Wheel of Fortune

Guest blogger: Maya DeLeina

I am at a time in my life where I am incredibly comfortable in my skin. I’ve learned to accept they way I look and appreciate who I am. Ok, so I am a bit weird, yet it hasn’t caused me to make a b-line for a darkened corner of a room in a social setting and I am far from being timid. This is me, like it or not.


But I haven’t always been this way.


If I had to pinpoint a time where I first started being uncomfortable with myself, it had to be the moment I got satellite equipment on my face- orthodontic headgear. This was the start to my very awkward-looking stage. I didn’t shy away from doing things completely, but I certainly had reservations that I never had before and I did everything in my power to blend in so I wouldn’t standout. And that is pretty dang hard to do with blinding metal on your face.


All in all, I wasn’t a cute kid. In fact, I remember my younger brother and I took photos together. He was so perfectly adorable in the foreground and then there I was, looming in the background and ruined the portrait. To really paint the picture, at one time, I donned braces with the rubber-band closures, the headgear, pimples and chin-length hair that was so extremely poofy, I looked like a walking mushroom. Then, my nose grew from a cute button as a baby into what looked like a freaky arrow. I remember one kid in school, Jason, would constantly call me “Wheel of Fortune”, you know, because my nose looked like that little white arrow on Pat Sajak’s wheel?


I can’t tell you how many times I heard “Free Spin”.

So this is where my shyness developed. Seems a bit shallow, but this had a real impact on my self esteem and confidence. I didn’t want to get teased, so I stayed low. Although a lot of the adolescent years experience this, for me, I was unable to shake it completely. Later in life, I was still enraptured with the thought of blending, taking it as far as fantasizing about the day I could afford plastic surgery so my nose would look like everyone else.


Then something just hit me like a flash.


If we all looked, thought, dressed like each other, what a boring world this would be. The headgear is gone now, but my nose ever present. The thought of plastic surgery for a new nose is no longer in my thoughts (boob lift, maybe). It’s me. It’s who I am. And suddenly, when I accepted this, everything else started to fall in place.

Acceptance is a powerful tool.


Today, I am an erotic vampire author of all things, unleashing my wicked, twisted and weird creativity in my writing. No reservations or shyness here! And it is all due to acceptance. This acceptance has given me an inner strength I never felt before. This inner strength promoted confidence. This confidence helped breakthrough that wall I built years ago that has allowed me to find my true voice.


It’s crazy when I think back on this.


In Tarot cards, the Wheel of Fortune is all about luck and change. The wheel symbolizes completeness, the rise and fall of fortunes and the message that what goes around comes around. The card indicates happiness and elevation; a change that just happens, and brings with it great joy.


This is where I am now.


Makes me wonder what Jason is up to these days.

***

You can learn more about Maya on her website 

and Facebook. Her newest release, Flesh Fantasy

is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble

and Siren-Bookstrand.

Pick me! Pick me...NOT!

by Tammy Dennings Maggy, guest blogger

Public speaking used to terrify me. Not just getting up in front of a group of people, but any time attention was focused on me gave me cold sweats. I hated being called on in class to answer questions. It didn’t matter whether or not I knew the answers. As soon as I was called upon, I would freeze and feel like every single eye was on me and I was being judged. If I answered correctly, I was called a show off. If I didn’t know the answer, then I was ridiculed for being wrong. It really wasn’t that way all of the time, but that’s how I felt. I even had teachers pull me aside asking me why I didn’t speak up more in class. They knew by my tests and essays that I knew the material. They just couldn’t understand why I “pretended” not to know it in the classroom.

It wasn’t that I was pretending at all. I was just too frightened to speak. The fear of rejection and failure was paralyzing for me. No matter what I did, I couldn’t seem to shake that feeling. It wasn’t until a very popular teacher took me aside one afternoon and told me his secret. He too was terrified of talking in front of people. I didn’t believe him of course. He looked so at ease in front of the class and seemed to speak comfortably for the entire period. He smiled at my doubtful expression and promised to let me in on his secret. He wrote it on a note card and slid it across the desk to me. I gave him my best “you’ve got to be kidding me” expression after I read it and he just smiled. “Trust me. It works every single time.”

“Just Breathe…”

Two little words was all he wrote, but two of the most powerful words that would get me through any situation. Seriously. Whenever I felt that growing panic zip through my body, the first thing I’d do was start looking for a way out. But if I just took a moment, inhaled deeply, and then let the air out slowly, I would find that those voices telling me to run would quiet down. My heart would stop beating so wildly in my chest, and the feeling returned to my fingers after I’d stopped clenching my fists so tightly. I took a few more breaths, closed my eyes for a beat or two and then opened them once again. What do you think I saw?

I saw people looking to me for guidance, for inspiration, for hope, for a laugh or two. They were not there to judge me at all. They wanted to hear what I had to say. They didn‘t always agree with me, but they were interested in what I had to say just the same. Looking a little harder, I found some people who were relieved it was me center stage instead of them. I could always find my cheering section, smiling up at me, encouraging me to continue. And yes, there were a few who were not paying attention at all. All the better for me. I was able to forget about those few and concentrate on those who were paying attention.

Go ahead. Give it a try the next time you have to speak in front of a group of people. Just breathe for a few moments before you have to begin. Speak your mind and from your heart, and before you know it, your time in the spotlight will be over…for now.

Thanks so much for the insight, Tammy!

Tammy's book, For the Love of Quinn, is available now.

What happens in Vegas refuses to stay there for Quinn, who falls in love with two men: Vegas tycoon Steve and classic bad boy Jake. Both have claims on her heart, but only one shares a connection so strong that nothing can keep them apart.

About Tammy: As far back as I can remember I have had two dreams: become a veterinarian and a world famous author. So far I achieved the first one and have enjoyed a wonderful career as a small animal veterinarian, but something has always been missing. I have never stopped writing; that has never an issue. The problem was getting up the nerve to actually finish one of my novels and submit it to a publisher. What a scary thought to send a stranger something I had poured my heart into. Would they like it? Would they see the characters the way I saw them in my head? Writing For the Love of Quinn was like giving birth to my first child…I had to let my characters go to see if they would take off…and boy have they ever!
 



You can learn more about Tammy on her website, Facebook, blog, and by following her on Twitter @dochappycamper. 

Q & A with author Sharon Noble

Thanks for being here today, Sharon. Would you please share a short bio about yourself?

Thank you for inviting me. I live in Los Angeles with my family, which include two very large mutt dogs. We're not sure what they are, but they take up a lot of space in the bed. I took my B.A. and M.A. at the University of Colorado and taught in the English Department at the University of Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada before moving to Toronto to pursue an acting career. We moved to L.A. to escape the winter snow, and one day I started writing. I'm probably not the usual personality type for writing, but, surprisingly, I really enjoy the process. I still do the occasional commercial or film or TV-- not enough to boast about.



Q What’s the hardest part of this business for you?

A Marketing, without a doubt. I hadn't anticipated that promotion would be the responsibility of the author, so it came as an enormous surprise. But I'm learning ---- gradually. I've approached a couple of local newspapers to review my books, and they responded with a review and photos of the cover art, along with my photo. I'll be conducting a workshop on how to write a romance and get it published at the West Hollywood Book Fair. I'm a dead failure at Facebook and blogging on my own, so I really, really admire those of you who are good at it and who pursue it diligently. I'm computer challenged, so Twitter is out of my league altogether. Sometimes I consider standing on the sidewalk at the freeway exits and just waving my books in the air in an attempt to attract attention to my work.


Q Tell me about a time that you had to step outside your comfort zone either in your writing career or in your personal life?

A Oh, that's easy. I recently began narrating erotica (available on Amazon.com and Audiolark.com) for an audiobook company in Canada, and I thought it would be easy and fun, especially since I've done lots and lots of voiceover work, and I write erotic romance. Boy, what a surprise when I got the first script. There were words that had never before passed my lips and situations that gave me pause. I found myself embarrassed at actually speaking the dialogue, uneasy at the narrative, and stymied at the storyline. But my husband, ever helpful, said , "Just Go For It!" So, I gathered myself together and gave it my absolute best. BUT I use a pseudonym.


Q What’s one tip you could share with shy and introverted people that’s helped you?

A Well, I'm not introverted, but I have two children who are, so I know the stumbling blocks. I think the most important thing that helped me throughout my life was my mother's reminder that "Sharon, the world is not focused on you. They have their own lives to deal with." When we keep that mantra in our heads, we can relax with the knowledge that we're not being scrutinized, appraised, or judged. And if those shy people are writing, they're in a safety zone that's like sitting in a hot tub in the dark under a magnolia tree with a glass of chilled white wine. If they don't want to risk exposure, there are always pseudonyms. It's like protective cloak.

Q Would you please share a short blurb of your book and where my readers can buy it?

A Velvet and Topaz is available at Freya's Bower and Amazon.

When Caroline Benning's husband summarily divorces her on the eve of her 40th birthday, she's devastated. Best friend Marjory treats her to a month-long visit to England to visit castles and historical sites. At Hampton Court a bearded cavalier in black leather and velvet moves Caroline to unexpected sexual longing. In a shadowed closet, they make anonymous love unlike anything she has experienced. Adam Carruthers is a high-powered attorney who enjoys reenacting Tudor history. When he sees Caroline, he can't resist her and soon finds himself in an unlikely but highly-enjoyable position. Later, at a protest rally over gentrification of London's East Side, they find themselves on violently opposing sides, fueled by a trauma in Caroline's childhood. Can their passion overcome their differences? Or will their fundamental beliefs keep them apart?


Q Where can my readers find you on the web?

A My highly out-of-date and unfinished website is http://www.sharon-noble.com/. My husband began building it a year ago when I had only one book, then abandoned it when he got very busy. So my other two books are not there, but there are a few of my paintings on the website.

Q&A with Lucy Felthouse

Q Thanks for being here today, Lucy. Would you please share a short bio about yourself?

A Lucy is a graduate of the University of Derby, where she studied Creative Writing. During her first year, she was dared to write an erotic story - so she did. It went down a storm and she's never looked back. Lucy has had stories published by Cleis Press, Ravenous Romance and Xcite Books. She is also the editor of Uniform Behaviour - Steamy Stories About Men and Women in Uniform.

Q What’s the hardest part of this business for you?

A Ignoring distractions. It’s so easy to sit down and write, but so difficult to stop yourself playing around on the Internet, staring out of the window...

Q Tell me about a time that you had to step outside your comfort zone either in your writing career or in your personal life?

A I do force myself to step out of my comfort zone every so often. One example is where I made myself have a go at a short story call, even though I wasn’t familiar with the subject matter. Luckily for me, the experiment paid off and the story was contracted! Another example is an upcoming reading I’m doing. I don’t have a problem going out and meeting people, but reading erotica to a room full of people will no doubt have me quaking in my boots!

Q What’s one tip you could share with shy and introverted people that’s helped you?

A Whatever the thing is that you’re afraid of – give it a go anyway. You’re always much more critical of yourself than others are of you. So if you think you’re doing something wrong, it’s highly likely that nobody else has even noticed! Just keep going, even if you slip up, people will applaud you for trying.

Q Where can my readers find you on the web?

A My website is http://lucyfelthouse.co.uk/.

Thanks so much for a great interview, Lucy! (And by the way...LOVE that cover!)

Adele Dubois: Introversion Has Its Price

Please welcome erotic romance author Adele Dubois to the blog. Her newest release is Rev Me Twice, with Ellora's Cave.

I haven’t always been an introvert. Back in the day, I was outgoing and comfortable in my own skin. During my childhood and teens, I performed on stage in community theatre. In my teens and twenties, I modeled in fashion shows. My job as a newspaper reporter and columnist required that I be affable and on the go. For years, I loved meeting new people and traveling to exotic places.

These days, I’m more comfortable inside my home office, alone with my manuscripts. And therein lies the problem. When I turned to fiction writing full-time, my imaginary world expanded while my social life contracted. I transformed from an extrovert to an introvert and discovered I liked the change of pace.

Introversion, however, comes with a price. My public speaking skills have rusted and my wardrobe needs updating. It’s hard to dress for success when your favorite clothes are baggy pants, shirts embossed with snowmen, and wool slippers. These days, dressing up for me means clean jeans with a grown-up blouse and real shoes.

If you see me at a writers’ conference or readers’ convention, please stop and say hello. Notice my make-up and stylish clothes and remember I wore them just for you. Otherwise, I’d be holed up inside my home office, writing books in my pajamas, wondering where the heck the day went.

*****
Adele Dubois is an award-winning author and former newspaper and magazine columnist, features writer, and foreign correspondent published in the Caribbean, UK, and USA.

When not on the beach by the ocean, or walking along the quiet shores of a Delaware bay, she and her family enjoy their rural eastern Pennsylvania home where she is currently working on her next novel.

*****
REV ME TWICE:
http://www.jasminejade.com/ps-8865-50-rev-me-twice.aspx

Adele Dubois Website: www.adeledubois.com/
Friend Adele on Facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/adele.dubois?ref=name
Find Adele on Twitter! http://twitter.com/AdeleDubois

CONFERENCE JITTERS

Please help me welcome multi-published paranormal and erotic romance author Suzanne Rock to the blog.

Here's Suzanne: Hi! Thanks so much for having me here today. To start, I'd like to share a little secet with all of you.

I'm shy. Painfully shy.

I think most writers are. It takes a lot for me to come out from behind a computer and talk to people face to face. I'm not quite sure why that is. It isn't like one time I said 'hello' to someone and they bit me. It's just a part of who I am. I'm introverted. Some would say I'm introverted to a fault.

So, you can imagine what was going through my mind when I went to my regional RWA conference this past March. The thought of talking with other writers both excited and terrified me. Last year I went to the same conference and pretty much kept to myself. With my head down and pen in hand, I attended all of the workshops, guest lectures and agent/editor panels, eager for knowledge. I came home with a ton of things I could apply to my own writing. All in all, I considered it a success. But this year, I knew I wanted to do something different. I had done the lecture thing. This year, I wanted to network. That meant had to talk to real living and breathing people.

Yikes.

Workshops are important, but so is networking. Writing is such a solitary endeavor. For hours we sit in front of a computer screen, typing away the book of our heart. We may have the support of our friends and family, but do they really 'get it?' Do they understand the longing, the frustration, the cry of victory when, after months of agony, we finally filled that gaping plot hole?

This year I did something radical: I stepped out of my comfort zone. In the entire 2-day conference, I only attended one workshop. The rest of the time, I spoke with other writers, all at different stages of their writing career. I had cocktails with an unpublished author just starting to submit her fourth manuscript to agents. Then I had dinner with a self-published author, and then dessert with a 20-year veteran. Coffee with a multi-published ebook author, breakfast with a NY times best-selling writer, snacks with someone who just published their first ebook, lunch with an unpublished Harlequin hopeful, and finally, chocolate peanut butter cups with category romance writer who just made her first sale.

Yes, all of these encounters involved food, but that isn't my point, lol.
What this gave me was perspective. While everyone was at different stages of their writing career, we all shared a common bond: we loved to write. There is something about putting a pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) that gives all of us shivers of excitement. We have stories to tell, and emotions to share. We may look different, or act different, but in our hearts, we all share the same dream: to share our stories with the world.

When I went to this conference I was feeling a little down and somewhat inadequate as a writer. I left feeling inspired and energized. I'm so glad I stepped out of my comfort zone and approached other writers. I know that my life, and my writing, will be better for it.

So how about you, have you ever had to step out of your comfort zone? What was the result? Tell me about it!

While you think about your answer, check out my newest release from Red Sage, called Dark Deception.

Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRw_BspWIXg

About Suzanne: After over a decade in the scientific world, Suzanne needed a creative outlet. She tried scrap booking, cooking, crocheting, painting, and piano, none of which held her interest for very long. Then one of her friends suggested writing. Thrilled with the idea of creating her own worlds, she opened up her laptop and never looked back. When Suzanne’s not writing, she can be found playing with her two daughters, testing her husband’s latest kitchen creations, or curled up with her favorite romance novel in her central Massachusetts home.

Backlist:
Spyder's Web, Loose Id
Up on the Housetop (Book 1 of the Kyron Pack), Loose Id
Cria, Loose Id
Down on the Boardwalk (Book 2 of the Kyron Pack), Loose Id

Dark Deception (Book 1 of the Immortal Realm), Red Sage

You can learn more about Suzanne here:
Website: www.SuzanneRock.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/Suzanne_Rock

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/suzanne.rock

Embrace the Shadows Blog: http://embracetheshadows.wordpress.com/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2982868.Suzanne_Rock
Youtube Channel (so you can see my other book trailers)