Monday, September 26, 2011

Monday Meme: When I'm a Famous Author

So, I've been working on the October issue of Raven Moon, and I'm doing a feature on Laurell K. Hamilton this month. And you know what she has for sale on her website, cuz she's such a famous author? T-shirts and coffee mugs and stuff. You can even purchase a fan club membership for the year. Like, you actually have to pay for the membership.

I'd love to have the usual pics for this post, but it's getting really late and I couldn't quite figure out how to create pics of my super awesome Alexia Chamberlynn t-shirts, mugs, keychains, henna tattoos and fuzzy throws for snuggling on the couch. Or maybe they'd say A.A. Chamberlynn, because that has a writery ring, don't you think?

What else would be in my line of merchandise??? Bookmarks, action figures, Kindle covers, coozies (is that spelled with a k?), posters, pill boxes, those stretchy bracelet things they make for everything?

How about you? What will be in your line of famous author merchandise?

Happy Monday!!

Monday, September 19, 2011

Monday Meme: When I'm a Famous Author...

Happy Monday, writer friends! One of the things I can't wait to have (and will hopefully have even before I'm a rich and famous author) is my very own library. Being a book lover, I want to have a beautiful space that sings praise to the loveliness that is books. Somewhere I can sit and drink tea, surrounded by fantastic writing while creating my own books to sit on the shelves.

So, I started Googling pics of libaries, and came across a rather addicting website called aptly http://www.beautiful-libraries.com/. I found all the pics below on this website, and if you have some time you'll want to stop by because it's super fun (celebrity libraries, libraries in movies, etc).

It was really hard to choose my fave pics, but here are a few:

**Photos removed since peeps have been getting sued for posting photos on blogs**

Classic design, big bay window, antique globes.... yes, yes and yes!

**Ditto**

On the opposite end of things; modern, fresh flowers, awesome green curtain and ladder. Love it!

**Ditto**

Okay, this pic was just too cute not to include. Rainbow colored books? Pug? For sure.

**Ditto**

And this was just too cool. Shelves over the windows... and what library is complete with a second story?

So, what would your dream library look like? Any cool must-have artifacts or special editions inside?

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

If I Could Be Anyone I'd Be...

Today Talli Roland's book Watching Willow Watts comes out! And to celebrate, Talli is having a super fun launch party. To carry on the theme of the book, which is about a girl who idolizes Marilyn Monroe, everyone in the launch party gets to share who they would be if they could be anyone.

I ended up having a hard time with this one... I've never really had one single person that I wanted to be. More like bits and pieces of things that I envied. So, to keep it simple I decided to stick with the movie star theme, and chose:

Kate Beckinsale!



Kate is a very talented actress, and starred in two of my very favorite movies (which are on opposite sides of the genre spectrum): Serendipity and Underworld. Serendipity is one of the best romantic comedies ever, and Underworld is about vampires and werewolves and kicks so much butt.

Of course, if I could really be anyone I wanted, I would have to have magical powers. And probably a pet dragon : >)

But back to Willow's adventures. Here's a bit more about her:

For Willow Watts, life has settled into a predictably dull routine: days behind the counter at her father's antique shop and nights watching TV, as the pension-aged residents of Britain's Ugliest Village bed down for yet another early night. But everything changes when a YouTube video of Willow's epically embarrassing Marilyn Monroe impersonation gets millions of hits after a viewer spots Marilyn's ghostly image in a frame.

Instantly, Willow's town is overrun with fans flocking to see the 'new Marilyn'. Egged on by the villagers -- whose shops and businesses are cashing in -- Willow embraces her new identity, dying her hair platinum and ramming herself full of cakes to achieve Marilyn's legendary curves.

But when a former flame returns seeking the old Willow, Willow must decide: can she risk her stardom and her village's newfound fortune on love, or is being Marilyn her ticket to happiness?

Click here to read other blogger's posts about who they would be if they could be anyone! Or click the links below to get your own copy of Watching Willow Watts.


So, how about you? Who would you be? Or, if you're participating, let me know in the comments so I can visit!

Monday, September 12, 2011

Monday Meme: When I'm a Famous Author

Hi, writer friends! I'm going to keep today's meme short and sweet, because it's late Sunday night and I've been trying to hit the halfway point on my WIP this weekend. I'm about 750 words short, and I think sleepiness is going to conquer me... but I got a lot of pages cranked out, so I'm happy.

So.... my fantasies of fame and fortune can't be complete without a fantastic beach house. I am lucky enough to live within an hour of the beach here in Florida, and I think a part of my soul is always down there, rocking on the waves and drinking in the salty air. And while I'd be thrilled to have any beach house, I think I want a really unique one, unlike a lot of the ones around here, that all look pretty similiar. Mine would have more of a Mediterranean flare. Like this...


So, what about you? What kind of vacation home would you like to have?

Have a great start to your week, blog buddies!

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Querying, drafting and linkage, oh my!

I've got sort of a mixed bag for you today, writer friends.

Okay, so that's a mixed margarita glass. But, you get the point :)

First, I thought I'd give everyone a brief update on my writerly pursuits. I've sent out another round of queries for Countless. That brings my query total to 56 I believe. And it pretty much zaps my initial list of agents for my genre. So, I'm going to need to drum up some new ones if nothing pans out. My full manuscript is still with a couple agents that have had it for a while. We'll see what happens...

Also, I've gotten over my little melodrama from a week or so ago, and starting plugging away again at my new book. I'm sitting at around 35,000 words of my 80,000 word goal. So, nearly half there. Yay!

Now for some linkage:

You can view my latest issue of my urban fantasy newsletter here. If you want to see how spiffy it looks sitting in your very own email inbox, click here.

And here are some neat blog posts I came across while trying to catch up on a slew of emails:

A cool article on why people buy things and how that pertains to social media and marketing your book. Good stuff.

The art of Twitter... more good stuff.

And finally, here's an interesting post on the first rewrite. I am a first draft lover, and rewrite despiser, so this was fun to read because it differs from my perspective.

How are your writing projects going? Come across any cool articles lately?

Monday, September 5, 2011

Monday Meme: When I'm a Famous Author

Happy Labor Day, writer friends! Today is the second posting of my new weekly meme, in which I share one of my daydreams for when I'm a famous author. I LOVED all the daydreams you guys shared with me last week. So, let's go for round two - and if you have pics to post on your blog, put the link in your comment so we can all pop over!

So, in tribute to Labor Day, that will be the theme for today. When I'm a famous author, I won't have to have a 'day' job. I'll be able to write all day. Although, I like to break it up into sections, so my day will probably go something like this:

First, I'll wake up, take the kiddos to school, and stop by Starbucks. Then I'll have a fantastic caffeine fueled writing session. I'll probably do my blogging in the morning, too. Around midday, I'll have lunch, maybe with some friends in a yummy cafe. Since I won't have to go back to my office job, I can even have a little glass of wine if I want. I may take a nap after that. Then I'll pick the kids up, and head back home for another writing session. And, since I'm kind of a night owl, I may write another session later after the kids are asleep.

So, what about you guys? What are your famous writery daydreams of the week? Any fun Labor Day plans?

Thursday, September 1, 2011

When I'm a Famous Author

My mom is pretty much the biggest positive affirmation believer you could ever meet. So, I grew up in a constant slew of discussions on the benefits of daydreaming and positive thinking. Plus, being a writer, I got an extra dose of daydreaminess. Since I often find myself caught up in these fun visions of the future, I thought it would be a cool weekly meme. As writers, we so often hear the negative stuff, about how few writers really make it, etc. And it's really easy to get sucked into this, and think, "Yeah, I probably won't make it." Because then our hopes never get too high. But, honestly? Most of us want to be published. And we probably want to be really successful at it. It's that little glimmer of hope within that keeps us plugging ahead through all the rejection we face.

So, why not step out of our comfort zones and try a fun positive visualization each week? Let that writery side of you take over and think "what if?" It could be something small. Like, "When I'm a famous author, I'm going to buy gourmet brownies from this website that was featured on Food TV."

Or, it could be something big. For instance, "When I'm a famous author, I'm going to be friends with Charlaine Harris. And then she's going to introduce me to Joe Manganiello, who plays her character Alcide Herveaux in True Blood."

Oh yeah, I'm married... but hey, it would be fun to meet him, right? When I'm a famous author.... So. I'm going to post my daydreams every Monday, since Monday is typically a sucko day (first day back to work and all that). It'll be a nice way to start the week. I do hope you'll share your daydreams with me, and even post your own pics on your blog if you want! We'll start the daydreamingest, smilingest, funnest meme ever.

Have a great weekend and see you Monday!