Playdate with R Renee Vickers

Plot Mamas is very happy to welcome author, R. Renee Vickers.
GM: Thanks for joining Plotmamas for a play date.

RRV:  Hi Stephanie! Thanks for having me! I’m really excited to be here today.

GM:  Tell us about you. Where are you from? What do you do? Any deep dark secrets you’d like to share right off the bat?

RRV:  I’m from a few different places. I grew up in lots of towns in CT, RI, MA and NH but I’ve been living in the Charleston area of South Carolina for about 4 years now. By day I’m an Academic Administrative Assistant for a local college, a position I playfully refer to as Kitten Herder. I’m an expert, I assure you. By night I’m a family woman and it’s only by the grace of my lubby hubby that I’m able to find the time to write. Anyone who juggles work, family and writing understands how hard it is to find time for creative endeavors.  I have a bevy of other hobbies that I juggle in there on occasion to spice it up but writing is my main addiction. Deep dark secrets, huh? Well, I’m a Yankee living in the south. Down here, there is no darker secret to keep than that. I have others, but those are for another time.

GM:  How long have you been writing, professionally and for your own enjoyment?

RRV:  I’ve been writing for my own entertainment for as long as I can remember but nothing serious ever came of it. Growing up, I was really focused on the other aspects of the arts like drawing and painting so writing was a fun diversion. I never thought I’d do anything with it. But then two years ago I had a scene, an image and characters stuck in my head that I couldn’t seem to create with my usual mediums so I tried writing it out. Three months of hand writing into a spiral notebook gave me about 120 pages of probably one of the poorest written scripts ever, but it showed me that not only could I do it but that I loved it so much that I should do it. It was game over from there. I really haven’t stopped since.  And I’m excited to say that the nice folks at Noble Romance Publication have picked up my first story recently so professional writing is still very new for me.

GM:  What’s your favorite genre to read and/or write?

RRV:  I read anything and everything I can get my hands on when I have time to read. Anything from news articles to how-to books, to books on culture, mythology, and religion. As far as fiction goes, I’m currently in love with erotic romance for reading and writing. What can I say other than it gets the juices flowing (please forgive the pun). I also love reading and writing fantasy and science fiction especially when they’re dark in nature.

GM:  What are your ideal reading and writing conditions?

RRV:  At home I would have to have everyone out of the house and the internet shut down. I have three kids and a husband and am far too distractible even while sitting at my desk with my headphones on. But the best environment I’ve had to write in so far was a corner table at my local Atlanta Bread Company. For some reason, with as busy as it was there, I found myself well more focused there than in my own home. Perhaps it was because of the big
bright windows (so much different from my cave like corner of the house. Maybe when I can write for my day job, I’ll take up residence there and barter for salads. But, in general, as long as I have my MP3 player blasting hard rock or heavy metal and the appropriated super-bass headphones, any environment is ideal.

GM:  Since this is a playdate, share a kid/ parenting/sibling/ your own childhood related story.

RRV:  Ah, why don’t I share a little romantic story since this is the appropriate sandbox for that sort of thing. I moved to South Carolina from New Hampshire with my son in the summer of 2007. By the end of the summer I had found a super cool playground to take my son to (Gahagen Park); it looks more like a wooden fortress than a playground. While he played I took a seat on a bench and worked on a sewing project I was trying to put together. After the umpteenth fly by “Hi Mama!!” I noticed a man had sat next to me. He was there with his daughters. I returned my attention to my sewing project and all but ignored him, after all, he could have had a spouse as far as I knew at the time.  Turns out he didn’t. He broke the ice in the most romantic way I could ever imagine. “You want to hear something funny? I asked my mama for a sewing
machine for Christmas.”

*Crickets*

I’m not sure what look I gave him, but he sat there patiently with hopeful eyes waiting for a response, any response.

“Ah, er, that’s cool.” I said finally and we had a good laugh at the awkward start. As it turns out, we had a lot in common and spent the rest of the day talking and laughing; he had a great sense of humor and a deep passion for odd trivia. Well long story short, we ended up dating and eventually got married. Romance can be found in the strangest of places at the strangest of times.

Again, thank you so much for having me on your site today,
Stephanie! I had a great time answering these questions.

GM: Thanks for visiting!

Another successful playdate!

Gnome Mama AKA Stephanie Beck

Play Date With the Ladies of Musa

I’m thrilled to have had the opportunity to hang out with the ladies of the new publishing house ‘Musa’. They are open for submissions in many genres. Check them out soon!

GM: Tell me about Musa—what you plan to publish and your target audience.

Kerry: As the financial/office side of Musa, I plan to publish the best books that sell really well!  I am enjoying the contracting process, the various titles and genres coming in as I get contracts out. Getting to know some of the authors on a personal level is a nice change too.

Celina: Musa was created as a small press that would take e-publishing to new places: a strong speculative fiction line, a fiction imprint dedicated to MG and YA readers on a separate site, and literary fiction in addition to the romance line.  We plan to publish everything from short stories to epic serial novels, from  paranormal to short story collections to chapbooks and women’s fiction.

GM: What are your qualifications for jumping in so deeply into the business side of writing?

Dominique: I think that what makes this work is the four of us all have different qualifications. Kind of like the four corners of a building we all help hold it up and none of us could do it without the others.

Kelly: Although I am not a writer, I love designing. I have over fifteen years of Web/Graphic Design experience under her belt. Besides what I do for Musa, I also work on independent contracts working with businesses for their promotional items. I have been designing covers and marketing books for authors for over three years. I was the Art Director for a publishing company for over a year. You can view my portfolio here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/108517485566998025616

GM: What motivated you into making the change from writers to publishers? Will you keep writing as well?

Kerry: I am not a writer, but have developed quite the love of genres. Growing up, if it wasn’t a  romance, I wouldn’t read it. Now I’m devouring books like candy!

Celina: Oh, I’ll always write.  Musa came about because we saw aspects of the small press market that were being ignored by the bigger publishers. Also, we wanted to create a system with total transparency for the writers.  That resulted in Delphi, our book details database system, where a writer can not only access their royalties before their checks are issued but track sales in real time on our website. Quite frankly, we got tired of publishers making such a big mystery out of the whole process.  We figured that this way, the authors would know what they made (and adjust their marketing if sales were down) and would also know that we were honest. The numbers don’t lie.  Keeps everyone happy and in the loop that way.

GM: What is your picture-perfect romance novel? Alphas? Comedy? Paranormal? Erotic? Sweet? 

Dominique: Strong Alpha is a must, and I like some where between Erotica and Sweet. There has to be a strong love story that if the sex were taken out would stand on its own.

Celina: Picture-perfect romance novel?  One that’s really funny and tender at the same time. With an added dash of spice.  And it can’t have anything gratuitous. I’d rather see fewer sex scenes that developed organically within the plot than to have an author try to meet some arbitrary required number.

GM: Since this is a Mommy blog as well as a writer blog, share a kid or motherhood related moment with us.

Celina: We homeschool our kids, so part of my kindergarteners day is learning to read. I have hope that all the reading we are doing with him will pay off and one day he’ll read more than I do!

Dominique: For the first 5 years of my youngest son’s life he never slept. Okay he slept from 3-5 am every morning. We found out when we moved him out of the crib that he never slept. The first night he showed up in my room, beside my bed giggling. All I could see where the whites of his eyes and his teeth. He had found a black sharpie and colored himself, the walls and his brother’s belly button BLACK. For the next few years we always knew what color the walls would be by the color of the older brother’s belly button. So I started staying up all night with my youngest at first I just tried to get him to go to sleep. That didn’t work so finally I put a blanket next to the computer and started writing.  And I haven’t stopped writing since, even when my son’s sleeping extended to midnight to 5 am.

Kerry: Right now, my oldest daughter is back at home while her husband is deployed overseas. HER daughter is a toddler,  who is probably one of the funniest kids I’ve ever seen.  She has this mop of white-blonde curls and these big blue eyes, and when I open up the computer she comes running across the room, climbs in my lap and says, “Da-da?”

Her father is in Iraq and she’s not even two. She doesn’t remember him at home.  But she talks to him every week on Skype so when the computer opens up, it’s automatically because her dad is there.  Or Potter Puppet Pals. As I said—smart as a whip.  About three months ago, we lost her favorite cat to feline diabetes.  Every few days, she picks up
his cat toy and goes through the house calling him. “Impy! Impy!”  She said that cat’s name before she said “Nana” and she still misses him.

Kelly: With 3 girls I have lots of mommy moments. I love them all dearly and each for different reasons. My youngest is 15 and is chomping at the bit to get her drivers license. Every time we get near the car she wants to drive. I don’t remember the other 2 wanting to drive as much as she does. She will probably end up a Nascar driver! LOL

Thanks so much, ladies! For more infomation on Musa and it’s leading ladies head to www.musapublishing.com

and find them on twitter and facebook as well!

Say hi to Rachel Firasek

Instead of the usual Gnome Mama ramblings, I found a very nice new writer to come and visit. Say hi to Rachel Firasek. Her first book, Piper’s Fury releases July 2011 from Crescent Moon Press.

  

GM: What do you write?
 

Rachel: I write a little bit of everything. My first love is Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy. My debut novel/series is a dark UF with a beautiful soul story. I love this book. I also write erotic romance and have my first menage short due to release in July 2011. I have several novellas in the works and another big novel, that is a psycho thriller style romance for 2012. My taste run from historicals-the darkest fright. The one similar theme is that it has to be something I love or am interested in.

 
GM:  What drew you to that genre?
Rachel: Hmmm…the paranormal—I’ve always loved para movies-so it was only natural that I started with this genre. The rest…I love to read, and sometimes a story just won’t fit in the para world, so I have to write it where it fits.

 
 
 

GM:  What’s your favorite part of writing/editing/promoting?

 

Rachel: Writing: The first draft. I don’t have to write description-which I hate. I can write fast and action packed. Just the way I like it. Editing: Hmmmm….not so sure that I have a favorite part of that, but I have been in edits for 4 months now and could be just a bit jaded. lol.
My passion is promoting. I love it!  I enjoy meeting everyone and chatting—as long as it’s online. In person is another blog.
GM: If you could trade your life with any character (your own or in other
 literature) who would you be and why?

Rachel: I’d be Anita Blake from LK Hamilton’s series. She gets to play with guns,vamps & weres, and always maintains her figure. The hot sex with rotating men has nothing to do with it. I’m a very happily married lady–love you honey!
 
 Find Rachel on the web at:
 
http://www.rachelfirasek.com
http://www.twitter.com/raebob78
http://www.crescentmoonpress.com
 
Blurb for Piper’s Fury:

It’s an empath thing…

Using your “powers” to help the Dark Hills Police Department hunt down serial killers doesn’t leave much time for dating. Not that Piper Anast is complaining. The last thing she needs is some guy brushing up against her and pumping his pornographic thoughts into her head.

When she meets Bennett Slade, a sexy, tormented vampire, Piper stumbles headlong into a telepathic connection with his missing daughter. She can’t leave the kid to the evil surrounding her unwanted visions, nor can she resist her draw to Slade. He’s the first guy she’s been able to touch vision-free in, well, forever.

As she and Slade close in on the evil creature holding his daughter, Piper’s powers morph into a deadly fury. To save Slade’s daughter-and herself-Piper must face down demons she never knew she had and trust the one thing she keeps from everyone.

Her heart.

Rachel:  Also, I’ll offer up a free ebook to one person that can tell me Piper’s true eye color. It’s totally a guess thing. I’ll give you a clue, she’s a dark red-head. Thanks for playing!

GM: Awesome! Thanks for stopping by, Rachel. Peoples commenting, make sure to leave your email address so Rachel can get the winner their book  

And the Mother of the Year Award Goes to …

… NOT me.

This week, I was over at Jungle Red Writers giving some tips on how to climb the wall of success (http://www.jungleredwriters.com/2010/09/turning-points.html). One of the points I made was about being an entrepreneur (which all of us writers are these days whether we want to be or not), and how much time it takes to build a successful career. This time could be spent doting on our children and families, but instead, we’re juggling this writing gig at the same time. I don’t know about you all, but every now and then, especially in the middle of the night when the Guilt Fairy swings by my bedroom and craps all over me, I feel like I’m flunking Parenting 101. I lay there wide awake, knowing that there is no way I’m going to win the Mother of the Year award this year.

You see, there is only so much time in the day, and a lot of us have day jobs in addition to families. Writing takes a lot of solitary time, so where do you fit it in amidst your family moments? Me? I stay up well after midnight, then drag my sorry hiney out of bed in the morning and go into work, living on caffeine fumes by Friday morning. My time with my kids comes during my lunch hour and from after work until their bedtime (and weekends, of course). I’m not a stay home mom, and I’m trying to build a writing career on the side, which eats up every hour I will give it. So, in short, while I try to give my kids as much time as I can, I’m not taking them on play dates or being a volunteer at their school. That is why I figure I’m not going to win a Mother of the Year award this year.

It’s also why I can’t listen to that dang “Cats in the Cradle” song with that line that goes something like, “When you coming home, Dad? I don’t know when, but we’ll get together then son, you know we’ll have a good time them.” Exchange “Dad” for “Mom” and I start picturing empty golden years where my kids won’t ever come visit me.

A couple of quotes from Chicken Noodle and Beaker that I hear weekly:

• “Mommy, are you going to work again?”
• “Bye , Momma. See you soon!”
• “Why?” (LOL—I just threw this in because Chicken Noodle has hit the “Why?” stage of her life and is driving her father and me nuts with it. )
• “Mommy, stay home with me. Don’t go to work.”
• “Mommy, I want to come to work with you today.”
• (On the phone) “Mommy, are you coming home now?”

 

Is a writing career worth all of this guilt and angst? Apparently, it is, because I keep doing it.

On the other hand, when I don’t write or work on writing-related activities, I get mighty crabby. My patience wanes more quickly, I feel unfulfilled, and I want to hole up from the world and be left alone.

There has to be a balance, and I’m constantly working to find it. In the meantime, I keep daydreaming about that week-long Walt Disney World vacation we’re all going to take from all of the money I’ll make selling my books. (What’s that? No, I don’t see any pigs flying around outside.)

What about you? How do you balance kids and family with your writing? Do you feel guilt? Do you hate that dang song, too?

Written by Ann Charles, Spinner Mama