MIRANDA BAKER: From geek to erotic romance author

Miranda's first erotic romance novella, Bottoms Up, is available from Samhain Publishing. The next in the series, Solo Play, will be released in the spring.

No one ever believes me when I tell them I'm shy, especially when they learn I write erotic romance. (They often don't believe me when I tell them I'm funny either, but they'll get it eventually!) I was geeky as a kid and the feeling didn't disappear when the braces came off and the acne didn't scar. However, even though I still have a book in my purse at all times (and if I'm alone I'll read it just about anywhere), I've grown into my geekiness now.

I embrace it.

What or who am I afraid of? I've got a husband, a house, three kids and a mini-van! I can attend my twenty year high school reunion feeling like I've won the game... or at least I can fake it really, really well now. There are still those brilliant, shiny, mesmerizing people who make me feel two inches tall, and there are plenty of times I walk into a room, see no one I know and wonder if I can sneak into a corner to read my book. Who am I kidding? External measures of success don't matter - it's the stuff inside that counts.

I can't speak for others, but I know my shyness comes from deep-seated self-esteem issues forged in my youth, issues that I'll be writing about for, well, forever. My geeky childhood wasn't perfect, but I wouldn't change a thing about it because it made me the person that I am - a writer. Would I love reading and writing if a book hadn't been my constant companion for the first thirty-eight years of my life? Would I write romance if my parents had a perfect marriage? Would I feel compelled to fantasize if I had lived a series of perfect, larger-than-life social triumphs?

Nope. I don't think I would. So I'll embrace the residual shyness that being a geek casts over my self image and I will continue to write about it - and when I walk into a room full of strangers... I'll just fake it. *grin*

About Miranda Baker: It makes me chuckle to think about all the romantic short stories I wrote in my rather too literary creative writing classes in college. If only one of my professors had steered me toward popular fiction! On the other hand, if I had discovered my calling back then, I wouldn't have gone to culinary school, I wouldn't have met my husband, we wouldn't have had three children and I wouldn't have turned to erotic romance to get my mojo back during all this hair-raising kid raising.

To learn more about my kinky, foodie, geeky little world, please visit http://www.mirandabaker.com.

More links:My blog: http://www.mirandabaker.wordpress.com

My book on the Samhain site: http://samhainpublishing.com/romance/bottoms-up

Guest Blogger: Delilah Marvelle

Please welcome multi-published romance author, Delilah Marvelle to the blog. Her first book in The Scandal Series releases January 1 with HQN. Book 2 releases February 1. Book 3 releases March 1.

Here's Delilah: I have a confession to make. Despite people thinking that I'm all bells and whistles and oh-so-comfortable and outgoing with people, in truth, I'm not.

No one who is a writer is. We live in our heads and enjoy our own company. That's a fact that we should not only acknowledge but accept about ourselves. If you can't acknowledge it or accept it, then you have a problem. Kind of sounds like an AA meeting, doesn't it? Well...in a way, it is. It's difficult to realize that being shy is, in fact, a problem if you're an author. Back in the old days, when all an author did was write and occasionally show up for book signings, that was acceptable. These days, with online chatting and twitter and heaven knows what, your readers do expect you to not only make yourself available but be happy about it, lol.

In some ways, the internet is a shy author's greatest asset. It allows a shy author to appear quite outgoing. Don't let it trap you into thinking you've found your way out of your AA meeting. Because even though yes, you're interacting with people online, you are still only listening to your own voices in your head.

So here's one simple rule you should always try to apply. It's called EQUAL TIME. What is equal time? It means for as much time as you spend online, make sure you also spend that equal amount of time with people in person. Be they readers, writers or just plain Joe. Because the reality is, we can't be writers and write stories about real people if we don't give ourselves an opportunity to observe and spend time with real people. Log the amount of time you spend online and see if you log that same amount of time with people outside of your family.

You'd be surprised how the shy author in you will sneak away from real people. And if you're hiding away from real people because you are by nature shy, you are missing out on opportunities to be the sort of writer you deserve to be. Equal Time amounts to equal writing. Hope my little rule helps you along your path.

Delilah Marvelle spent her youth studying various languages, reading voraciously, and playing the pianoforte. She confesses that here ends the extent of her gentle breeding. She was a naughty child who was forever torturing her parents with countless adventures that they did not deem respectable. Confined to her room on many occasions due to these misadventures, she discovered the quill and its amazing power. Soon, to the dismay of her parents, she rather enjoyed being confined to her room and finished writing her first historical romance (which was a heart stopping 800 pages long...) at the age of 14. And yes, she is still 14...at heart.

You can find out more about Delilah on her website and her "A Bit o'Muslin Blog."

The Shy Writer

Please help me welcome erotic romance author Sascha Illyvich to the blog:

So you're an introverted writer. And your friends tell you it's a problem. Have you tried drinking yet? That seems to create a life of the party for anyone who tries it LOL! Seriously though, try a stiff drink or six.

Okay, not going to do that? Fine then. It's your career. The fact is, the shy, introverted writer is what most of us are. That's part of why we tell stories. Royalties are just icing on a very nice cake that let's us live in a fantasy world we've created where things don't always go the way they're supposed to. But that's part of the fun. When you look at the regular world and examine every other person, we come to find out that their lives are sad.

Yes, sad. They get up, deal with family, deal with bills, deal with work, get frustrated and come home to do it all over again. But as writers, we don't have to do what they do, exactly.

We craft worlds with superheroes and villains that make us WISH we could have boring, depressing lives. Then, our superhero and his ultra-sexy heroine vanquish the villain and give us a satisfying, happy ending. It's not perfect and the process really forces us to bare a part of our souls, but it's one we enjoy as writers.

I advocate getting out of our comfort zones. You might or might not be familiar with WriteSEX, the erotica blog dedicated to helping writers add a little or a lot of spice to their stories. Most writers in romance are comfortable with writing sex, but many are not. And still the new generation of authors has yet to discover the joys of writing sex. But we established it to help those of you who may not wish to make it publically known that you write smut. The beauty for me as a co-founder is that I’m surrounded by a group of writers who have been where I am. So when I panic, (as I did recently) about a career choice, storyline, plot point or some other nonsense, they're there. For me.

It's rather empowering.

Most writers need to embrace some sense of camaraderie and get over their fears. Organizations like Toastmasters International can help with overcoming fear. Writers of all calibers would do well to invest a little time in themselves for their career.

Sascha Illyvich
Erotic Romance Author – http://saschaillyvichauthor.com/

Fetishist – http://www.saschaillyvich.com/

Radio Dentata - http://shows.radiodentata.com/shows/unnamed-romance-show/

Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/SaschaIllylvich

Erotic Expert – http://www.writesex.net/

What makes author CHRISTI BARTH break into a cold sweat?

If you are shy, writing – on the surface – looks like an ideal occupation. No coworkers, no commute, no cold calling…But the deeper you get into the profession, the truth comes out. Our cold calls are our query letters. Blogging thrusts us into the spotlight constantly. However, I’m here to discuss a topic that can break even the least shy people into a cold sweat – sex (did I get your attention?). Yup, I am a romance author, which means my books have sex. Explicit sex. Well written, sweaty, no holds barred sex. Both because the story demands it, and because it is almost compulsory in romances these days. The promise of a few great make out scenes and one full scale bedroom romp is a great way to sell to total strangers. I’ve no problem with the strangers. I do, however, have a hard time with close friends.

Friends who might give sidelong glances and start picturing things when they see my husband kiss me. Or worse, coworkers, who should DEFINITELY not be thinking about my hot sex scene when we’re in meetings. Most dire of all is the looming specter of family. My father reads my sex scenes. Gulp. When my first book released last year, I panicked. It came out in early December, and I couldn’t wrap my mind around how awkward Christmas dinner might be at our house, once my father finished my book.

And I didn't want him to just turn the page and skip it, because I labored really hard to make it good (truly ladies, is there anything harder to write than a well crafted sex scene?).....but would I be able to look him in the face once he read it? A paradox, I know. He grew up in the 60s, but lived as opposite a life as possible from free love/drugs/rock 'n roll.

The good news is that I panicked for nothing. He read it, and the world kept turning. Did we discuss it in depth? Of course not. As a matter of fact, he just finished my latest release Act Like We’re In Love which kicked up the heat level another notch. More relaxed this time, I was able to turn it into a joke, quizzing him on what made the heroine’s underwear unique for proof he read the whole thing.

My panic level is sky high again, though, as I’m set to be a guest at my mother’s book club. A bunch of senior citizens who have already complained to her about how racy the book is…and yet every single one of them finished it. How on earth am I going to be able to look these little old ladies in the eye when we discuss it? Because they kept reading. Whether because of the sex scenes or despite them, they kept going. They enjoyed the overall story. It gave them an escape, brightened their day. Which means I hit my goal as an author, so I’m going to wrap myself in an extra-thick cloak of dignity and remember they liked it. After all, my characters spent a majority of the book engaged in witty dialogue and a complex plot. The sex scenes probably add up to less than a full chapter out of almost thirty. No reason for me to obsess over it if they don’t!

I'm sure everyone has encountered this. What did you do - how do you deal with it? I'm grateful for any and all suggestions.

Christi Barth spent years performing in musicals, singing about love and giving people a happy ending in every performance. Then as a wedding planner she spent every day immersed in romance. Now she writes it! After winning several writing contests, she debuted her novel Carolina Heat to rave reviews. She lives in Maryland with the absolutely best husband in the world (sorry ladies, but it's true!).

It is exciting to share her love of the theatre with the world through Act Like We're In Love. For all her fellow Broadway fans, favorite shows include Guys & Dolls, Phantom, and The Most Happy Fella. A special curtain call for Gilbert and Sullivan's The Gondoliers, the show where she met and first starred opposite the love of her life.

For more about Christi, please visit her website.

Book Signings, Or Welcome to the Jungle

Please help me welcome multi-published romance author Meg Benjamin to the blog.

Here's Meg: I did my first book signing this summer at RomCon (it was also the first RomCon so we stumbled along together). It was one of those mass signing set-ups so beloved of RT and RWA—fifty or sixty authors ranged around a large room, organized alphabetically. Normally, this might be a minor detail, but RomCon had managed to bring in some Very Big Names. Thus, going alphabetically, I was seated between Jo Beverley and Leanne Banks. Elizabeth Boyd was just down the table. Julia Quinn, Carly Phillips, and Brenda Novak were across from us. Gulp.

It’s one thing to be shy around readers. I think that’s sort of a given. But having been placed in the Living Legends group, I found myself totally tongue-tied. I wanted to crawl underneath the table and hide. Instead, I sat and stuttered.

It was fairly easy to figure out who was famous and who wasn’t among the authors scattered around the room. The Famous Authors all had long lines of readers wanting autographs. The not-so-famous had, well, nothing much. By now you may have seen Parnell Hall’s hilarious video about his book signing next to Mary Higgins Clark. That was sort of my experience, only I had the equivalent of Mary Higgins Clark on either side of me and across the room as well. I had a lot of time to arrange my pens, my bookmarks, and my book copies since nobody much wanted to talk to me.

Now it should be said that both Jo Beverley and Leanne Banks were friendly and very nice about the fact that they’d never heard of me. I also saw one or two readers come up to Jo Beverley and ask her what exactly she wrote. Beverley cheerfully explained that she wrote historicals and handed out cover flats of her latest. So even the famous haven’t reached everybody.

But still, by the end of the day my ego was the size of a Tic-Tac. So what advice can I give to those who are heading out to a mass book signing where you will be plopped down with the well-known and beloved? Maybe just to hang in there. Fans in the long lines are bored too, and sometimes they actually look at the books stacked in front of other authors. I had a few Leanne Banks fans take my excerpt booklets—I guess it gave them something to read while they waited in line for Christine Feehan. Practice smiling. Develop your inner Zen so that you can meditate on something restful while watching everybody else’s line. And most of all, don’t let it get you down. Once upon a time, nobody had heard of Jo Beverley either.

Meg Benjamin is the author of the Konigsburg series for Samhain Publishing. Book #4, Long Time Gone, was a Romantic Times Top Pick for Contemporary, and book #5, Brand New Me, will be released by Samhain on December 7. Meg lives in Colorado with her DH and two rather large Maine coon kitties (well, partly Maine coon anyway). You can find out more about Meg on her website , Facebook, MySpace , and Twitter . Meg loves to hear from readers—contact her at meg@megbenjamin.com.

How Shy is Shy?

Please help me welcome multi-published romantic suspense author Mary Montegue Sikes to the blog.

I love meeting and reading about all sorts of people and can very much relate to the shy ones. The people I’m reading about on your blog don’t seem as shy as I expected, but they may be hiding behind a brave persona.

For those very shy souls among us, I’d like to rant a little about the difficulty of self-promotion, especially in the area of selling books. I know quite a few writers who excel at self-promotion and at book sales. They know exactly where to go and what to say to get the right gigs. With their extroversion, they are able to obtain speaking engagements at conferences all over and at libraries, clubs, and other places in their home communities as well as areas near by.

Reserved folks don’t seem to have such an easy time. The ones I know shy away from self-promotion yet they know they must do it if they want to make book sales. I’m acquainted with one author who actually feels sick to the stomach when she does book signings. She is just that introverted.

All this introversion started me thinking. Maybe a shy writer should start a blog. That would be the first step. Then he or she should start visiting other blogs and making posts. Eventually the timid blogger would become a guest on some of the other blogs where she/he might gain followers.

The Internet is a safe place for the introverted ones. They gain followers when no one is looking! I’ve been following several bloggers who started out with a very small, under ten following, who now have followers numbering in the hundreds.
How do they do it?

They make a plan. They create something of interest to readers—a book give-away is one possibility. One author even has her dog make the drawing each week.

A Halloween costume party is another promo event I’ve been watching. Post a photo of your costume for the day. Who has the best costume over a two week period. Let blog readers cast a vote. It’s a fun competition for all.

Book covers. Quite a few blogs have competitions for the best covers and the readers decide. The prize is simple. The victor can post about winning the contest for the best romance cover for the week.

I’ve decided the best way to overcome shyness is to bite the bullet. I have a new book out, Night Watch, that was released in early June. Since that time, I’ve somehow avoided the promotion my book needed as I let several weeks of trips take precedence in my life.

I appeared on a radio show but didn’t follow through to gain necessary recognition or the book sales gains that might be attached. I’ve had one book-signing that turned out to be a non-event because the bookstore failed to publicize. Lesson learned—no matter what they promise, publicize all events yourself.

Now, I’ve decided to create a blog book tour for my novel. I’ve lined up seven hosts and have a diverse set of posts planned for each stop on the seven different dates. I’ve been watching and learning from other blog book tours and have been impressed with the results I’ve seen on theirs. I don’t know if what I will do will approach their efforts or their results, but I will never have a chance if I don’t try. If nothing else, this can be a practice for an even bigger event in the future.

For now, I know that all writers, introverts and extroverts, must focus and follow through. If you don’t, you fail before you begin, shy or not.

Thank you, Rebecca, for having me as your guest. And congratulations to your sister on her new book!

Mary Montague Sikes is an award-winning author, freelance writer, photographer, artist, and teacher who loves to travel, especially to exotic tropical locations. The settings for her books and articles include Jamaica, Antigua, Trinidad, and St. Martin. Her most recent research trips carried her to Los Cabos on the western coast of Mexico, to Yellowstone National Park where she took over 500 photographs, and to Carmel-by-the-Sea where she marveled at photo opportunities wherever she turned.

The Fredericksburg, VA native is author of five award-winning books. She presents workshops on promotion and marketing to state and national conventions as well as to many local writers groups. Hotels to Remember, a coffee table book that includes the Jefferson Hotel, the Homestead, and the Hotel Del Coronado is illustrated with her artwork and photographs.

A founding member of Virginia Romance Writers, she has served on the Board of Governors of the Virginia Writers Club and is a member and past president of the Richmond Branch of the National League of American Pen Women. Her poem and paintings are featured in Happy Birthday, Mr. Lincoln, an anthology of work by members of the National League of American Pen Women. She is included in Who’s Who in American Women.

Her paintings are exhibited widely in Virginia and are in private and public collections in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. Night Watch, her latest novel, was released earlier this year. Dangerous Hearts, a novella set in Virginia, was released by Red Rose Publishing in June.

www.marymontaguesikes.com
http://marymontaguesikes.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/#!/monti7
http://www.facebook.com/people/Monti-Sikes/1020636841

Cover Debut!

Dear readers,

Once Written, Twice Shy normally has a policy about not doing straight promo here, but I'm going to make an exception today--because my sister's cover is out!

Laurie London is my sister, and Bonded By Blood, A Sweetblood Novel, releases in February with HQN. I'm so darn proud of her that I just had to show you her cover.

Laurie wanted to share a cute story about the cover shoot.

Here's Laurie: The art director knew I preferred not to see a discernable face and didn't want fangs. When they showed up for the photo shoot, the photographer had brought a pair of plastic fangs just for kicks and grins. It turns out the pictures they took with the model looking straight into the camera with those fangs on were the shots they liked most. What do authors know? We know words. The art director and photographer know images.

Rebecca here again: What do you think? Isn't the cover hot?

Laurie London is the author of the Sweetblood series, dark, sexy vampire romance from HQN. The first book, BONDED BY BLOOD, is available February 2011. Book two, EMBRACED BY BLOOD, comes out July 2011. A graduate of Western Washington University and a former tester/programmer for a Fortune 500 company, Laurie writes from her home near Seattle where she lives with her husband and two children. You can find out more about Laurie and her writing at her website.