturday night we’re having dinner at Soupçon, and the chef is beyond excited. Django’s is closed for a couple weeks, seasonal break, I’m disappointed, but that means we’ll try a new restaurant perhaps, that I’ll write into the next book. 

Speaking of the next book, I’m starting the book tour week on page 195. I hope to spend time writing while I’m in Crested Butte . . . there couldn’t possibly be better inspiration for doing so. Besides, I have to finish FLY before November 1, so I can start on LAST for NaNoWriMo, a tradition I love.

So here I go, another book adventure awaits. I’m thankful every day that I get to write, something I am passionate about, something that brings me endless joy.

Long Overdue: Kings of Leon

Eleven days ago, which seems like eleven weeks ago, I went to see Kings of Leon. It’s taken me this long, and seeing another band, to be able to write about the KoL concert. 

I looked forward to this concert every day between April 22, when I bought the tickets, and September 24, when the it took place. I listened to Mechanical Bull, Because of the Times, Come Around Sundown, Only By the Night, Holy Roller Novacaine, Aha Shake Heartbreak, and Youth and Young Manhood, over and over and over again. 

I am (admittedly) obsessed with Caleb Followill’s voice . . . well more than just his voice, but I don’t need to write about that anymore than you need to read about it. Last year, in my top ten picks of album of the year, Mechanical Bull was my number one.

It’s hard for me to say which of the songs from that album is my favorite, probably Last Mile Home, or Wait for Me, neither of which they played on this tour. Submitting my pick for #songforthecity was near impossible. They played Arizona at Red Rocks, a song I didn’t dare to hope for, but one I cannot believe was not on their setlist anyway. Without question, one of their best songs—I’m so happy I had to opportunity to hear it performed live.

They did play Fans, Pyro, The Immortals, Back Down South, Temple, Use Somebody, Sex on Fire, Molly's Chambers and many others. The two-plus hours they played seemed more like fifteen minutes . . . and I could’ve stayed and listened to them all night long. 

Those Followill boys didn’t disappoint in any way. The music was fantastic, their interaction on stage was a sight to behold . . . it was worth every penny we paid to sit right up front, just to be able to see their expressions, and the occasional smile that crossed Caleb’s face.

I also have to admit, there was a while before KoL came onstage that I held my breath. I told Frank that if there was any concert I really hoped lived up to my expectations, it was this one. I hoped all the band members were healthy, and professional. They were. And then some.  

As a budding musician, guitar player, and newly-minted band member, I hoped Frank saw and appreciated the amount of work goes into being THAT good. I think he did.

Another thing Frank and I talk about whenever we go to Red Rocks is how it must feel to play there as a band. It is rare that a band takes the stage and DOESN’T say that playing at Red Rocks was a life-long dream. Most look around, at the rocks, the scenery, and the audience with awe in their eyes and voices. A few have gotten emotional, the whole experience bringing them to tears. I always say to Frank, “can you imagine what it must feel like to be on this stage and hear the entire Red Rocks audience sing your music back to you?” Yeah, I’d get pretty emotional too, if I were them . . . cause I get emotional just watching them. 

The concert was everything I hoped it would be and more. We met some great people that night; we danced and danced and danced; we couldn’t talk on the way home because our voices were long since gone from singing and screaming and cheering . . . and our faces hurt from smiling so much. 

A day or so after the concert I posted something about how I hoped one day my books would be made into movies, if only for the soundtrack. I can tell you, they’d have to be BIG budget movies . . . cause I’d insist there be at least one KoL song used in each one of them. 

Is it Evil or the Best Thing that Ever Happened?

I belong to a couple of writer’s groups, and there is one in particular that I get a daily (hourly, minutely) email thread update from whenever someone posts a comment. That in and of itself annoys the crap out of me, and there is no “make it daily or weekly” option. It's all in, or all off. I've learned to use the delete button liberally.

HOWEVER, today there is a thread that is baffling me. It is about what they’re referring to as the "evil big A company," and a boycott of it. 

Amazon has done more for the book industry, and authors, than any other company, entity, or PUBLISHER . . . EVER.

Amazon has made it possible for me as a writer, to bring you my books myself. Not just ebooks, paperbacks too. And the other thing it has allowed me to do, is sell those books MYSELF to independent book stores, who can carry it quickly and easily. I don’t have to worry about how long it might take them to get the books through their normal distribution chains, and a myriad of other issues that come into play with a distribution channel that can be described as archaic at best.

And traditional publishing? What does that even mean anymore? To me, and many other authors, it means that even if you do get a book deal, you still have to do much of the marketing for your book or books yourself. And they get the lion’s share of the profits for those books.

Until such time as you are a mega-best-selling author who NEEDS a big publisher to allow you to go mass market, there isn’t a lot of benefit to smaller authors. The wheels of publishing turn painfully slowly. Excruciatingly slowly. Mind-bogglingly slowly. In the meantime there are hundreds if not thousands of really good books written. There are also books written that are crap. It’s up to the readers to differentiate. I’ve read plenty of mass market, traditionally published mass market books that have been utter crap.

Here is the other thing, Amazon allows authors to make some money from their books. The perception is that if you’ve got an agent, and/or a publisher, you’re making big bucks. What you’re really making is pennies on the dollar, because the rest of that dollar goes to feed the publisher and their NYC address, and/or the agent, and the book distributor, oh, and with paperbacks, the book printer . . . leaving next to nothing for the author. 

Amazon does away with the majority of that. There is much Amazon cannot do for an author. They can’t negotiate deals, get books in front of publishers, or developers based on years-long relationships . . . but there is so much more they can do. 

Writing a book(s) is one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done. It is also one of the most rewarding. Selling those books is far more difficult than writing them. If I believed based on years of experience, that my only hope for getting my books to the masses would be to get a big publisher to pick it up, then I would be working diligently to make it happen. That doesn’t mean it ever would, it just means that is where I would base my concentrated efforts.

Instead, I’ve read books, articles, and blogs, attended webinars, listened and listened and listened, and what I’ve learned is that you have to work your ass off as an author to promote your book. Period. Big publisher or no publisher. You have to get in the trenches, pound the pavement, burn up social media in a way that is effective . . . YOU. 

So boycott the evil big A? Not me. To me that would be the same as saying I’m not going to read J.K. Rowling’s books because . . . the reason doesn’t matter. J.K. Rowling, like her books or not, inspired an entire generation (my son’s generation) to read voraciously. Her books inspired them to line up at midnight for the next book’s release, something that I hadn’t seen or heard of as it relates to that generation. 

Others in that YA category have picked up the gauntlet and continued what she started, but to say you’d boycott her books . . . or say you’d boycott a distribution channel who has revolutionized the way readers read books, and gotten books in front of billions more people is as short-sighted as I can imagine for an author or a reader. 

I feel the same way about iTunes. Good Lord, iTunes changed the way I listen to music, and as a music fanatic, it changed my life. So would I boycott them because it isn’t what I might think of as a traditional way to buy music? Not a chance in hell. What iTunes has done to the independent music stores is beyond sad, but Amazon has not necessarily done the same thing to independent bookstores. It has hurt them, certainly, but in adding READERS, it hasn’t hurt them in the same way. 

The new news is in distribution. Self-publishing used to be a sad thing. Oh, how sad, she had to self-publish. Amazon has made it possible for me to self-publish and hold my head up high about it. It allows me to drive to my local bookstore, which I LOVE, and sell them my books so they in turn can sell them to you. It even allows me to self-publish and then make my book available to the big distributors . . . something that even two years ago was unheard of. 

Clearly I have a strong opinion about this. The group with the email thread is having a conference this month, that I am attending. As I always do, I will sit and listen. It is unlikely that I will share my opinions because I am new to this group and never go into anything thinking I know more than those who have been doing something years long than I have. I’ll even listen to see if there are things in my beliefs about publishing that I’m wrong about. But in the meantime, I am shaking my head.