Erotic Writing

Sometimes a girl has to do what a girl has to do. In my case, I took a chance at the erotic side of novel writing (with the pen name of Jennifer LaRose, of course). It was a very frightening experience...at first. Writing those graphic words was a definate, eek moment, but with the help of some friends, I made it to the contract stage. I'm not sure I could have made it without some of Ellora's Cave's wonderful authors.

"Kathleen Lash, Regina Carlysle, Laurann Dohner and Paige Tyler, words cannot express how deeply I appreciate your inspiration and encouragement. You will always be dear to my heart."


And that is reason #1 why a girl can never have too many girlfriends. They push you to your limit, refusing to let you fail.

Poor Kathleen; she read my ms at least twelve times while critiquing it. Now, I'm going to make her read the book. She is the best critique partner ever! She's brutally honest. And she probably wanted to smack me upside the head a few times to knock some comprehension into me, but she tackled me with politeness instead...again.

I'd also like to mention how amazing my editor, April Chapman, was to work with. She made the entire process short, sweet and painless. I've learned so much from her in a very short time.


"Thank you, ladies! You are amazing!"

Editors & Artists

Sadly, my editor of two years has spread her wings, and earned her PhD. She's moving on to a university where she can pass her great skills onto her students. They're going to love her. I, however, am going to miss her terribly. It's hard letting go of someone who brought your dreams to life.

I'll hold you forever dear to my heart, Julie.

On a happier note, Rae Monet has pulled through for me once again. I ablosutely love my bookcover for Dazzled, my upcoming novel from The Wild Rose Press. Release date: December 29th, 2010. Sometimes, life's uglies are brightened by the quality of an artist.

Thank you, Rae.

Until next time, my friends, keep smiling.

Mom's not coming home :(

It's a situation a lot of people face everyday, but you don't want to believe it's happening to you. I know staying at the nursing home is best for her, but a piece of my heart is broken. It's the piece connecting a child to her mother. I'm sure you understand what I'm talking about.
I shouldn't feel this way; she's getting great care, she's happy and content; that's all that should matter. I guess I'm feeling selfish in my own right. I miss her. I can visit or call whenever I want, but it doesn't feel the same. It isn't like walking through her back door, sitting down, and laughing over a pot of coffee.
I guess part of letting go is a part of life.

I love you, Mom!

Amazing!

Now I don't want to speak too loud, because as I mentioned in my previous post, it seems good news is often accompanied by bad. So...I'm going to keep my voice low.
That website of my dreams I also mentioned, well, it happened, and it's gone beyond my expectations. During a 40 minute phone call, my designer, Rae Monet, whom I've never personally met, captured the reflection of my inner self and brought the real me to life through artwork. She also designed my book cover, which I ablosutely love and published for you to see. I don't understand how she does it, but she has definate insight. Her work speaks to you, and I immediately felt a connection. The site does not elude specifically to romance because I write in other genres as well. Opening the draft was a definite, WOW, moment. I was speechless. I've tried expressing my apprectation to Rae, but words can't describe my elation, satisfaction, and...if I don't stop talking about it right now, I'm never going to shut up.

Thank you, Rae Monet. You're the best!

Mom is currently in a nursing home for rehab. I pray she regains her strength and comes home soon. Please, will you say a pray for her too?

I just don't get it.

Why is good news always accompanied by bad? Within 7 hours I tumbled through euphoria, saddness, and ended up devastated. Isn't receiving a release date on your very first novel supposed to be one of the happiest days of your life? Well,...it was...but shortly after, my mom was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia. It saddened me, but I knew she'd be taken care of by doctors, nurses, and a bag of liquid antibiotics. If only it could've been so easy. The pneumonia turned out to be a consequence of lung cancer. That's where the devastation came into play.
After I bartered with myself and accepted the news, I sat down and surfed the web for enlightening news, and came across an awesome web designer. So, to cheer myself up a bit, I decided to partake of her services. Trying to be an, 'on top of things' kinda lady, I in that instant, decided to replenish my paypal account to pay for the website of my dreams. Low and behold, I discovered my resources of choice were frozen. Now, I'm usually pretty laid back, don't cry unless I'm really, really mad, and I don't make it a habit to freak-out. But... I immediately called a girl friend, who thankfully didn't answer her phone. That was a great service she paid to herself.
Anyhow, after battling for 2 hours on the phone with 5 different banking departments, I ended up where I'd started...still no access to my hard earned dough. One of the five departments investigated my case a little further than the others, and discovered my accounts were unaccessible because of a bankruptcy filing. Bankruptcy? BANKRUPTCY!!!
I wished that were true to get out from under my mountain of debt, but it's not. So, in the meantime, some poor soul is fighting off bill collecters and trying to explain they filed, while I'm fighting with the bank, trying to explain I hadn't. How does this happen? And to top it off, the banker acted like I was lying because he didn't understand how this type of error could occur. "First off, Mr. Smartypants, it's called, Someone's Not Doing Their Job!"

Okay, it's not all bad. Things finally started looking up. My money is unlocked; my mom's condition is better than expected. Actually, the looking up was short lived. After mom returned to her hospital room this morning following a surgical procedure, the room was emptied. And I'm not talking about her roommate leaving.
Everything personal mom had sitting on the shelves and table were missing, including the 3 beautiful bouquets of flowers we had delivered two days ago. The staff said there must have been a glitch in the system and someone discharged her in error, so the enviromental department cleaned out her room. They threw the flowers, teddy bear, and books, amongst other personal items in the trash. The poor woman. I felt so sorry for her. What's the best resolution when the sentimental value can't be replaced?
So, how was your day?