One Rejection Too Many

mermaids

My latest round of rejections (poems and short stories) got me thinking:  how many more signs from up above, down below and everywhere in between do I need to fall on my head or through my inbox until I get the message:  YOU SUCK BIG DINOSAUR EGGS… GIVE UP THIS RIDICULOUS NOTION OF WRITING, YOU ILLITERATE FOREIGNER AND GO BACK TO JIGGLING FRIES AT BURGER KING.  Or something of the sort.  You know how us “wannabe” writers can be so dramatic.  But back to my story.  When the umpteenth rebuff came in my electronic mail a few days ago, I did the opposite of what I usually do, which is to delete it and pretend it never happened.  I’m king AND queen of denial and up until a few days ago it was working.  But for some reason, this latest one has become more than just a flesh wound.  It has somehow managed to skulk into my subconscious and pitched a tent next to Doubt and Uncertainty.  And if any of you know anything about the other two, they’re like roaches, impossible to eradicate.  Yes, yes, I know adversity builds character and only a handful of writers have never received rejections, but still.  When is it one rejection too many?  Comedian Ron White (whom I love) had a funny joke.  There’s this woman who says she’s slept with 50,000 men and they were all bad in bed.  Ron White turns to the audience, with that confused look on his face and says “Wouldn’t you think, by man 49,998, she would have said, ‘maybe it’s me?’”

So that’s what I’m wondering:  Maybe it’s me?  Or maybe it’s my writing.  And by the way folks, this ain’t a thinly veiled attempt for effusive flattery.  It really is an evaluation or re-evaluation of ability.  I realize there’s no perfect path, but was just wondering if others felt the same.  Fire away.

 

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

Draft, Health, mermaids, Motivation, Susan Andrews, Writing, , ,


Susan MermaidThe joy of being a school librarian:  I’ve made it all the way to summer!  Yippee!  Twelve weeks of nothing!  No commute, no kids, no bells, no bag lunches!  Nothing! What could be better?

What could be worse?  I have twelve weeks of nothing, and I know exactly what can go wrong:

  • Summer  can be wasted.  On Twitter, Facebook, shopping (especially shopping!), lazing by the pool, etc. Friends call it “the time to relax that you need/want/yearn for.”  I call it “time wasted.”
  • Time can be stolen, even though I agreed to the theft.  I will fly to Saint Louis next week and listen to several days of educational conference material.  But I want to learn something, so that’s good.  And I am happy for the bridal showers, baby showers, weddings, and other celebrations.  Still, it is theft.
  • I will need additional time, once I return, to recover my writing mojo.  So far, I’ve started well, but I’m aware that all interruptions have an additional price.
  • I work better wclutterith deadlines.  In fact, I’m missing two at this moment:  getting my Mermaid post up in a timely manner, when I should have drafted it last night, or even last week. And sending my WRW retreat prize submission to Gail Barrett, who kindly agreed to look at my synopsis and chapter today.
  • A house filled with clutter is a time thief.  I spend precious time looking at and worrying about the clutter on my dining room table.  Why don’t I just clear it off, you ask?  Because I might need that!  (Case in point:  I suddenly feel compelled to take a particular basket and stow it in another room, so I don’t have to look at it.).

Clutter = Thief!

Aware of these pitfalls, I also know that I write more efficiently when I am sequestered.  I’ve posted before about how I enjoy working on my writing when riding to work on the train.  Peter and I drove to Philadelphia over the weekend to a niece’s bridal shower.

notebook

I brought writing tools with me and spent the time – three hours back and forth – planning the synopsis that is now late.  But I used the six hours (well, four of them, probably)!  I thought, wrote, planned, talked and told my story to my captive audience as we rode along the New Jersey Turnpike.  It was productive in very much the same way as my train rides to the Bronx.

 

I’m also reminded of sister Mermaid Pintip’s recent post on making her own home-based retreat.  I need to find that RWR article, and Pin’s Mermaid follow-up, and craft my own ongoing retreat.  The public library is only a mile from home, and it does NOT have books and papers and outdated statements littering a dining room table.

Once upon a time, I got up and dressed and sat down at my computer (an Osborne!) at 9 a.m. every weekday.   This was in the early 1980s, when Peter and I planned our lives so we could afford my career as a full-time writer.  I worked three hours, broke for lunch, then allowed myself to do housework, groceries, whatever was needed to keep the house and our married life comfortable.

Those were good years… can I find that discipline again?  Or have the years of child-rearing, illness, graduate school and career stolen that urge?  Can I get it back?  And can I forgive myself if the quest proves impossible?

Reflecting on all of these ideas, I want to do certain things this summer in order to hit my own expectations for a successful vacation:

  • Schedule my writing sessions as I used to, once upon a time
  • Claim my space
  • Celebrate the milestones
  • Forgive the rough patches that slow or stop me.

What rough patches do you anticipate this summer?  Will you celebrate when September comes?

SusanMermaid

 

Fly Your Romance Flag and Win Design Services

Avery Flynn, Giveaway, mermaids

Avery-mermaidIt’s Flag Day (at least for those of us in the U.S.)! And that means it’s time to fly your romance genre flag.

What you didn’t know Romancelandia had its own flag? It doesn’t, it has five. OK, Romancelandia has more than five genres, but come one it’s a lagoon not the ocean. Jeesh.

The uber-talented graphic designer (and one of my favorite people in the world), Elizabeth Babski with Babski Creative Studios, created these flags for several of the genres in romance. We’re flying these flags with pride in our lagoon today and want you to do the same. Pick your genre flag and fly it on Facebook, Twitter and Pintrest (be sure to mention you found the flags at www.waterworldmermaids.com), then enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below. Read or write in more than one genre? Pick your favorite one.

The winner will receive either one banner ad or a Facebook header from Babski Creative Studios. The design would use your existing cover art and copy you provide, and she will provide background graphics and supporting text effects. You have until midnight EST June  16 to enter.

Pick Your Romance Flag!

Suspense3 Contemporary3 

Paranormal3 Historical3 Erotic3

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Elizabeth Babski co-owns Babski Creative Studios, a full-service graphic design studio in Tallahassee, Fla. Need a custom book cover, web/social media graphics or author swag?  Contact her at [email protected].

A Rose by Any Other Name

Alethea Kontis

My very first review in a major publication (AlphaOops, Publisher’s Weekly) had the wrong ISBN for the book. This caused more confusion than I thought it would, and I discussed complained whined about it to a mentor of mine. His response was: “Listen: it could be the worst review in the world. As long as they get the title of the book right, trust me, it doesn’t matter.”

In that regard, I am so glad that I’ve been blessed with titles like “Enchanted” and “Hero.” Even “AlphaOops” has been spelled right every single time.

Alethea MermaidWhich is a good thing, because my name has been butchered up and down the internet for years…and it’s only gotten worse.

My name is Alethea Kontis. Here’s how you pronounce it: http://www.teachingbooks.net/pronounce.cgi?aid=18395

I have a YouTube channel, on which I state my name at the beginning of every single video. It’s right at the top of my FAQs. More importantly: IT’S SPELLED JUST LIKE IT SOUNDS. Like most foreign names, you just pronounce every letter. Since its origin is Greek, there really is no “correct” way to spell it in English, since the original version uses a completely different alphabet.

My name is also on the cover of all my books. It’s the first thing I check, every time I get a proof.

And still, my name has been misspelled in well over 50% of the reviews for my books. It is often corrected by the author, once someone points to it, but that doesn’t fix the URL, which no one wants to change for fear of losing the links people have already posted in ignorance. So I am forced to share links on Facebook and Twitter that call me “Althea” and “Alathea” and “Athena” and everything else in between.

The worst by far, however, is the audiobook of AlphaOops: H is for Halloween that Scholastic did for their Book Club. Yup: “Ala-theya.” You’d think a professional operation like Scholastic would CHECK FIRST. My little sister demanded a recall. I had a vision of policemen prying CDs from the hands of sobbing six-year-olds and decided I could live with it.

Friends who have known me forever will suddenly stop pronouncing my name correctly for no apparent reason. There’s a line of politeness which I try not to cross too far when correcting them….and after a while I’ll give up on that too.

Yesterday, a bank manager returning my call addressed me by “Olivia.” Hadn’t heard that one in a while. Dude…you’re the BANK MANAGER. Look up my account first, maybe?

“Alethea” is a beautiful name. It means “truth.” It’s been used in many books over the years (and not always because I was the inspiration for it). Writers and artists love it.

They just can’t pronounce it.

Those of you writers in the lagoon today — how do you choose what names to give your characters? Do you perhaps consider how it might be mangled or made fun of in the schoolyard? (Kerri Mermaid mentioned some of these in a post last year, which might help.)

Have you ever found a character in literature that you loved…but realized you were pronouncing completely wrong? How do you feel about pronunciation glossaries in the backs of books?

But most importantly: How badly has YOUR name ever been mangled?

Awesomesauceness

Kerri Carpenter, ,

Writing is a tough business. There’s a lot of rejection, self-doubt, insecurity, jealousy and weight gain. (Yup, you read that last one right.)

I have fallen victim to all of the above listed boo-boo feelings of ickiness. And I bet a lot of other writers have too.

The Diva Kerr-inaThen, one day in the middle of feeling sorry for myself, a coworker told me a story that was eerily similar to whatever recent travesty I was mulling over. Except, he wasn’t talking about writing. No, he was talking about something completely and vastly different. Continue reading →

Shiny Happy People (and it’s my Mom’s 79th Birthday!)

Denny S. Bryce, mermaids, , ,

Denny's MermaidsThis post is filled with sarcasm and bite (and a loving shout-out to my Mom:)…

On this rainy Monday morning, I’m wallowing in the dungeon of how much work can I get done in a week. I am up-to-my-brows in stuff and it’s not writing work. Yes, it happens to us all whether we are readers or writers, moms or dads, single or married, we get busy, and balancing busy is an art.

I wish I could do a better job of it myself, but since it is Monday, and I don’t like Mondays (except when my mom’s birthday falls on a Monday), I’ve decided to mock organized people whom I’ve dubbed:

Shiny Happy People.

When faced with the Evil Day Job they can be overheard saying that Monday is the best day of the week. SHP!

In a world that thrives on making sense I am ambiguity. (SQUIRREL ALERT!) I don’t know why I wrote that. But I’ll make up a character based on that line one day.

Those people who organize their recipes in a box with tabs, plot their books and follow the outline, and forget unfavorable reviews (or comments from contests) – Yes, they are SHPs.

People that wash dishes after every meal (ugh…) – OMG! Shiny Happy People.

People who fold and/or hang up clothes after (immediately after) the loud buzzer noise goes off on the dryer. Clothes still warm when they pull them out of the hole – yes, they, too, are SHPs.

People with Netflix “Suggestions for You” that are a blur of happy endings, animated fun and Real Housewives of Atlanta (which reminds me – I can’t wait for RWA Nationals in Atlanta! I love Atlanta and I’m looking forward to National’s this year – my first year with a PRO pin!).

Yes, this is a rant. And it’s all about Monday morning, but it’s also a celebration (yes, I will segue into this masterfully:)…

Today is my Mom’s 79th birthday. She is a sweetie of major proportions and I just wanted you to join me in wishing her a great day, a great month, and many great years to come.DSC_0061

I also wanted to share a recent photo of my gal.

She knows exactly why I am ranting. She heard about it all yesterday (well, especially on Friday), but she listens really well. That’s an art—listening, and paying attention without digging in too deep. Sometimes you’ve got to know when to dig too deep or and when to keep it on the surface. She knows.

Smooches Mommy:)! Happy Birthday Mother! (See photo of my mother and her hubby. They call each other “Bunny”…:) Photo taken by moi on April 10.

Now, a brief return to my rant.

Are you one of them – one of those Shiny Happy People (and that REM song from 1991–I really can’t stand it)?

Happy Monday to all!

 

Party Time in the Lagoon! Loni Lynne #Book Release and #Giveaway!

Avery Flynn, Interview, Loni Lynne

Wanted-1600Y’all I am super excited to have cornered our own Loni Lynne in the lagoon. She’s getting tipsy on the One Fin Cosmopolitan, so you know she’s going to spill the goods. Why is she in such a party-down mood? Because her debut novel Wanted: One Ghost was released this week and it’s time to celebrate.

Since it’s always 5 p.m. in the Waterworld Mermaid lagoon, grab yourself an adult beverage and join the conversation with Loni. And be sure to play along in the comments for a chance to win Loni’s debut novel, Wanted: One Ghost.

OK, I have to ask about your writing space. Where does the magic happen?

My daughter’s former bedroom which now has my L- shaped writing desk, an aerobics ball I use for a chair and three book shelves loaded with romance books and research books.

I’m going to totally out you because you’re one of the more quiet mermaids in the lagoon. I promise not to share it with the world *wink*, but what are three things about you that would surprise other people?

Loni Lynne 5 p12756ta105474_251.) One of my first jobs was as a radio DJ for a country music station out in western Oklahoma.

2.) I joined the Navy right after high school and tried out for Navy Diver when they started to accept women in the program…I didn’t make it.

3.) Was stationed for four years in Hawaii.

Loni, you have led an interesting life, which is great for a writer. 🙂 How did you get your idea for Wanted: One Ghost?

After a few ghost tours I wondered what the ghosts would think or do so I created my own version of ideas.

 If you could divine history by touching objects, like your heroine April, what event or person would you like to know more about?

I’ve always had a thing for Revolutionary War era. I would have loved to sit in on the signing of the Declaration of Independence or sat and talked with Ben Franklin.

James, your hero, is a ghost/ladies man. That’s quite a combination. What inspired you?

I consider that era so full of charming gentlemen. He was a combination of some of the historical romance heroes I read in the 1980’s and 90’s.

Are you a history buff? If so, what’s your favorite era and why?

To read about and study, I love Colonial American and Westward Expansion. I grew up in the Midwest and was fascinated when my family moved and traveled frequently around the country. First thing we did was check out local museums.

For music/decor I love vintage/1920’s-1950’s. Big Band and the old crooners.

OK, now for the most important question ever. Historical hotties (i.e. who’d you rather): A dashing Duke or a brawny Viking?

A dashing Duke. Dark hair, charming and elegant.

***

Who’s ready to get their hands on a copy of Wanted: One Ghost? Yay! I want to giveaway a digital copy to one lucky commenter (open internationally) who answers this question: If you could divine history by touching objects, like April- the heroine in Wanted: One Ghost, what event or person would you like to know more about?

Put your answer in the comments and I’ll pick a winner at random on Monday.

Wanted: One Ghost 

Wanted-1600Stuck in ghostly limbo for 238 years, James Addison can’t move on to an afterlife.  After being falsely accused of treason and executed, fate’s cursed him to remain an earth-bound specter until he meets a historian sent to research his past.

Distrustful of fate, Dr. April Branford wants to be taken seriously, but her unique ability to divine history by touching objects seriously compromises her credibility. Her latest assignment?  James Addison, a legendary colonial ladies’ man with a shadowy past.  Without much to go on, she doesn’t hold out much hope to discover the man behind the legend until the day she accidentally touches him and brings him back to life.

 With the help of family and ghosts from James’s past, they unravel the truth. But after falling in love and with time running out, it’s hard for April to believe in fate and a future where forever is now.

 

Writing Healthy

Dana Rodgers, Health, mermaids, , ,

Dana MermaidI’m a writer and let me be the first to say I have a ton of horrible habits. I sit for hours, hunched over my laptop, drinking way too much diet coke and not getting nearly enough exercise. As a result of all my bad habits and years of abusing my body I currently have a love-hate relationship with my massage therapist.

Rachel’s great. She’s wonderful. She’s one of the nicest people on the planet… until she gets me on her massage table. And then she turns into a demon hell bent on making me cry. (Generally, because I ask her to).

The first time I ever stepped into her studio she keyed in on all of the things I do wrong, saying things like, “You sit with your leg tucked under you, don’t you?”  Or, “Is there any way you can raise the height of you computer monitor? All of that looking down has abnormally lengthened the muscles at the back of your neck and shortened the ones at the front.” Or, “Feel that tightness in your neck and shoulders? You get lots of headaches, don’t you? That’s because of restricted blood flow.” Oooookay… Who knew someone could glean so much just from giving you a massage???

Continue reading →

How A Mermaid Discovered Her Super Power…

Carlene Love Flores, mermaids,

Mermaid CarlenePsst, yes you fishy friend.  Lean in a little closer because I have a secret to share.  I recently overheard something extraordinary being discussed by King Neptune and his court.  It turns out every mermaid has one magical scale located somewhere on her tail giving her the ability to walk on land and live in water.  Sadly, for her own protection, this wondrous scale’s location remains secret because of the time when mer-people were hunted for their magic.

I, however, had the worst itch my first winter living on the east coast and couldn’t stop scratching at this one particular fold on the underside of my fin.  I nagged at it so much that I loosened a scale.  Not knowing what else to do with it, I tucked it under my pillow that night as if it were a tooth.  Naturally.

Talk about vivid dreams!  There were heroes and heroines, and all kinds of drama and tragedy.

A laugh or two here and there.

A kiss.  Okay, lots of kisses.

And a clock.  A ticking clock with my face for its face!  When I awoke, I was sure I had scratched off “The Scale”.  Yep, the big one.  It would allow me to choose when andMermaid Dreaming where my fins would be exchanged for feet and reminded me that the time is always right when it comes to following your dreams.  And, this scale’s magic revealed my secret super power…

So back I go, with a blush and a grin, to the grotto where I shall delight in writing the Beginning and the End.

For I am a Romance Writer 🙂

Fishy Kisses,

Carlene Mermaid

 

 

Poll Results: How Much You Make and the Books You Write

Avery Flynn, mermaids, Writing

So it all started out with me being my normal nosy self and wondering how much money everybody else was making. We put out a little poll in the lagoon.

m

42% of respondents made $1,000 or less in the past year. Click the picture to see in more detail. 

That led to a bunch of questions from our fabulous commenters. So, we threw out those questions to everyone who dips their toes into the Waterworld Mermaid Lagoon. Here are the results. Click on any of the images to enlarge them.

Please not this is not a comprehensive survey of romance writers. I’d love to see RWA or a chapter do that kind of survey.

j l k i h g f e d c b Click the picture to see in more detail.