My very first release day!

Wow it feels like I've been waiting forever for my first novel  to be released but I'm happy to announce the wait is over. Luke's Surprise, book one in my Shifters' Haven series is available for download on Total-E-Bound's website today! Yippee!

I have to admit I've been grinning like a loon and doing the happy dance all day.

However, now is not the time to rest on my laurels. I still haven't finished book four in my Shifters' Haven series (Yes I know, I've been at this one for longer than the first three put together!) And the Bollywood novel I've been busy with still has a little way to go too. So, as happy as I am it's release day I'm afraid it's back to the grind for me. A writer's work is never done. Sigh.

For any interested parties out there here is the buy link for my first novel (Nothing wrong with a little shameless promotion) Hope you enjoy!
http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=1180

Working holiday?

I'm off to Bulgaria in the morning to take a look at my new house and to meet with builders to discuss renovations. I'm only going for five days and although I'm looking forward to the trip I'm in two minds whether or not to make it a working holiday. Do I take my laptop?

I'm close to finishing book four in my Shifters' Haven series and book one of Bollywood dreams so I find myself in somewhat of a quandary. Part of me is looking forward to a break away from my laptop as it and I have become closer than one should ever be with an inanimate object. :) I also think it might do me some good to completely step away from both stories for a few days. Some time and distance should give me greater clarity on how to end the books to my satisfaction.

However. I am on a deadline with both books. My publisher wants Bollywood dreams by May 1st and Aaron's Awaking needs to be subbed by the end of this month to avoid a large time lapse between it and Kelan's Pursuit. I get back on the 25th so that would leave me under a week to finish both. Decisions, decisions.

Another problem is that my laptop is huge - 18.4 inches to be exact so it's cumbersome to carry around. I'm tempted to invest in a Netbook to take on my many trips abroad but I wonder if that's defeating the object. Surely vacations should be just that. A vacation. A leave of absence from a regular occupation for the purpose of recreation. But this is where the line blurs. I am hoping that my writing will one day pay the bills, but it would still be hard to ever regard it as a job. Writing for me is a pleasurable experience, one I immerse myself in completely. It is certainly not a chore. And so writing on the balcony of an evening, overlooking the black sea sounds like the perfect conclusion to a hopefully perfect day. Hmm, I might have just talked myself into that one.

How do you feel? Do you find it easy to take a break away from your computer and writing? Or is it easy to switch off and forget about your stories and characters for a few days? What would you do?

How do you cope with negativity?

Wow it's getting ever closer to the release of my first book - Luke's Surprise -  and I have to admit nerves are setting in. Although naturally I'm excited about the release I can't help but feel somewhat apprehensive.

This might be an incredibly obvious point, but with release date comes readers and with readers come reviews. The latter part I am not looking forward to.

I know, I know reviews are an inevitable component of being a writer. I know that when one writes something and puts it into the public domain it is becomes public property, and I also know one can not please everyone. I'm sure there are going to be a lot of people out there who do not like my book, I'm hoping there will also be those who do like it. Still, negative reviews have got to sting. My question is how do you deal with them? Do you even read them at all? And if so how do you not take them to heart?

I made a comment recently to an author who has been writing for several years with over fifty books under her belt that I will have to learn to 'grow a thick skin' and she joked 'when you figure out how to do that please tell me'. Another author friend in the M/M genre recently received a negative comment based not on her writing skills but on the fact that he didn't think it appropriate for a woman to write M/M erotic romance. ??

On the plus side I received my author copies of Luke's Surprise recently and gave out a few copies to readers on Goodreads. The response was positive. Below is a picture added to one of the reviews. It made me smile and has in many ways helped to alleviate my pre-release jitters.

Excerpt of Bollywood Dreams

Hi all, just thought I'd post an excerpt of a new novel I'm writing. It's set in and around the glamorous world of Bollywood. It's about a British Bodyguard that has set up a company in Mumbai offering bodyguard services to Bollywood actors Working title is Bollywood Dreams. Hope you enjoy!

Brent threw the last letter on his desk and sighed. He was no private investigator but he liked to have all available information before he began a job. If he knew what sort of threat his client faced then he would be better prepared to combat it. And from the tone of the letters, Raj was under serious threat.
    “What are we looking at?” Jack took a chug on his fat, Cuban cigar and the smoke wafted over Brent, making his eyes sting.
    “You know those things will kill you right?”
    Jack shrugged and took another puff. “How many men do we need on this?”
    Brent frowned and picked up the first letter. “Doesn’t appear to be anything organised. I’d say this is an individual, a personal attack. Some sort of vendetta maybe. There are no threats to his family and they haven’t asked for anything.”
    Jack leaned across the desk and picked up one of the letters. “I’m going to make you pay? Original.”
    Brent handed over another of the letters. “You think that’s bad, check this one out.”
    Jack scanned the handwritten note and his mouth curved into a grin. “You’re a blot on the landscape of humanity,” The guy has style. “So you can handle it on your own?”
    “Yeah, for now at least. We’ll see how it goes. There’s something that’s bugging me though.” Brent pursed his lips and stared at the letters laid out on his desk.
    Jack leaned forward in his chair and lowered his cigar. “What?”
    “The notes are in English. Raj assures me the handwriting is Indian. So why aren’t the notes written in Hindi, or Punjabi? Doesn’t make any sense.”
    “Who knows? And quite frankly who cares? We’re being paid a shit load of money for this job. When word gets out we’ll have the whole of fucking Bollywood queuing up to hire us. Don’t fuck it up.”
    Brent nodded his agreement but he wasn’t hopeful. How the hell was he going to manage being in such close proximity to Rajkumar Khan with a constant hard on? In his profession, thinking with his little head could cost someone their life. He had to get all thoughts of fucking the sexy Indian out of his mind before he escorted him to the charity benefit that evening. But tell that to his neglected dick. It hadn’t seen any action in months and the damn thing had been flying at half mast since it came into contact with the delectable Mr. Khan earlier that morning. Just thinking about the sexy actor made it twitch. If Brent didn’t get his libido under control this job was screwed six ways to Sunday.