Jumping From Hearts to Horror

After many years of writing romance, I am now in the midst of creating a horror novella.

Is this a weird switch?

It might seem that way. Jumping from hearts and happy-ever-afters to horrifying creatures, death, and destruction, might make some folks scratch their heads and say, "What the hell?"

But for me, it's not that odd. I have always enjoyed a weird--dare I say quirky--bunch of interests. 

Botany, horror movies, puppies, science, art, comedy, nature, sci-fi, and the list goes on. Some of the things are cute and cuddly, and some of the things involve exploding zombie heads.

You get my drift.

My love affair with horror has been going on since childhood. Started with JAWS and Stephen King, and it just kept growing. I especially love sci-fi-horror (ALIENS is a favorite) and horror/comedy (think SHAUN OF THE DEAD).

Anyhow, I am finding the switch from Hearts to Horror wonderfully challenging as a writer.

Stuff you need to think about with romance...

1. Main purpose is creating a satisfying romance/love story. May include sex or not.

2. Character-driven stories are best. Readers will forgive a story that really has no plot if the characters are fabulous, but they will not forgive a plot-driven novel with flat/underdeveloped characters. Characters make the romance.

3. The relationship between hero/heroine drives the book. Pulling them apart, pushing them back together. This guides the story.

4. Book must end with satisfying resolution to relationship conflict, and a HEA (happy ever after). Happy ending, for those of you not up on the romance lingo.

5. Characters need to be likable or at least redeemable by the end. 

Different things to accomplish with a horror story...

1. Book can be character-driven or plot-driven, or some combination of both. I personally believe creating very strong, well-developed characters strengthens your story no matter what genre you are writing.

2. Need some mystery, unknown, question mark. In other words, WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?

3. Suspense is critical. Author has to build suspense over the course of the book. Can be a slow build-up, or come in fits-and-starts. Whatever. Must be there.

4. Horror is critical. Can be subtle, or bash-you-over-the-head shocking.

5. Ending does not necessarily need a well-defined resolution. Could be vague, open-ended. Could be all wrapped up. Might be shocking. No matter what, the novel still needs to be engaging and satisfying as a horror story. 

My favorite part of switching from romance to horror, as I discussed in this blog post, is the freedom to create warty characters. They don't need to be perfect. They can be cruel and vindictive and really awful people. And let's face it, after years of creating "nice guys" it's pretty fun to make a warty character pop off the page.

I have always loved creating an alternate, paranormal universe (see my Klaus Brothers Series). It's so much fun to stretch your imagination and creativity with other worlds. With horror, I can continue to do this, just with more gruesome outcomes. *insert evil laugh*

Will I ever write love stories again? Sure. I have a lot of up-coming options on my current "writing menu" including YA fantasy, paranormal fiction, love stories, etc.

But for now I am digging into a bit of the macabre. Maybe it's a better fit for my current emotional state? Or the state of the world? Or maybe I just love Halloween? Whatever the reason, LITTLE SHADOW MAN is floating my horror boat right now.

For a sneak peek of LITTLE SHADOW MAN, check out this post.

Happy and Horrible Writing to all!

Nina

10th Year Book Anniversary: Life Lessons

Ten years ago, in 2009, my first book was published.

It was a quirky take on the legend of Santa Claus, complete with drunken elves, five rambunctious brothers, and romance under the Christmas tree. It had won a couple of awards, and was picked up by a small publisher who offered holiday options.

Here I am, 10 years later. A decade has passed. How did that even happen?

I have now published one children's book, all five installments of the Klaus Brothers Series, an award-nominated short story with "seasoned" characters in their sixties, a rated G snowbound-in-a-cabin quickie, a novella about a treehouse designer, and an award-winning women's fiction about a reality cooking show.

In the meantime, I survived a heart attack, raised two kids, a husband, and a wiener dog.

I've been in three critique groups, attended countless conferences, offered workshops from Florida to Maine, co-hosted an indie publishing symposium, won a bunch of awards, sold a bunch of books, accumulated reviews--the good, the bad, and the ugly--mentored other authors, befriended many readers, ran a review site, and learned more about the publishing industry than I really ever wanted to know. I even had a film company express interest in one of my books. This amounted to nothing, but it added a bit of excitement to my author journey.

Yesterday, I spent some time thinking about what lessons I've learned over the last decade. Yes, I've learned a lot of lessons. 

But when you really get right down to it, I can sum up a decade of learning into two points...

1. Focus on the writing.

2. True friendships are the golden nugget.

The Writing: I started my writing journey as an eight-year-old, lugging around a dingy white notebook with my first story scribbled in extremely feminine cursive.

I was eight. I didn't know anything about marketing trends, agents, or conferences.

All I knew was that story I could not stop thinking about was growing and expanding and becoming something exciting. I had discovered the "thrill" that a writer experiences with the birth of a novel.

And, after a decade of publishing bullshit, I now know that the "thrill" is still the most important thing.

Really, the only thing.

It's true. I see a lot of authors get caught up in the other stuff--dollar signs in their eyes, and awards season, and so bent out of shape when they get a bit of criticism. But the truth is, if you have the heart and soul of a writer, that "thrill" is the reason you're doing this.

As it should be.

True Friendships: Doesn't matter who or what you are. Teacher, social worker, stay-at-home mom. Scientist, author, Hollywood actor.

Pretty soon you figure out those true, loyal friends are the golden nuggets of your life.

They deserve your time and energy and love. And you learn to push the backstabbers, who are sometimes dressed in sheep's clothing, off the proverbial cliff.

Those true friends are with you every step of the way, whether you're rich or poor or depressed or useful. Long after you write your last book, you'll be laughing together at the nursing home and listening to 1980s Madonna songs.

Hold on tight to those people.

✯✯✯

That's it.

Those are the lessons.

I expect those same two lessons will still be appropriate years from now.

I find it interesting that over the last twenty years of writing, I've come full circle. Started as an enthusiastic writer, became fully immersed in the publishing world, and then found my way back to this basic place where writing is the focus.

It's a good place to be.

Love and good wishes to all the storytellers out there,

Nina/Penny

Writing News and Updates

Time for some updates about "The Great Experiment!"

I have broken away from Henry Miller's Writing Program. Although many of his suggestions are helpful, not all are a good fit for me.

He recommends working on one--and only one--manuscript at a time until completed. Normally, that was my process as well.

Since I am attempting a new genre with my story BLUE, I've had a pretty big learning curve. The whole process is new and different, and I found myself becoming frustrated and then stalled. I missed writing! I decided to make a goal for myself each day to write for 1-2 hours, even if it was a blog post, a journal, whatever. Just to get my writing-brain warmed up again.

Just for the fun of it, I started to write a brand new book. Then I started another one! The words were flowing, the ideas were popping! It worked great. And the best part was that all my issues with BLUE were also solved so I could tackle that one as well.

For whatever reason, I have discovered that working on multiple projects at one time really works for me. I have a menu to choose from in the morning...

1. Horror story (LITTLE SHADOW MAN)
2. Holiday YA (SWEET NOELLE)
3. YA paranormal fiction (BLUE)
4. Contemporary romance (THE HAPPY CAMPER)

Depending on my mood/inclination, I will choose one for the morning writing session, and then a different one for the afternoon. I'm sort of shocked by how well this is working for me. My productivity has shot up! Yee haw!

As you can see from yesterday's post, I am even creating poetry.

Feeling victorious!

So, what are these books? Well...surprise! Surprise! An idea that popped up last year for the Klaus Brothers Series took shape and became a YA holiday novella. Sara Pulver has created this precious family tree for the next generation. 

So many children!

The YA holiday fantasy is the story of Noelle Klaus, daughter of Nicholas and Lucy. Here's a sample pic for the cover of SWEET NOELLE...

I will be publishing my new indie releases under the name MYRICA PRESS. Here's a sample cover for the horror story, called LITTLE SHADOW MAN...

Expect a sneak peek for this story soon!

Another announcement...

I am thrilled to be participating in a book fair/signing at the Bellingham Barnes and Noble on Saturday, November 10. This book fair is raising money for the Friends of Hopkinton Public Library.

That's it for announcements!

If you'd like to be informed of releases ASAP, please sign up for my newsletter.

Thank you!

Nina/Penny

Building a Community

Lucy the Wonder Weenie
Story Time
Tribe includes humans, animals, insects

Today I'm going to propose something radical.

A different way of looking at a writing/publishing career. 

Instead of focusing on SELLING BOOKS, how about focusing on BUILDING A COMMUNITY?

Over the past few years, the focus in romance publishing has become very business-oriented. I see cheat sheets for how to make a best-seller list. I see a frenzied sense of urgency about how often to publish, how much to spend on advertising and promotion, how important it is to jump on band-wagon trends.

I also see a focus on short-term sales and success and not the long-term. 

I see advice like...you need to have readers' attention every three months or they forget about you. 

What if...they didn't forget about you?

Not because of your book release schedule...but because they genuinely like you?

How about that crazy idea?

Whoa. That's crazy!

Everything feels faster, and more stressful, and more urgent.

But what if...you look at long-term happiness instead of short-term sales?

What if you focus on BUILDING A COMMUNITY instead of promoting your books all the time?

A community that will last. Not just readers looking for cheap/free books or the next deal. But a genuine community of people who are interested in YOU. Whether or not you have a book out. 

Maybe those people you interact with won't mind if you don't have a book out every 3 months. Maybe they'll just want to hang out with you and see pictures of your garden or dog or latest vacation. 

Maybe they like chatting with you about books by other authors.

Your community should include colleagues who are genuine friends and not just interested in tit-for-tat relationships. (What's that? This: I promote your book, you promote my book...otherwise, I'm not interested in having a relationship with you).

What would happen if you did this? Focused on your community first?

PROS OF BUILDING COMMUNITY

1. Set up for long-term success. Can weather the ups-and-downs of a long-term career.

2. It enhances your life regardless of publication schedule.

3. It is beneficial in both personal and professional ways.


BUILDING A COMMUNITY means you are focused on real relationships, not just selling books.

It improves not only the quality of your life, but it will also bolster your long-term career.

Your professional life will have ups and downs. Having a strong community to support you = resilience over time.

How can you build a genuine community? 

You need to assemble your tribe.

Our tribes should enhance our lives. We should be able to share things--both good and bad--and trust that our tribe members are loyal and have our best interests at heart.

Sometimes we want to share things that are silly and inconsequential. Like Tom Hiddleston pictures.

Having a good day?

And sometimes we need to talk about profoundly important things. Either way our tribe members keep us going, keep us inspired, keep our spirits up.

Your tribe will change over time, depending on what you need, and what you can give. You may need to edit your community.

You gather around the tribe you need, the tribe that feels right. The tribe that fits.

Writing is a lonely occupation. There is a lot of isolation. It feels like swimming in shark-infested waters, and that's when having your tribe is the most important.

They throw you the life raft when you need it most.

Don't worry. You got this!

Younger writers are thinking about the here-and-now and the latest news and the latest trends.

Authors who have been in this business for decades have seen trends come and go, but they realize your longevity has to do with other things.

Good basic writing. An excellent story. Luck.

And...personal connections. Your tribe. Your community.

There is really no down-side to building a community. It's there when you have a book out. It's there when you have writer's block.

It's there when your fig tree finally gets a fruit!

Figs for dinner!

It's there for the long-run. 

If you work on building your community and maintaining those relationships, your life will be better regardless of book sales.

And that's a good thing.

So very appreciative of my posse/tribe/community,

Penny/Nina

Embracing Real Life

Recently, one of my friends asked--on Facebook--if it were possible to promote a book without social media.

This led to a lively discussion about promotion and how readers find out about books.

I pointed out that the majority of my friends--who are all big readers--do not even have a Facebook account. They don't use Twitter or Instagram. Nothing. They are too busy living their real lives and/or not interested in social media interactions.

But they read a lot. How do they find their books?

Number one by a long shot: Word-of-mouth. 

In effect, real life interactions, not on-line.

I think the idea of not having any social media accounts is absolutely shocking to most of my writer friends. Most authors I know rely heavily on their on-line presence for promotion, as well as support and news. We just assume that everyone lives like this. But they don't. And in fact, most people are totally clueless about all the melodrama we take for granted in the publishing world.

My interest in this topic is broader than book promotion. It ties into my research about "how to find your happy" and the notion that many people who spend a lot of time on social media are NOT happy. They are anxious and depressed. Is there a connection?

Of course there is.

Is there a way to pull the good stuff out of social media and minimize the bad stuff?

It's possible, but sometimes difficult. I have deleted almost all accounts, but I still have Facebook. I have a wonderful tribe there, and I am reluctant to give it up. This tribe includes friends, family, readers, colleagues. People who genuinely care about each other.

By muting/unfollowing/blocking, it is possible to curate your accounts into something positive and uplifting instead of something that makes you want to fling yourself off a bridge when you read it.

However, I will say this. I have made a concerted effort this year to live a REAL life, and minimize my on-line life, and it is most definitely making me happier.

I am giving workshops to schools, writing groups, and at conferences. Traveling all over the place. Taking classes. Forcing myself out of that warm cozy introvert space and connecting with people in real life.

This is both wonderful and exhausting, but I'm forcing myself to do it.

Being engaged in the real world is helping my peace-of-mind, but how does it affect a writing career?

In my opinion, it comes down to this...who is your audience? How can you connect with them?

If you have a younger audience, they are more likely to be on-line. If you have a more mature audience, like my friends, they will probably find out about their books from friends, book clubs, or perusing a book store.

I know authors who give talks at libraries, at book clubs, local events. They are more interested in making personal connections within the community, and hoping to start a word-of-mouth campaign in this manner.

I know authors who have huge on-line street teams that work for certain kinds of books and certain audiences.

You need to figure out how to connect with your readers, and to be honest about what makes you happy.

If you are miserable doing Facebook parties, avoid them. 

If you are too shy to give a talk at the local library, skip that.

You need to find a way to conduct your career that intersects with your own personal happiness. 

Another way to think about this whole thing...will I sell books by taking a long walk in the woods?

No.

Will I be happier?

Yes.

And...trickle-down effect: I write better when I'm happier. I also get inspired about writing topics when I'm walking in the woods. More inspiration: travel, meeting people, leaving the house (hee hee, that's a joke, but not really).

We might not always see the connection between living in the moment/being engaged in real life and our writing careers, but it's there.

Off for my walk,

Penny/Nina

Trying Something New

File under TRYING SOMETHING NEW...


1. Block Print Art Class

I am taking an art class for the first time in 30 years. Or maybe longer! It's a block print class, and I already went to our local art store and bought tools and ink and paper so I can work on some projects at home, too.

PASSIFLORA is above.

Below is KINGFISHER...

The class has a nice bunch of ladies chatting about our kids and birds and life and stuff.

Woo hoo!

2. I am trying a totally new process for writing...juggling more than one project at a time!

In the past, I've been a one-project-gal. I decided to try something new...so now I'm rotating between a literary fiction, romance novella, and a women's fiction. I work on one WIP for a bit, stop, then move onto the next one.

The first day I tried this, I whipped off about 1100 words on the novella. When I moved onto the lit fiction manuscript, I saw it with clearer eyes and a better perspective. 

This process is like a palate cleanser. When I get to project #2, my brain is already warmed-up, and I'm refreshed and more productive.

Each of these projects uses a different part of my brain, and strangely enough, jumping from one thing to another makes me write faster and depend more on instinct. This is important since I tend to over-think my lit fiction.

Never too old to learn new tricks...


3. I'm getting a tattoo...

No! Not a real tattoo! A fake tattoo! I'll take pictures and post them when they arrive. They are gorgeous vintage flowers--colorful and sweet.

That's my sort-of-wimpy attempt at being a hipster. Now I just need a man-bun. Hee hee!

4. I'm making a vintage jello mold for Easter...

Remember these?

My mom used to make these yummy jello salads with fruit. I'm feeling nostalgic, so I'm going to attempt one of these for Easter dinner. My husband thinks I'm crazy!


Off to shop for Easter dinner! Hope all of you have a great weekend.

Lots of love,

Penny/Nina

I'm 51. What Can I Do?

I've been thinking a lot lately about age. And women. And what we can do, when we can do it.

And really...who can stop us?

Maybe you need a bit of inspiration. Or a reminder that not only does life not end at fifty, but maybe it starts again at 51.

Last year I turned into a hermit.

Really.

I didn't write. I didn't travel. I didn't participate. I was tired. I was overwhelmed. I was discouraged.

But I made it through that year. And I watched my kids--both of my adorable kids--make the transition into a new life, new schools, with open hearts and so much courage it humbles me. They had to tackle challenges, which they did. They got over some incredibly tough bumps. And they changed their lives for the better.

And I thought...okay, they did this. I can do this. I can break out of this shell and find the courage to get back into the world.

So I decided to dip a toe back into the waters of the outside world, and I applied to be a speaker at a conference. It was safe for me. A conference I've done plenty of times before, with people who know me. It's about 10 minutes from my house.

It was safe.

And guess what?

I failed.

I was rejected.

At first I didn't know what to do. This was my first attempt at getting back into the swing of things. My safe option. And I was rejected? Was the universe trying to tell me something? That I waited too long? I was too old, out-of-the-trendy loop? I had nothing left to offer?

I ruminated about this and percolated and struggled with it, and I finally came to a pretty important decision.

I think the universe was trying to tell me something.

No more playing it safe.

If you're gonna break out of that shell, break the fuck out of the shell.

All the way out.

Try something new, something different, something big.

Meet new people. Give new talks. Travel. Have an adventure.

That first rejection gave me the courage to try for EVERYTHING. Because, honestly, what did I have to lose?

So what if I got more rejections?

And I did. I got more rejections.

But you know what else? I got some fantastic opportunities, better than I ever imagined.

I'm traveling to Pittsburgh and Florida and Atlanta and Toronto. I'm talking about craft and writing and self-care and writing journeys. Things that matter to me.

I'm giving a talk to high school kids about the publishing industry.

My daughter is coming with me to Florida.

I've never been to Atlanta or Toronto. In addition to meeting new people and authors I admire, I get to meet on-line friends IN REAL LIFE. Meet face-to-face with folks who have supported me for years on-line.

That's pretty freakin' huge.

And for the first time in 25 years, I'm taking a class.

An art class.

I was nervous the first night. My print wasn't great. It was okay. But...I did it. I showed up, I participated, I tried something new.

Finally, I decided that this book I've been wrestling with is something bigger than I realized.

It's literary fiction. Is it scary to try something I've never done, break a personal writing mold for myself that is so hard that some days I am totally dumbfounded by this entire process?

Yeah, it's scary. But also exhilarating. 

Bottom line is that I believe I can do it.

I can do anything.

I can start something new at 51, and I will succeed.

I am not afraid of rejection. Or wrinkles. Or gray hair.

I embrace my decades of experience and know my wisdom will guide me through anything I choose to tackle in my life.

Eventually I'll get to the new flower business. And maybe that horror novel that is banging around my head.

I'm not gonna lie. There are days I want--desperately---to crawl back into that shell. It's safe in there, and quiet. And I can turn invisible if I need to.

But if I don't kick my own butt at 51, when will it happen?

And as I look back over my life, filled with all kinds of stuff, good and bad--I realize this was a good lesson to learn. At 51. 

You can play it safe, or you can be willing to try new things, to fail, to push, to experience.

Suddenly this year feels different. So much different than the last year. I'm not so tired. I'm not discouraged. The failures slide right off, and I'm onto the next thing.

I wasn't ready for this at 20. Or 30, or 40. And clearly not at 50.

But at 51, I can do this.

I'm 51. What can I do?

Anything.



Love to all,
Penny