Cover Me Excited!

Working with the editorial team at Samhain Publishing has been incredible.  I am almost sad to see the process end.  Okay, not really. (Editing and I are not buddies)  I need an editor with a whip and a harsh deadline to keep moving forward like I should.  Lisa Dunick pushed me in the most wonderful ways, and made me let go of words that didn't work, all the while making me create more words that I loved even more.  I can't thank her enough for everything she has done to help jump start my career.

Then one wonderful day...I got my cover art.  Kanaxa and I never spoke directly, but if I ever meet her, I will hug her and squeeze her and buy her alcohol.  I had some ideas about my cover, but between Lisa and Kanaxa they brought in new ideas that I will be forever grateful for.  

Now that I have gushed about the poster-worthy cover, you are dying to see it aren't you?  

Here it is.

Coming to Samhain Publishing October 2013, A Love Worth Biting For.

God, she's sexy!  

Samhain Publishing is holding her down for a few more months, but my heroine Amber won't let them keep her captive for long. Unless they use silver thread in the cuffs. ;p

Roxy

In the Hybrid Home Stretch

After a chaotic couple of days I am delighted to say that my first book is being finalized as we speak! (or as I type...whatever)

I have learned so much going through this experience, and thank goodness my editor is a VERY patient woman.

Some of the things I have learned...

1. Make sure Track Changes is on BEFORE you do your edits.
        There are probably all kinds of curse words that erupted from my editor's mouth about that.

2. Slow it down.
         My brain moves faster than my fingers at times, and I had to learn to break up my paragraphs into smaller more manageable chunks.  I had to stop my characters from their tendency to monologue.  Slowing down, let the impact of my important points really shine through.

3. Twitter is my friend.
        Sending a quick question, or letting my editor know there was a reason to check her email, was a fabulous way to get a fast response.  It also helped me from sending her endless..."So you got that and the file opened, right?" emails.  Twitter is apparently my editor's friend as well.

These are the things I can quantify.  I learned so many things that I can't fit into easy bullet points.  I learned where I am strong, learned where I need to improve (Hi my name is Roxy, and I have an ellipsis problem), and learned to spot these things in my next story.  Book 2 of my trilogy is covered with pink pen markups.

Mark your books with pink or purple pen folks.  It makes you feel better than if you murder your manuscript with red.  Or it makes me feel better at any rate. ;p

I am waiting on my ARCs now.  But mark your calendars folks!

Coming Fall of 2013...

Get your e-readers ready for The Hart Clan Hybrids Book 1.

A Love Worth Biting For by Roxy Mews

Who's afraid of the big bad hybrid? (I'm not. He's a hottie.)

She's trying to stay away.  He's trying not to turn furry.  They both fail miserably with plenty of enjoyable and sweaty property destruction.

I can't wait until you get to meet both Amber and Jake.  I went way past PG-13, and had a blast doing it.

Roxy

My New Favorite Editing Tool

I am working on edits for two books right now.  One is off for the final round polish and with the second I am going in to tear apart my rough draft and get it ready for submission.
All this editing (not my favorite part of the process) has forced me to improve my technique.  It needed to happen, but I can still whine about it a bit. ;p
I have tried a few different ways to go through my books. I printed them out to work on, read them on my kindle and took notes in the file, and tried just editing in the document itself.
Someone owes my editor alcohol after the steep learning curve I went through with Track Changes. Pretty sure that someone is me. Bourbon, right Lisa?
Then I tried something else. I have an older model Kindle Touch that offers a Text-to-Speech feature. It reads documents (that have the feature enabled) in a robotic, monotonous tone. What I discovered, was that any mixed up or missing words, and other mistakes or awkward wording jumped out at me like blinking neon lights.  I threw my own books on the device and started listening.
Only problem was it was a pain in the booty to follow along on a computer.  So I brought out my printout, and had my "Aha!" moment.
I found my groove and the edits are going so well thanks to my out-of-date e-reader.
Anyone out there have a favorite technique or tool they use during the editing process? Share below!

RT Recovery

I have no idea what day it is.  I have no idea what time it is.  I have no idea where my coffee cup went.

That's right, I am home from RT 2013.

I have some pictures to share.  The first day, I was so excited that I woke up at 4:30 am.  Much to my roommates' dismay, the trend continued.  I am an early riser and always get up ready to go.

 Samhain Publishing had a TON of signage out.  They even had these really cool clings on the elevators.  I might have taken a few pics with my new publisher. Don't judge me, but I may have kissed one or two.

 This is a shot of me with Lexi Blake/Sophie Oak.  I fell in love with this author when I found her first book under the Sophie Oak name.  Small Town Siren.  I found book two in the series, and then promptly emailed her and let her know that I was stalking her.  For some reason she responded rather than blocking me, and she is just the most fabulous person.  I was so glad to run into her again.

This was my embarrassing fangirl moment of the con.  Victoria Dahl was one of the first authors I read that let me know it was okay to be funny and sexy at the same time.  Her books and her female characters were strong and snarky and fabulous.  I hugged her.  It was great.

At that same book signing I also met Angie Fox!  She took such time to chat with me, I was amazed. Angie Fox is also one of my funny idols.  I was freaking out a bit when she handed me her card and TOTALLY forgot to get a picture.  She signed my book, and I love that she wrote all over the page for me.  Know that she is also awesome.

And now, for what you really want.  Here is a picture of one of the cover models wondering around the convention.  The Ellora's Cave Cavemen were there as well, but only stayed for a night and didn't really hang out and have fun with us like these guys did. Until I learned Charles Paz's name, I might have referred to him as the guy with shoulders bigger than his head. But don't tell him that. He is a great guy who worked hard to keep the energy up at the events.  Another cover model not pictured, is DeLonn Donovan.  He was my dancing buddy at the Ellora's Cave Disco.  I blame him for my busted knee.

I also am heartbroken that I don't have a picture of Dawn from Daydrmzzz (http://daydrmzzz.blogspot.com/).  Dawn and I met on Goodreads, and we touched base for just a couple hours in Chicago at the last RT.  She introduced me to some fabulous people, and I just had to hang on for the ride.  She also beat me with an evil stick, but don't worry.  It was totally consensual.  :D
 

My roommates were Mary Abshire aka Diane Thorne and Dani Morgan.  We were sad to see the week end.  It was an incredible experience, and I hope both of them are going to RT 2014.  New Orleans sounds like an absolute blast. 

Now I am off to do epic amounts of laundry, and drink even more epic amounts of coffee until my body recovers.  

Oh, and I suppose I should actually be writing, too!  I only wrote 3k the whole time I was away, so I have some editing and new word catch up to do.  Hopefully my body will be a little bit more motivated today. I yawned as I typed that.  

Thank you to all the people I met.  I am going through all the business cards and each time I add someone to twitter or mark their book on Goodreads, I am hit with another amazing memory.  

The romance community truly is a home away from home for me.  I am so glad I found you all, and can't thank you enough for the fabulous time.

Roxy

Getting Ready for the RT Convention!

The RT Booklovers Convention (http://www.rtconvention.com/) is my first official conference as an author.  I have been to a couple of other cons as a reader and had a blast.  Meaning, I got tons of free swag and fabulous conversation with some of my favorite authors.

Book cons for me are a complete escape from everyday life.  And as an added bonus I get to go as my alter-ego.  Roxy Mews is my pen name, but I find she is much more me, than I am most of the time.

I get to go out, talk about books, and chat with other authors and readers about what they have on their e-readers that they can't turn off. That's right, I am addicted to ebooks. My kindle goes everywhere with me.  It is overflowing with more books than I will probably ever read in a lifetime, and I still wait like a kid at Christmas for those Tuesday releases.

Although my book isn't out yet, I am taking some business cards and information about my book with me.  My cover was recently finalized and I will be handing out some postcards to give readers a heads up.

Even though I am going in a slightly different capacity this round, I will have a lot of the same prep.  Over the weekend I will be packing, making lists, realizing I forgot my underwear and starting over when I realize I don't have any room left in my suitcase.

For anyone going to RT, I have a few words of advice.

1. Don't worry about a big purse.  There are tons of totebags that you will be given through the days.  Carry one of those.  Authors will be wandering everywhere, and you never know what there will be to haul around.  Also, the totes are fab to get autographs on as a free souvenir.

2.  Bring permanent markers.  Seeing your favorite author's autograph in skinny, skipping pen is such a disappointment.  Keep markers in your totebag and be ready for those completely inappropriate fangirl moments.

3.  BYOB. This might not make me popular with the hotel staff, but if you are driving rather than flying in you can bring in your own alcohol, and save your money.  Those cash bar tabs add up pretty fast. Bringing in your own can allow a little extra cash for books.  BUT don't skip out on the bar totally!  A lot of shenanigans go down where the alcohol flows.  Make sure you don't miss out.

4.  Keep a small clutch or wristlet in your totebag.  This should have a bit of cash, your room key, and any necessities like medicine, glasses, or breathmints.  When you are ready to head for an official party, this makes it easy to drop your larger bag off at the room and hurry to the next event.

5.  Be ready to wait in line.  RT is a HUGE con. And it actually sold out this year.  Get in line for the big parties early, or make sure one of your group camps out to save you chairs.  The big parties have big swag, and you want to get to a table close to the action.

6. Be ready to throw that carefully planned agenda out the window.  Because if the author you go fangirl crazy for offers to take you to lunch, or if the publisher of your dreams wants to chat, GO WITH THEM! All the panels are wonderful, but the connections you make will be where you make the most impact.

Look for me at RT.  I will be one of the authors with a silk flower on her badge.  I can't wait to chat with all of you.

Roxy

Write drunk, Edit sober...

Write drunk, edit sober. 

Maybe that's why I like writing more than edits. ;p

I am trying to get into my first round of edits with the same gusto I had while writing the manuscript in the first place.  Only problem is I seem to be fighting an uphill battle over here.

Sickness has assaulted my home and work environment. Despite the endless amounts of sanitizing products I used, my immune system lost the battle.

So here I sit, going between hacking my lungs up and trying to see through the antihistamine cloud.

My grumpy Tinkerbell mug and I are not amused.  I am off to reheat my coffee again and try to be coherent. And sexy.  Cause nothing gets you in the mood for sexy writing like discarded tissues and coughdrop wrappers. :)

Roxy Mews...Samhain Author? No way!

Reading and writing seem to go hand in hand.  I devoured books as a teen. I lived at the library and idolized the people that brought to life the stories I got lost in. I fell in love with vampires and read the Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith over and over and over.  And over.  I think my mother worried that I might try and bite her.

Then life happened.  I immersed myself in my school projects and getting ahead, and I was motivated to do everything I was supposed to do in life.  I did great.  I graduated with honors from high school and college.  I got a job.  I was…miserable.  I was doing everything I was supposed to and nothing I wanted. 

So I decided to lose myself again and picked up a book.  I remembered the worlds I loved, and found a fabulous author named Mary Hughes who showed me that vampires could be not only intriguing and angsty, but sexy and funny!  I had never read anything like this before.  Then I found Sophie Oak, and Shelly Laurenston, and Dana Marie Bell, and Victoria Dahl, and Lauren Dane, and Eliza Gayle, and well I could go on, but those women stand out in my mind.  They wrote about strong women who had a sense of humor that I could see myself in.  The humorous erotic romance genre…well it was home.  I found where I belonged. 

I was stalking websites and blogs and dying to read more.  In that search I kept returning again and again to a certain publisher.  I loved the books they published, I loved the authors they signed, and I loved their warnings at the bottom of all their blurbs.  Samhain Publishing became the golden ring I longed to reach for.  When I found the guts and shared some of my own writing I was thrilled with the positive feedback. Samhain Publishing was the first place I wanted to send it to.  I had never sent in anything for submission before, and I knew that I would be rejected a few dozen times before I ever saw a yes.  All the other authors told me so.  There was a ton of “don’t give up” and “it can take years” all over the place.  I was ready for that rejection. 

I wasn’t ready for the yes.  

I read those emails over and over.  They couldn’t be right.  But no matter how many times I read them, the words stayed the same.  And now I have started this crazy road to publication with the publisher I have been looking at with stars in my eyes for the past two years.  Some of my idols write here.  I still pinch myself when I wake up in the morning, and until release day, I will probably be waiting for the big bad to go wrong, but as of right now, I am finally saying it.

I am a Samhain Author.

 

Did you feel the chills?  I sure did. :D

Make sure to check out their store here . Read the blurbs and find a new author.  And make sure to look for Roxy Mews on the virtual shelves late this year.