GLENYS O'CONNELL: A little Q & A

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

A.A Short bio? What to say? What to say? I write romantic suspense and have several novels published. But I regard myself as a writing "Jill of all Trades" and have also written children's fiction and non-fiction, and following my interest in counselling and psychology, I've had two books on mental health issues published.

Back to fiction -- I've written two or three one-act plays -- two of them have been produced on stage, and one has won several awards, including a best drama award as the author of a play translated into Irish Gaelic! I've written many articles, web content, and a series of hypnotherapy scripts as well as ghostwriting several books. I started out my working life as a journalist and covering the crime beat for a large daily paper in Ontario fed my interest in psychology, so I took a degree and further qualifications as a counselor.

I'm also putting together a book on novel writing based on my online writing course: Naked Writing - the No Frills Way to Write Your Book, and I'm excited to be taking the plunge with Indie publishing on that one! But romantic suspense and mysteries will always be my first love - they fulfill my craving for romance, crime and excitement! I've lived and worked in the UK., Ireland and Canada -- all countries which provide excellent settings for novels. Now I'm back home in very rural Ontario, Canada, and at work on a series of novels about a psychotherapist turned amateur detective and on a non-fiction book about relationships.

Q. Do you consider yourself a shy and/or introverted person?

A. Yes, I am both shy and introverted -- in another age I'd probably be a hermit living deep in the woods, or a witchy woman living alone with my cats....

Q. In what ways has being shy or introverted hindered your writing career?

A. It's a two-edged sword, really. I'm not shy when I'm interviewing people as a journalist, or teaching as a creative writing instructor (I taught law, creative writing and did life coaching in Ireland and worked with disadvantaged children and adults, too). I'm able to stand in front of a class and talk for as long as I need to -- but put me on a stage promoting one of my plays or in a bookstore doing a book signing, and I'm instantly tongue tied. Promotion, especially in person, when I'm required to talk about my own work, is really difficult and I know that shyness has prevented me from taking up promotional opportunities.

Q. In what ways has being shy or introverted helped your writing career?

A. In my professional life, particularly as a journalist, I learned to adopt a 'professional personna' which lets me put a shield between myself and what I'm doing, if that makes sense. I am learning from that experience to 'fake it until you make it' and I think I'm becoming better at going out to readers and talking or promoting my work. At least, I hope so!

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

A. Promotion and book signings - see the answers above!

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, my -- there are a number of answers to that one.

How about the time I was invited to cover a Women's Institute convention, with hundreds of attendees, for my newspaper -- and no one told me I was on the slate as a speaker! I was pretty young at the time, and I did give a talk on writing club reports that would interest newspapers. Apparently, I spoke for the required 20 minutes and everyone clapped and said it was great. Me? I don't remember a word I said....

Then there was the time I was invited to do a series of workshops at an elementary school about my children's book, The Pebble People Save the Day....30 little boys, full of questions and with short attention spans, waiting expectantly, and the teacher left me alone in the room. I survived, though....and the kids didn't riot!

And possibly some of my worst moments have been when women readers have commented that they really thought the sex in my books was hot...and went on to ask me if I had any tips for them.

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

A. Don't take things personally. People are usually genuinely interested in the work you do, or they wouldn't want to hear about it. Your readers are the people you are writing for -- do them the honor of respecting that and do your best to treat them as special people in your world. And if you get a rejection, or the reviews don't come in (or worse, aren't as good as you'd hoped!) or a store won't carry your books, or some other disappointment occurs in your writing, don't take it personally. Books are very much subjective -- a rejection or a poor review isn't a personal judgement on you! Remember when you learned to ride a bike? You kept falling off and then all of a sudden, there you were -- riding with the wind! Well, keep on doing what you love, and the things you fear will get easier and actually become (almost) enjoyable!

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

A. This is from Resort to Murder, a romantic suspense/police detective novel set in Yorkshire. England.

Disgraced police detective Ellie Fitzpatrick is prepared to face a vicious killer to redeem herself but is she also brave enough to make peace with the man she loves? Her meteoric career crashes and burns after she is falsely accused of accepting bribes from thugs running a protection racket. Suspended from the job she loves, she believes herself abandoned not only by police colleagues but by her lover, Detective Liam Reilly. Then she is called back to work when a biography of a serial killer she arrested suggests the man may be innocent. Reilly vows to protect Ellie from the gang who tried to frame her and the killer who's stalking her. But can she trust him with her life?

The Wild Rose Press|Amazon|Barnes & Noble

ISBN: 1-60154-652-1

Q. Where can my readers find you on the web?

A. I have a web page at www.glenysoconnell.com under the 'brand' Romance Can Be Murder! I also blog with The Roses of Prose  and on Amazon. I'm also on Twitter @GlenysOConnell.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to be here today, Rebecca, and special good wishes to shy writers everywhere!

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.

Creating an Online Presence: 4 Tips from an Introvert

Please help me welcome multi-published romance and paranormal author Laura Kaye to the blog.

Rebecca was so kind to have me here today [thanks, Rebecca!], and she’s given me space to do my thing. And, right now, my fear is maybe no one will read it. Or they’ll read it and not comment, and then, what does that mean? Was it too boring? Too dull? Too pedantic?


See, this is the kind of commentary that sometimes goes on in the head of an introvert. I know. Because I am one.


Well, I’m a recovering introvert, anyway.

Part of the reason I might be working through my introvert nature is because, online, I feel I can be more myself than in a face-to-face situation. I’ve never been good at mingling at parties, making small talk, going up to strangers and introducing myself. And, while immersing yourself in social media can be a little like that, I’ve found the more I do it, the more my online presence jives with my introverted nature. So, with that in mind, here are some things this introvert has learned about creating a useful and effective online presence:

1) I am not boring. And neither are you. First of all, if you’re an author, you’ve already accomplished something most people will never do. That in and of itself makes you interesting. Lots of people want to be writers, or at least they’re curious about what it takes—if nothing else they’ll be interested in hearing how you made it when others didn’t. Plus, those really cool characters you created? That impossibly intricate plot you wove all through that story? That smokin’ hot exotic locale you described until your reader was right there in the thick of it? That’s all you. You’re the source of all that coolness, complication, and hotness! When talking about yourself fails you, talk about your characters. Heck, sometimes let them do the talking [when blogging, facebooking, tweeting, etc.] And that leads me to…

2) You are the expert. You are an expert on a lot more things than you think. A lot of my stress as an introvert stems from not knowing what to say and wondering if people could care less. But talking from a place of expertise dissolves a lot of those concerns. In my full-time job, I’m a history professor—that’s right, my daily work involves lots of public speaking. And except for a recurring dream at the start of every single semester that I show up on the first day of classes and haven’t prepared anything [still having this little subconscious burp after 12 full-time years of teaching!], I am never stressed about what to say or how my interactions will go when I walk in the room. The explanation’s simple. In that room, I’m the expert. That doesn’t mean I know it all, and frequently an interested student will have learned something along the way I don’t know much about. But identifying areas of expertise, preparing them, and falling back on them can be a real savior for an introvert because it gives you something ready and interesting to talk about. Applying this idea to your books, what cool gems did you learn while researching your stories? An interesting historical fact relevant to your setting? Some funky trivia about when or how something was invented? That research has given you a bit of expertise that you can use not only to strike up conversations, but also to help market your writing.


3) Be Authentic. We all strive for this in our writing, right? Authentic voice, authentic characters, authentic dialogue, authentic emotional reactions. It’s what makes our stories work. It’s what draws our readers in and makes them believe.

Well, authenticity is useful in developing your online presence, too. It relates to the content you plan to post on your website, blog, twitter, or facebook posts. Now, a lot of people hold back from these types of social media because they either fear 1) I don’t have anything interesting to say [see #1] or 2) if I speak authentically, I might offend someone, bug them with my sense of humor, or bore them with the things I find interesting, and thereby turn off a potential reader. But, here’s the thing: if you’ve done your job as a writer and poured your authentic self into your writing, you’ve already put the risk out there in the universe—the risk they won’t get your story, they won’t get your humor, they won’t agree with your take on the world. Since you’ve already taken that leap, allow yourself the realization that you’re not taking a new risk by being that same authentic self online. It’s all part of the same risk-taking process. Because, face it, that’s what writing is. How often do we talk about our books as our babies? We’ve already put our writers’ hearts on the line, so the risk’s not new. Plus, the benefit of being authentic? When you’re interested in and passionate about something, that passion comes through, attracts people and pulls them in, creates a unique identity for yourself that people will remember.

So, what does it mean to be authentic? Well, it means something different for each of us. If cooking is a huge part of your life, maybe it means you weave food into your stories, swap recipes on your blog. If knitting is your passion, maybe it’s your heroine’s too, and maybe you post pictures of your finished creations in a special facebook photo folder. If you can’t get enough of a man’s naked abs, then maybe a weekly man candy column’s your thing. But if you’re a knitting kinda girl and feel squeamish about the thought of posting naked guys on your blog, don’t do it. Because it wouldn’t be an authentic you.


4) Entertain, Inform, Connect, Share, Support. These five suggestions sum the other three up. Whether you’re trying to entice people to buy your book, visit your blog, or comment on your facebook post, strive to entertain. Think about the number of things that compete for people’s attention these days. If you want to rise above the din, you have to grab their attention. One way to do that is to inform [see#2]. People love to learn something new. So those bits of expertise in unusual, unexpected topics you learned while researching your books? Those could form the basis of some interesting blog posts, or be the kernel of a bigger book-related talk you do before a book signing. This is what I meant when I said expertise could relate to marketing—if you “give” people some interesting content as a “free” takeaway, they’re more willing to part with their dollars and give your book a try.

Another way to grab attention is to share your own experiences. To put something personal into the mix. To be the person behind the book. People don’t want to interact with a marketing machine; in fact, constantly and only trying to sell is one of the biggest social media no-nos. Remember that the online presence you’re building is uniquely yours. Connecting is another way to grab attention and garner friendships. How often have you wished someone would introduce you to an author you admire, or refer you to a good critique partner in your genre, or hook you up with a writing group or resource you didn’t know about? How often do you do those things for others? Using your online presence to connect others will come back to you in spades. As will being supportive. Want Twitter followers? Want Facebook Likes and Friends? Want people to follow your blog? Then you have to be a follower/liker/friend, too. I make it a practice to retweet every good review or other celebratory announcement that I see in my Twitter feed. The first thing I do on Facebook is scroll through the past few hours of newsfeed and click ‘like’ on all the posts that strike me and ‘share’ all the good news. These things cost me nothing. At first, they may not pay off in measurable tangibles, but eventually they will. And those folks will friend you, and follow you, and retweet you right back. And then you’ll have found your online peeps/tweeps. Which means, in the great big social reception that is the interwebz, you’ll always have people you know who you can talk to.


Thanks for the opportunity to chat up your blog, Rebecca!

Laura is a multi-published author of paranormal and contemporary romance. Her first books, HEARTS IN DARKNESS (4/20/11) and FOREVER FREED (5/20/11) are coming soon from The Wild Rose Press. Hot, Heartfelt Romance – Because everyone longs to belong…


Website: http://www.laurakayeauthor.com/
Blog: http://laurakayeauthor.blogspot.com/

Twitter: @laurakayeauthor

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/laurakayeauthor

LIVING A DUAL LIFE--Written by the author known as Ann Charles

Please welcome author Ann Charles to the blog. Ann's debut novel, Nearly Departed in Deadwood (winner of the prestigious Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense) recently released.

Here's Ann: I’m living a dual life. No, I’m not a secret agent, nor am I married to two different men (that would require extraordinary paranormal-like powers to pull off). I’m an author with a pseudonym, and thanks to this “other me,” I can stand in front of one hundred people and talk about building a platform, planning a career, or writing books with only initial minor jitters that quickly pass.

“Ann Charles” was born about eight years ago, but it wasn’t until closer to four years ago that I started to go by that name in public. It was at that time that I realized I was going to have to start being a public persona, and I didn’t think I could pull it off under my real name and normal self. What I initially believed would feel weird, quickly became freeing. As Ann Charles, I can say and do things I wasn’t always comfortable saying and doing under my real name. I’m not talking about breaking into the Smithsonian and stealing priceless historical documents, just simple things like teaching workshops, approaching complete strangers and asking them if they would be willing to write an article for 1st Turning Point, or asking someone point-blank to read my book and tell me what they think.

In my workshops, I am often asked questions regarding having a pseudonym. Most of the time, the questions center around what names I think they should choose, and if I think certain names will work well with the genres in which they write. Many of the questions come from writers who have been at this game for two years or less. They are excited about having their names on their book covers. I don’t blame them, I was excited, too. Still am. But not many of these authors consider the power of pseudonyms—how they can be used as cloaking devices to hide insecurities, fears, doubts; how much strength they can give authors standing in front of audiences, reading to groups of fans at book signings, or asking conference coordinators to consider taking a chance on them as guest speakers.

Most of us authors are loner sorts of folks who are the most comfortable living in our fiction worlds with our characters. I’m no exception. I’d take hanging out in my version of Deadwood over selling my products any day, but hiding in my stories won’t make me any money or build any name recognition. I have to go forth and speak, share, entertain, and act like the out-going author that readers want to me to be, smiling until I give my final bow each night and the lights go dim. The real me groans and shudders over the whole idea of this, but “Ann” loves the bright lights. She feeds off making people happy enough to smile back. She takes joy in verbally conversing with authors and fans alike. She is the fun-looking, grinning cowgirl in my author pictures. Me? I’m the one who is most comfortable at home in my jammies with no makeup on, drinking wine straight from the bottle, eating M&Ms like they are oxygen supplements, and mingling with the fictional characters.

Together, Ann and I can build an empire.

No, I’m not crazy. Okay, maybe there’s a bit of a multiple personality disorder going on with me (same as most authors). As I said, I have a dual personality. If you’re shy and dread the public life that authors are now being pushed to lead, you should give this duality a try. You might find that you can leap tall buildings in a single bound, just like Ann Charles can.

About Ann: Ann Charles writes mysteries full of mayhem, humor, and a splash of romance. Ann has a B.A. in English with an emphasis on creative writing from the University of Washington. A winner of the prestigious Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense, she has been a member of Sisters in Crime and Romance Writers of America for many moons. Ann has written several contemporary novels and series, and she is currently toiling away on her next book.

To learn more about Ann:
Website: www.anncharles.com
Email: ann@anncharles.com

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!)

MAEVE GRAYSON: Rejection can be a good (?) thing

Please help me welcome romance author Maeve Greyson to the blog. Maeve's super exciting news is that she made the finals of the RT/Brava Writing with the Stars contest. Way to go, Maeve. This round of voting is for best sex scene. You can only vote once, and you can vote here.

Here's Maeve, regarding "Rejection can be a good thing": Yes. You heard me and no –I haven’t had anything stronger than coffee today. Read the title again. It says rejection can be a “good” thing. It DOESN’T say you’re going to like it. It’s kind of like a dose of castor oil. Blech! Once you get past the initial shock, some good can come from it.

Two rejections in particular made all the difference in my little universe. The first one came several years ago while I searched for an agent for a paranormal romance that I just KNEW everyone would love. Hmm…apparently, I was the ONLY one that felt that way because everyone I queried politely declined with every standardized form of rubber stamp rejection known to exist. Over a period of several months that stretched into a solid year, I got nowhere fast with my little story. Until FINALLY, what should arrive in my inbox? A GOOD rejection. A kindly agent took the time to tell me that I was wasting my time submitting this story to agents. “Send it to an epub,” she said. “You don’t need an agent for this story.”

What’s that thing you’re always seeing on Twitter? *head desk* or *face palm*? Yep. That pretty much says it all. A small press e-publisher. Why didn’t I think of that before? Now, mind you –my “querying time” was a little over two years ago before the official start of the epub explosion. At that time, the market was just beginning to simmer. It wasn’t at the full rolling boil e-pubbing is now. So I researched publishers and submitted my story to The Wild Rose Press. BEYOND A HIGHLAND WHISPER sold.

BEYOND A HIGHLAND WHISPER is available at The Wild Rose Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other online stores. If not for that agent’s “good” rejection, I might’ve given up on this story and shelved it. Who knows?

Another “good” rejection came from an editor during a three-line pitch session. I HATE pitches. I’ve taken the workshops. I’ve read the books. I’ve forced myself to pitch on blogs and chats. I STILL suck at pitches. I prefer the safe distance of a well-written query sent via email or snail-mail. I’m an introvert. I prefer to hit the send button or drop it in the mailbox and then stew for the required amount of time. It gives me the comforting impression of distance. Anyway, while forcing myself to participate in one of those self-imposed torture sessions, the rejection of my sucky pitch really helped. The editor told me I needed to change my title. She said an author has ten seconds or less to grab the reader’s attention and get them to pluck that book off the shelf, read the blurb and decide to buy the book. The title has to grab them to get them to look at the rest. My title was TAROC NA MOR. I thought it sounded wonderfully Scottish and romantic. Once again, I was alone in this school of thought. Apparently, no one but me heard Gerard Butler’s deep Scottish burr rolling my ‘r’s across his tongue. So, I changed the title to ETERNITY’S MARK and it’s now one of the three finalists in the Kensington Brava / RT Book Reviews Writing with the Stars contest. It’s garnered interest in the publishing world. See how a rejection can be good?

I know they’re painful. I stopped counting a long time ago how many rejections I’ve received over the years. But sometimes a door slamming shut in your face blows the glass out of the window across the room and lets in a breath of fresh air. Fresh air can bring a cleared mind and the ability to see a new path that’s been right in front of you all along.

And now I’d like to take a minute to thank Rebecca for having me on her wonderful blog. I really appreciate her hospitality and the visit to her cyber home. By the way, here’s a few spots on the web where I can be found. I’d love it if you popped in and said Hi!

Please visit Maeve's Website,Blog, Facebook, My FB author page, Twitter, The Wild Rose Press

And if you’d like to give a poor shy author a little love and vote for Eternity’s Mark in the FINAL round of Writing With the Stars –please follow the link below, scroll down and look to the left and you’ll see the Writing with the Stars block that will take you to the voting link for the final round. Thank you EVER so much!
http://www.rtbookreviews.com/aspiring-authors

About Maeve: Maeve is a paranormal romance writer from Western Kentucky. The stories she writes are filled with magic and love, where anything might happen to get to that happily ever after. She's been a dreamer all my life but never shared her stories until her mother's failing health demanded she become a heart transplant recipient. Her resulting journey terrified and over-whelmed her. Maeve's stories helped her escape.

Many of Maeve's stories are filled with the mysteries of time-travel and legends, all with a Celtic flair. Scotland and Ireland sing to her soul. In a past life, she's certain she was there.

Q&A with LAURIE LONDON

Happy Valentine's Day to all my readers. To celebrate, we have a special guest today--my sister, Laurie London, whose debut book just released with HQN.

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

A--Thanks for having me, Becky!

I graduated with a business degree and worked as a tester/programmer for a Fortune 500 company before I quit to stay home with my children. BONDED BY BLOOD, book one in the Sweetblood Novel series by HQN Books, just came out and the second book, EMBRACED BY BLOOD, comes out in late June.

Q--Do you consider yourself a shy and/or introverted person?

A--Sometimes. How’s that? LOL Being extroverted does require you to be “on” and sometimes I find that hard to do. But not always. ;-)

Q--In what ways has being shy or introverted hindered your writing career?

A--I’m not sure it has actually hurt my writing career. I’m able to flip a switch and become extroverted if I need to be. But unlike a total extrovert, at some point, being around a lot of people can be mentally draining to me.

Q--In what ways has being shy or introverted helped your writing career?

A--I’m perhaps more sensitive and in-tune to emotions than what I would be if I gathered all my energy externally as an extrovert does. I internalize a lot of things and analyze why a person acts one way as opposed to another. Hopefully, this makes the emotional beats in my stories deeper and more realistic.

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

A--It has nothing about being introverted or extroverted. The hardest part for me is translating the thoughts in my head into a Word document. LOL. Self-doubt is rampant.

Does this sound stupid? Would he really say this? Is this scene boring? Is the story predictable? I want to show X happening, but I’m not sure exactly how to do it.

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--Maybe because I got used to functioning on the edge of my comfort zone at an early age, I don’t dread it like some people do. When you show horses, you learn to overcome your nerves, or at least you’re able to project a sense of calm. If you don’t, your horse will detect your nervousness and think they have a reason to freak out as well. I’ve also done a fair amount of public speaking. Although it’s not easy, it’s not an entirely paralyzing thought either. As long as I’m prepared and feel I have something worthwhile to share, I can speak to large groups of people.

Q--What’s one tip you could share with shy and introverted people that’s helped you (whether you’re shy/introverted or not)?

A--In social settings, because I love meeting new people, I often play a game to find something I have in common with someone else. It’s especially fun meeting someone who, at first blush, may appear to have nothing in common with me. I get a lot of satisfaction finding something that both of us find mutually interesting.

In fact, I have a funny story that I think illustrates this well.

At a large Christmas party I attended a few years ago, I knew only the hosts, so I decided to play that game. I struck up a conversation with a guy in the kitchen and found out he was in a band. Well, I like indie music, so I asked him all sorts of questions and listened to what he had to say. He told me about his band, some of their recent gigs, what they were recording now, how he got started after having worked in a professional career, etc. We also shared some of the same tastes in music. When it came time to leave, he looked me straight in the eye, and with all honesty, he said that I was the most interesting person he’d met in a long time. I just shook his hand and smiled.

Turns out the guy never even asked me my name and didn’t know a thing about me. It’s because I showed an interest in him and listened that he felt that way. LOL

If you get people to talk about themselves, they’ll think you’re the most interesting person in the world. And it totally takes the pressure off. All you need to do is listen.

Q--Where can my readers find you on the web?

A--People can check out my website at www.LaurieLondonBooks.com.
I can also be found on Facebook www.facebook.com/laurielondonauthor and Twitter www.twitter.com/LaurieBLondon

Laurie has offered to give away a signed copy of her debut book, Bonded by Blood, to one lucky commenter. Here's a blurb:

Deep within the forests of the Pacific Northwest, two vampire coalitions battle for supremacy—Guardian enforcers who safeguard humanity and Darkbloods, rogues who kill like their ancient ancestors.

Movie location scout Mackenzie Foster-Shaw has always known that she’s cursed to die young. No one can protect her from the evil that has stalked her family for generations—vampires who crave her rare blood type. Until one afternoon in a wooded cemetery, she encounters an impossibly sexy stranger, a man she must trust with her life.

For Dominic, a man haunted by loss, Mackenzie satisfies a primal hunger that torments him—and the bond they share goes beyond heat, beyond love. She alone can supply the strength he needs to claim his revenge. But in doing so, he could destroy her…

KELSEY BROWNING: Networking for Introverts

Please welcome writer Kelsey Browning to the blog. Kelsey is one of the co-founders of the fabulous writers' resource, Romance University.

Here's Kelsey: First, I want to thank Becky for inviting me to chat with Once Written, Twice Shy readers, especially since I’m not an introvert. Exactly.

According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), I’m slightly to the “E” side of the extrovert/introvert continuum. But I find the longer I write, the harder it becomes for me to function as an extrovert. So I want to share some networking tips that will work hard for introverts even when you’re behind your desk. Quick caveat: these techniques aren’t a substitute for face-to-face interaction, but they’re a great complement to traditional networking.

The word “networking” can strike fear into the hardiest extrovert’s heart. And introverts? The threat of emotional and psychological vampirism (i.e. networking) can paralyze them. But what if you could network without encountering huge rooms, endless chatter, spilled drinks, grating laughter and subsequent panic attacks? Would you dance a little dance?

Well, introverts, prepare to jitterbug.

Tip One: Keep good contact records on people. Not a CIA dossier, but start with basic contact information. Full name, email address and context are essential. Context might be an editor’s title, a writer’s genre or the name of a mutual friend. Create a record-keeping system according to your personality. That could be a shoe box full of business cards, a spreadsheet, a card file, an online address book, or software like Microsoft Outlook. In a perfect world, I would recommend using customer or contact relationship management software (CRM) for your records because CRMs are sophisticated enough to serve as a virtual assistant. However, few of us have the time or money to invest in another computer program.

Tip Two: Create a tickler system. (No, this is not the plot of a Harlequin Blaze book.) A tickler system gives you a nudge when it’s time to contact someone or perform a task. You might set a tickler for a book release, a birthday, or a random date in the future. You can utilize your calendaring or task software for this function as well. I use Outlook for the Mac. For example, when I schedule someone to guest lecture at Romance University, several follow-up actions are required. I’ll create a task labeled “REBECCA CLARK – response to invite?” and then set a reminder for two weeks in the future. If I haven’t heard back from Becky at that time, my reminder will engage and I’ll know to send her a follow-up email. If she does respond, I update the task and reminder for the next action: “REBECCA CLARK – topic set?” With Outlook, these tasks pop up on my computer and also print out on my weekly and daily calendars. If you use a paper calendar, just pick a desired follow-up date and jot yourself a note. Remember to make the note simple, but specific enough to explain the task.

Tip Three: Keep track of one or two details about each of your contacts. Maybe you went to the same university, lived in the same town or both love llamas. If so, make a note in your records. A perfect time to shoot off an email would be when your college football team accepts a bowl bid, the town council approves naked rollerblading in the local parks, or registration opens for the Llama Lovers International convention.

Tip Four: Update your records regularly, but don’t get too enamored of your system. I warn you because I could happily play with my record-keeping software all day (and yes, I’m aware that’s sick). Take time once a month—or once a week if you can stomach it—to update your records. Updating batch makes the task more manageable. Just toss those emails or envelopes in a folder, virtual or real, until it’s time to do maintenance.

Tip Five: Use all that lovely information and make the contact. That could be a simple email, a longer phone call or a card sent through the mail (the U.S. Postal Service is still around). People love to be remembered so almost any time is appropriate to “network.” Some great reasons are to congratulate on a recent accomplishment, share some industry news, follow-up after a conference or just say hello.

Consider adopting this low-key networking system, and I promise you’ll put most extroverts to shame!

QUESTION: One Written, Twice Shy readers, do you feel a jitterbug coming on now? What do you hate most about networking?

About Kelsey: Kelsey Browning writes contemporary and paranormal romance with a hint of southern sizzle. In her former life, she worked at one of the ten largest universities in the U.S., raising money and teaching students how to land their dream jobs. Now she pursues her dream job of freelance and fiction writing, which provides excellent benefits such as unlimited coffee and an office dress code that permits flip flops. She’s also a co-founder of Romance University blog where the mission is to empower writers, entertain readers and understand men. Originally from Texas and after four years in the Middle East, she now lives in Southern California with her IT-savvy husband, baseball-obsessed son and seriously spoiled dog. She’s currently at work on the first book in a new paranormal series. For more information, please visit www.KelseyBrowning.com.