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News and author-stuff, The Journey to Publication, Writing

Cages

A pig face looking frankly at you and telling you that you don’t belong in a cage!

How often have you experienced the kind of overwhelm that comes from feeling that there are so many things you “should” be doing, and that list is so long, you end up paralyzed and end up doing nothing?

I recently finished reading Untamed by Glennon Doyle. She talks about how the cages that society creates for us leave us trapped and stifled, often trying to live definitions of ourselves that come from outside of ourselves. (This is definitely paraphrasing. Go read the book yourself to see what I’m trying to get at. )

Anyway, today after reading something from a friend who’s definitely feeling that overwhelm, it made me think: how many of those cages, especially as writers, are we creating for ourselves?

I mean, yes, there are definitely things that we have to do as writers – write books or write something for other people to read being, likely, the number one thing. But other than that, it feels like so many of the definitions of things we “must” and “should” do is a proscribed list that if we actually obeyed it, we’d have no time whatsoever for a life outside of work… and probably no time to write either.

I do wonder if this is perhaps worse among female author-preneurs, or if it’s prevalent everywhere, but if you’re a writer looking to publish and sell your books, you’ve probably heard of some of the things I mean.

  • You have to be on every social media account that has and will ever be (come on, aren’t you signed up yet for the one that won’t exist until 2023??)
  • You should be active on all of those social media accounts too (but be fresh! Just be you! Keep it real… as you force yourself to follow all of this advice.)
  • You must be constantly building relationships with every person out there (forget actual relationships … or, like, family. Nope. No time for that if you’re doing what you “should” be doing.)
  • Make sure you’re making ads for all of those social media accounts, sell, sell, sell, … but gentle sell, not spam sell.
  • Plus make sure you’ve got ads running on all the platforms (because if you’re making less than $2k a month, you’re a failure!)
  • Have you spent thousands of dollars on classes that promise you THIS is the right answer to make you a millionaire and selling millions of a books a day? (Come on, you didn’t think you actually had time to do things, like, write, did you? And wave to your family through your office doors… if you still have one.)

On and on it goes, and you know what? I’m going to stop, because it’s stressing me out.

And it’s driving me nuts. All of it. And I know it’s driving lots of other authors nuts too.

You want to know the real secret?

There is NO secret.

Nope. Sad, isn’t it? Yep, I was looking for it too… along with possibly the drafting or editing fairies that help get books done when things aren’t going well. But, they don’t exist any more than the perfect formula to sell all those books – no matter how much that workshop costs. Game the system? Sure, you can follow those examples, buy up case loads of your own book and “buy” your way onto the lists. You CAN do a lot of things. But what works for Lizzy P. Author may not work the same for you.

You’re not her.

You’re YOU.

And yes, let me pause and insert here that not all advice is bad advice. Do I take workshops, try to keep learning, try to keep improving in both my writing craft and the business side of my career? Absolutely. Is there lots of great advice and information out there? Yep. That too. Are there many things we can do to tweak our marketing / get better at the business / get better at our craft? Yes, indeed, and there are a few specific ones on my list all the time.

My objection comes when all that advice, when all the things you “should do” stretch into the bars of a cage. When you’re so hemmed in by all those “shoulds” that you feel like you can’t breathe, let alone write the next word, the next sentence, or hardest of all, the next book.

I’ve been there. I fall into that cage every so often. Was there yesterday, as a matter a fact, when all my emails seemed to be screaming at me to “just do this to double your sales” or “just keep up this to guarantee search engine results” and so on. These were legit blogs I follow too, because I usually appreciate their advice. It got me so depressed, I did the bare minimum of words, but tried nothing else, too exhausted by all the “shoulds” that I had to focus on the “could.”

That’s what I usually come back to. What could or CAN I do? What do I WANT to do? And what do I really NEED?

Yesterday, I needed to recharge so I don’t get burned out. I needed to remember there is more to my life than writing.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: sometimes we get terrific advice, but we need to be wise enough to recognize when it isn’t the right advice for us. Perhaps it won’t ever be right, perhaps it just isn’t right because of where we are financially / personally / emotionally / whatever. But it’s up to you to stand up for YOU. To recognize that feeling when your chest tightens, your shoulders tense, and the whole world is demanding more and more, or something is telling you that it just isn’t right for you… just tell that advice “no.” (You’re welcome to use stronger language and swears. Swears are fun. 🙂 I’m just trying to be polite.) 😉

Sometimes maybe you’ll need to sit with that feeling for a little while, think about where that resistance to the advice or next “should” is coming from. Maybe it’s child-you deep inside that’s stubbornly insisting “No, I don’t wanna!” And sometimes you need to tell child-you inside that it’s okay, we can still do scary things that will just make us stronger. So sometimes you try some of those things. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t.

But you pick and choose which of those things you try. Ignore the others. Cut down on the blogs and other input you take in that feeds into that stress and fills your head with Shoulds. Connect with people in your field and outside of it, people who care about you, that can help pull you back from the madness of trying to do all the things all the time. You don’t let the Should-Army flatten you down and stop you from doing what you need to do.

And if you’re a writer, you need to write.

You’ll do that too at your own pace, in your own way. You’ll find ways to reclaim and hold tight to the joy of pure creation that is the work, that is writing, because there are days when it won’t feel that way. But you, you will write.

Because you are a writer. And you are free.

News and author-stuff, The Paranormal

New Urban Fantasy Paranormal Romance!

Look, it’s only a week later, and I’m back!! (Yes, I’m impressed too, lol!) Anyway, I have good reason to be back, because I get to tell you about an exciting new book that’s out Oct. 22, 2019. It’s another fun read, an urban fantasy romance, and I’m super excited to read it too!

Without further ado, here’s the blurb and info so you can go one-click it yourself:

Hell has come to collect, but Gisele Walker has no plans to pay the debt.

Being a paranormal bounty hunter in Baltimore is flirting with death, even for a half-demon like Gisele. An orphan with no memories of her childhood, she’s spent the last decade working for the foster father who saved her from the city’s streets. But when he partners her with Shade, an infuriatingly handsome demon who’s keeping secrets, all of her jobs start mysteriously going sideways.

Determined to ditch Shade, Gisele takes a contract to steal a magical curio and accidentally opens a portal to Hell. As a nightmarish ghoul hunts her for the curio, and parts of Baltimore burn to the ground, she finds that joining forces with Shade may be the only way to undo the mess she’s unleashed.

But just as a white-hot attraction between them ignites, Shade’s secret is exposed. The contract is nothing more than a ploy to lure Gisele to Hell’s royal court, where her devilish brother and aunt lie in wait. It’s a family reunion that has her wishing she’d remained an orphan with missing memories.

To save herself and Shade, Gisele must face her past and venture into the twisted, dark heart of the demon court where she nearly lost her life so long ago.

Fans of Ilona Andrews and Nalini Singh wont want to miss this spellbinding urban fantasy debut by Writers Guild of America nominee and RWA Golden Heart finalist Megan Starks!

“Starks doesn’t waste a moment launching readers into the heady, paranormal world of her action-packed debut. The complex mythology and feisty characters will hold readers’ attention. This is an enjoyable fantasy from an author with a lot of promise.” —Publisher’s Weekly

“Haunting. Original. Addictive.” —Emily Colin, New York Times bestselling author of The Memory Thief

“House is a smoldering, sexy thrill ride from start to finish.” —Angela Ku, Goodreads reviewer

 

Doesn’t it sound amazing? I definitely look forward to this one. 🙂

Here’s the buy links so you can check it out yourself:

News and author-stuff, Writing

Update for September 2019 (aka: not dead!)

What a title, huh? Same goes for the pig. I like his face, and I otherwise have no idea what to include – this is somewhat indicative of my current state of mind, lol!

So, yes, I seemed to have fallen off the proverbial blogging cart again. But I have lots of reasons, fantastic ones, actually!

  1. It has been a very busy year thus far. June and July were kind of bonkers with my hubby being away on the other side of the world, plus RWA National Conference in NY, plus, you know, family life and actually trying to write books and such. I am super, super behind, which means bad news: the first Beckwell Shades book (about the Beckwell seniors who protect the town, the Shades, who are off to play matchmaker and find their own replacements) will be delayed from coming out Fall 2019…and likely won’t be out until early 2020. 🙁 But I am so excited about that series and I can’t wait to be able to share it with you.
  2. Other big news: I now officially have an agent!! I am super excited to announce that I am officially represented by Courtney Miller-Callihan of Handspun Lit, who has been my dream agent for some time (we’re talking years.) Anyway, this is the start of some new and exciting things, as I want to continue my indie-pub stuff (like the Beckwell series) but I’d also like to become a hybrid author and be traditionally published as well. In light of this, my space opera is getting a face-lift and becoming a sci-fi with romantic elements (rather than sci-fi romance.)
  3. I’ve been revising that space opera and making it all shiny and be-yoo-ti-ful. (And yes, it’s 2am and I’m currently avoiding said revisions, so I totally get to make up words.)
  4. I have revised what was my Golden Heart book, the Regency paranormal romance, which has now become “the Keepers series” about Regency paranormal detectives. It’s definitely not ready for you to see yet, but ooh, it’s a fun world! That revision still needs lots of work, and I need to get back to it after, you know, I finish revising the space opera and get the Shades books ready.
  5. I will be working on a short story in the Shades series just especially for you – and it’ll be free! At least, that’s the plan. More soon. 🙂
  6. I have been trying to get down to the craft room as often as possible and just play, since it’s good for my creativity, and, you know, sanity. 😉 I continue to work on the fantasy dollhouse which now also has a name (you can see more about that by visiting my other blog, Craft Room Chronicles) or just catching up with me on Facebook, where I tend to post quite a few pics of my miniatures.
  7. I am looking at creating a wiki on this website for my books and series. I’ve recently started using one for my writing, and it’s been amazing, especially keeping things organized. Of course, I can’t show you that one (too many spoilers, who’s actually who / what they’re up to / they’re eventual fates), BUT I am looking at creating one for the current series that is spoiler-free and hopefully some fun for us to share. What do you think? Does it sound like something you’d like to see?

Okay, so that’s generally what I’ve been up to recently. What about you? What has you excited and fired up lately? (Or in avoidance mode…ahem, better get back to those revisions.) 😉 Plus, what do you think of the wiki idea? Is that something you’d take a peek at? As always, love to hear from you.

Wishing you a great week ahead, and as always, the ability to see the magic in your life.

News and author-stuff, The Journey to Publication, Writing

Back Again, Reflecting and Moving Forward

Did you know that I started this blog way back in 2010? Nope, me neither. I’ve just finished going through all of those posts weeding out things from when I was a super-clueless baby-writer…although I’ve also found some advice that I still believe (like being good to other people and author karma, along with writing strength-training) along with advice that my past self was either trying to tell me, or maybe I needed to hear now.

So…I also find that I haven’t been any more regular with my posts than I am now. Or rather, I used to be much more regular with the posts early on, but I’ve taken a tumble or two off the cliff and, for example, this is the first post I’ve done for 2019 (oops!)

I find retrospective interesting in what it tells us about where we’re been, and in many ways, where we’re headed too, sometimes for better AND worse. What’s changed for me since 2010?

  • I now have two children, both lovely daughters who are creative and wonderful (except when they’re bickering, because ugh!)
  • I’ve published FOUR books. Yes, I can hardly believe that either. Back in 2010, Indie Publishing definitely wasn’t on my radar, and even when it finally got there, I always wanted to go traditional first, then maybe indie to become hybrid (and not just because going hybrid sounds a bit like some kind of super-cool werewolf-shifter.) 😉
  • Back in 2010 I’d only been part of RWA (Romance Writers’ of America) for two years, and just attended my first Conference. Since then, I’ve attended almost one a year since 2014, and every second year before that. I’ve become part of now only an RWA chapter, but I’m currently chapter president, which is something I’d never have dreamed of back then, especially the benefit of all the connections and friends I’ve since made in the industry.
  • I’ve had the opportunity in recent years to begin to pay back some of that author karma I talked about way-back-when. I’m still a little fish, but what I didn’t realize back then is that little fish can still make waves, still make a difference, and that’s what I try to do.

What hasn’t changed all that much?

  • I still believe in magic, and I want to believe that there’s more in the world than meets the eye. I’ve expanded my personal definition of magic though, as I also try to see – and appreciate – the magic in the everyday world that all too often dismissed or forgetten.
  • I am still probably more stubborn than is actually healthy for me. When I was looking up tags for this article, perseverance is one of my most used tags, and for good reason. I wrote my stories and this blog even when no one was reading (it is entirely likely that no one is reading this one either, but let’s just keep that between you and me, hmm?) Perseverance and tenacity have kept me going when I have done revision after revision. When I almost completely rewrote my first book in edit to get it into the kind of shape I could put out there for public consumption.
  • Conference is still one of my favorite events of the year, it still exhausts me, but I still try to make the most out of every day, every experience, no matter what. This means that even when things go wrong (as things inevitably try to do) I still keep the mindset to enjoy myself, to not let myself get down. I’d love to say I can maintain this same mindset in all areas of my life, but that’s not so easy. Which leads to the next point…
  • I am still a work in progress. And that’s okay. I’m not perfect, I never will be, but that won’t hold me back from continuing to grow and improve (or at least, I try to make sure it doesn’t.) 🙂
  • I will still promise to try to blog regularly…and there is every likelihood I will try but possibly fail. 😉

Now this comes to you, since it’s rude if I do all the talking. If you look back – to 2010, further or perhaps closer in your past – how have you grown, changed and evolved? Are you reading? If you are, come on, keep me company and leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you. 🙂

Writing

Death is coming…

Hey there!

I know, it’s been forever since I’ve written anything here. I have been writing – Must Love Death will be available October 31, 2018. Plus, in case you missed it, the second book in the Sisters of the Apocalypse Series, Must Love Famine, released April 4, 2018.

If you’d like a blurb and the link for Must Love Death check it out in my book pages here.

That said, it’s been a challenging year, and writing Death was especially challenging. Don’t get me wrong – I love Nia and Mal. But last July we lost my grandfather to cancer. Then, barely six months later, this April – 2 days after Famine released, to be precise, we lost my grandmother much more unexpectedly.

I’ve always been very close to my grandmother. We still made a point of visiting her every week, and enjoyed the time we had with her. The last time I saw her, we celebrated and had a mini-baby shower for my best friend and her new son. It was a lovely time with both my daughters there, an impromptu little party. Then by the next week when we were to visit, we heard instead that Grandma was on her way to the hospital.

The woman who had always been there for me and my family was suddenly…gone. I wondered if that last time I’d hugged her long enough, if I’d told her enough times how much I loved her, how much she meant to me. I was fortunate enough to have her read my first book, and having a photo with her holding my first book was one of the best parts of having my book finally in print. So the fact that she wouldn’t be able to read my second book, that she wouldn’t be there for so many things, dimmed my joy. Because at heart I’m still a little kid who just loves showing her new creations to her grandma, who always loved to see them.

So why am I telling you all of this? Partially to explain why it’s probably like I’ve fallen off the edge of the Earth this past year. In some ways, I have. This book was written for Grandma. There’s a lot of feminine wisdom, and yes, grandmothers and mothers feature strongly. It is also about death, and what dying and death means – or could mean. Because in the end, I realize that grief is all about love, for we grieve in direct proportion to how much we loved and were loved. But nor do I believe death is the end. It’s a pause.

I wrote and dedicated this book for my grandmother, and I hope in the end that it’s worthy of the remarkable, strong woman she was. I hope you’ll take the opportunity to read it and let me know what you think. And I hope when you do read it that you’ll maybe see the hints of the woman she was, as my memories of her and of my other grandmother are embedded in this book, so through your reading them, they’ll never be lost, never be forgotten.

In the end, I’m sure she probably will read this book too. After all, what kind of heaven would it be without books?

Thank you for reading, and keep searching for the magic that’s out there.

Uncategorized

Must Love Famine – Coming April 4, 2018!

Okay, so this is kind of a good-news, bad-news kind of post. Good news, Must Love Famine is almost here, yay!!! Bad news? It’s going to be a week later than anticipated. But only a week! 🙂

To get you excited about what you’re waiting for, I made a fun little video about the book. Life is all about the magic of learning new things, right? Hope you enjoy!

It’s also up for pre-order everywhere except for Amazon (but it will be available there too!) books2read.com/u/bOaDlA
News and author-stuff, The Journey to Publication, Writing

Visiting over at the Raisin Chronicles

Hey all! So, yeah, I know…no post for such a long time. In my defense, 2017 was a bit of a rough year, and then the end of the year was spent revising book two, Must Love Famine. But, I have good news: 

I’m interviewed by the lovely Jeanne Estridge over at the Raisin Chronicles today, and there’s a sneak peek of the brand new cover for Must Love Famine, not even available on my website yet!! So please, head on over and visit. It’s a fun interview. 🙂 

 

https://raisinchronicles.blogspot.ca/2018/01/fiction-friday-interview-with-shelly.html

The Journey to Publication, Writing

My Story of Perseverance: 21 Years and 220 Submissions

Hi everyone! Today I have a special post as part of the Writers Persevere event that authors Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi are running for the next few days to celebrate their newest book, The Emotional Wound Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Psychological Trauma. This book looks at the difficult experiences embedded in our character’s backstory which will shape their motivation and behavior afterward.

To help them celebrate this release, many of us are posting stories about some of the obstacles we’ve overcome as writers. As we all know, this isn’t an easy path. Writing is hard and as writers we tend to struggle with doubt. Sometimes too, we don’t always get the support we need to follow our passion, or we have added challenges that make writing more difficult. Because people are sharing their stories this week about how they worked through these challenges to keep writing, I wanted to post about it too.

***

As of October 11, 2017, I was finally able to say I was a published author. And while newly published, “new author” isn’t a title that fits. I wrote my first novel when I was in junior high, around the age of fourteen. I had to look up how many words even qualified as a novel at the time, and mine was 55k. I subsequently rewrote that novel many times, and my very first recorded submission was in October of 1996. I *might* have been convinced that I’d be one of the youngest successful authors in history. 😉

I’ll do the math for both of us, since I confess I never have. That’s twenty-one years between my first submission and actual publication. It’s more than half of  my life. It’s also around thirteen completed manuscripts, and since 2004, it’s 220 submissions that include queries and requested submissions. In that time, I’ve also gotten married, built my dream house, and had two children.

When I began writing, it was because I loved the idea of story. I loved the scratch of my pen across paper, the feel of the words, the very act of creation. Sometimes in my years of writing and submitting I’ve misplaced that initial love. Sometimes I’ve doubted myself, doubted the possibility of my dream. And in the end, my dream of becoming a published author didn’t come about exactly how I’d imagined. I chose to independently publish when I realized I was letting other people determine my self-worth and the value of my writing, and when I decided that while I still want to be a hybrid author (both traditionally and independently published), perhaps I’d start with indy.

Not that this meant I just threw my work out there – I hired a developmental editor and went through three rounds of editing, rewriting almost three-quarters of the manuscript in the process, because I was determined to put the best work out there possible. I also hired a talented cover artist to make sure my book looked at least as good or better than some traditionally published books. This was neither cheap nor easy, but this was fulfilling my dream: it wasn’t supposed to be.

Over the years, I’ve also used different coping methods to continue to persevere. I’ve made a list of reasons why I can’t just quit which is personal to me, and contains the fact that I don’t want to disappoint either myself–or my children. I’ve made connections with other writers so I don’t feel so alone in this process, because the “process” is so much more than just the journey to publication. I’ve improved my craft, taken workshops, entered contests, found an amazing critique partner, and joined a group of incredible writers who kept me going even on the days I wanted to quit. And I’ve worked hard to remember we all rise together, so that when I feel professional jealousy over someone else’s success, I don’t let that jealousy cause rancor or resentment, but try to turn it into something more positive.

So why am I sharing this story with you today? To gloat? Far from it. I’m writing this today for you, the newbie author, still glorying in the power of words, but also for you, the not-so-new author, still writing, still struggling to fight on, to persevere. And I’m writing to say that I believe in you. I know YOU will find your success story, too. I’ve found one of mine, and I continue to persevere, continue to move toward new goals, and I know that you can, too. I’ve been there. I know it can hurt, I know it can seem so much easier to give up. But you know what? You’re not going to. Because you are a writer. You have a story to tell, and someone out there needs that story. So keep writing. Keep believing. Borrow some faith, ask for some support (I love comments and mail – email or snail-mail!) and I am more than happy to cheer you on. Because you’ve got this. I know you do.

***

Do you have a story to share, or some advice for others? You can join Becca and Angela at Writers Helping Writers from October 25-27th, where we are celebrating writers and their stories of perseverance. Stop in, and tell them about a challenge or struggle your faced, or if you like, write a post on your own blog and share it using the hashtag #writerspersevere. Let’s fill social media with your strength and let other writers know that it’s okay to question and have doubts but we shouldn’t let that stop us.

GIVEAWAY ALERT!

There’s a prize vault filled with items that can give your writing career a boost at Writers Helping Writers.

I would love for one of you to win something that will help you get closer to your goal!

The giveaway is only from October 25-27th, so enter asap. And don’t forget to share this using the #writerspersevere hashtag so more prizes will be awarded!

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Uncategorized

News, Events, and Forging Ahead!

Hey out there! 🙂 So today, rather than a formal post, I have news to share with you. 

First up: remember the Goodreads Giveaway? Make sure you hurry over and enter, because it will be ending in just a few days! It’s your chance to win a signed print copy of Must Love Plague, and I want YOU to win, okay? 

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/256579-must-love-plague

Next up: I’ve lowered the price on the paperback version. Fellow Canadians especially – this means it’s more affordable for us here in Canada! $12.47 sounds a heck of a lot more reasonable to me, and I hope you agree. 🙂 

Next: I have an author reading / launch party event tomorrow at my local library! I’m both extremely excited, and super nervous. If you happen to be in the Edmonton area and would like to attend, we’d love to have you. 🙂 No pre-registration required, and I’ll be doing a short reading, plus there’ll be snacks and prize draws for a paperback version plus ebook versions. 

Finally: I’ve started a reading group, The Brazen Librarians, over on Facebook. If you’d like to join, my intention is that group could be a fun place where we can talk books, get sneak peeks at my WIPs, maybe even help suggest things you’d like to see. Please hop and over and join (sorry, I tried to find a link for it…but can’t seem to figure that out. Just search “Brazen Librarians” on Facebook, and it comes up pretty quick. 🙂 

Thanks again for stopping by, and I’ll be back to normal / regular posts next week, I promise. Until then, happy reading, happy writing, and remember: there’s always magic in the world if you look hard enough.

The Journey to Publication, Writing

Book Giveaway!

It’s pretty exciting, thinking of the book actually getting into the hands of readers, which really, is where books belong. As writers we get to create them, but after that, they belong out in the world. I hope you enjoy Must Love Plague.

And hey! I *might* have forgotten that I have a Goodreads giveaway going on. You could win a signed, print copy of Must Love Plague! Why not enter today?

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Must Love Plague by Shelly Chalmers

Must Love Plague

by Shelly Chalmers

Giveaway ends October 20, 2017.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway