This year, I’ve found myself a little overwhelmed with work and the old ways of scheduling things just isn’t working for me anymore (I think, because I’m bored with them!). I still need my big picture spread sheet that shows me what’s coming up for the next year. This is just a glimpse of part of it.

But the daily part isn’t cutting it. I’ve always kept something that looks like this for scheduling work. Note the five projects on the right. Yeah, sometimes I’m touching that many stories in any given week. Crazy, right?

But the spreadsheet isn’t inspiring me anymore, so I’m going to make a change in the way I keep my crazy-busy life ordered.

I’ve entered Filofax-o-mania! I used to keep a DayPlanner. Had one for years when I worked in IT, but the thought of something that stale and boring to accompany my creative writing life didn’t tempt me back. Not until I was roaming through Pinterest and saw all the wildly imaginative ways folks are using their Filofaxes to organize their lives. If you head to this page in my Pinterest, you can see what I’m talking about.

Last week, while I was house-sitting and not getting any work done because my ass missed my office chair, I began a shopping spree. I bought a Filofax for myself, then one for my daughter so she can’t make fun of my new addiction, and here’s what I bought:

My Purple Malden

My dd’s Purple Saffiano

But I didn’t stop there. I bought stickers, pretty dividers, post-it flags, post-it notes, colored pens, all sorts of inserts, etc. I even bought a caddy to hold all the crap I’ll be using to decorate my Filo-friend. See the obsession? I’m even naming my craziness!

Which gets to the crux of this blog…. What should I name my Filo-friend? Do you have any ideas? And hey! If any of you have planner fetishes and want to share photos here, send them!

[I’m also thinking about fun charms/dangles I can make to hang from the bottom ring! Hmmm… I can see new pics of Filo-charms entering my Pinterest board soon!]

As if the question ‘Wanna pitch to an agent or editor’ isn’t enough.

Hello! A huge thanks to all my wonderful hosts as I run all over cyberspace talking about Agent/Editor Shop at the Musetracks blog.

In this crazy world of easy access to information, it’s also easy to miss huge opportunities, or forget! Because I get so many comments that writers either forgot, or didn’t know Musetracks did pitch sessions, I asked a bunch of fellow writers, bloggers and readers to help me spread the word.

For those of you who don’t me, I’m Candi Wall, one of the authors who co-contribute to the Musetracks blog. Jennifer Bray-Weber, Marie-Claude Bourque, and Stacey Purcell are my super smart co-contributors and goodness knows where I’d be without them!

I’ve been hosting acquiring Agents at Musetracks for almost two years, and only recently, we decided to add editors as our guest. We’ve been lucky to have agents like Melissa Jeglinski, Jessica Alvarez, Mollie Glick, Becky Vinter, Kevan Lyon, Scott Eagan, Lois Winston, Jill Marsal, Michelle Grajkowski, Kimberley Cameron, Emmanuella Alspaugh (now Morgan), Laura Bradford, Jenny Bent, Sara Crowe, Weronika Janczuk and Stan Soper.

Our guest editors thus far have been Rhonda Penders w/ The Wild Rose Press, Jennifer Miller w/ Samhain Publishing, Debby Gilbert w/ Soul Mate Publishing, Beth Walker w/ Secret Cravings Publishing, and the editors at Books To Go Now have booked three dates in the future!

What we offer is a ‘Pitch Day’. I only take 30 pitches, and only the first thirty VIABLE pitches that come in on pitch day will be seen by the agent or editor. And I will warn you, I’m a stickler for following guidelines. If you don’t include exactly what is in the rules… I delete without prejudice. And I delete quite a few. (And yes, I receive plenty of hate mail.)

You can find us here:

Musetracks and there is a sidebar with Agent/Editor Shop dates and attending professionals

You can find the rules for pitching here:

Musetracks Agent/Editor Shop rules Please read them carefully!

I’ve also created a Yahoo group so writers can sign up to receive Agent/Editor Shop updates. I only send messages with agent/editor attendance updates, reminders of pitch dates, and any information about the contests we run on pitch day. Usually a giveaway or a chance to comment for the Top Pitch Slot. You can request to join here:

Editor/Agent Shop Newsletter Group

Easy as pie! We welcome every stage of writer and at Musetracks, we strive to help other writers, the way we were all helped when we first started out, and the way we are supported today.

Hope to see you all at a pitch day, and if not, feel free to pass the word along to others.

Happy reading and writing!

~Candi

A little about Candi:

Candi Wall is an author of contemporary romance, and YA.

Her début novel PRIMITIVE NIGHTS released from Samhain in Jan 2013, and STAY, the first in the Changing Tides series releases from Samhain on Aug 6^th 2013.

She’s a mother of four (21,17,12,9), a rescuer of six (4 dogs & 2 cats), proud auntie of too many to count, a soon-to-be grandmother and great-auntie, a retired Cub Scout leader of 16 years, an avid animal lover/protector and ex-animal control officer. Oh yeah, and wife. J

You can find her here:

www.candiwallbooks.com
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Musetracks

Thank you Delilah for letting me guest blog today, because today’s a very special day for me. It’s Release Day for COLLECTOR’S ITEM, my new paranormal romance from The Wild Rose Press.

To find her missing aunt, a headstrong shapeshifter joins forces with a cynical Alpha to investigate an illegal hunt club, but when their plan backfires can she escape a trap of her own making?

To celebrate this special day, I’m sharing a little about the development of my shapeshifter story. Also, I’m inviting everyone to enter my COLLECTOR’S ITEM Release Week Contest, running now through May 23rd. See details below!

Paranormal stories are often about hiding the reality of being dual-natured from the rest of the world. I chose to have shapeshifters living openly in the population, but they haven’t been “out of the closet” for long. In my world, the emergence of shapeshifters was motivated by a threat to their survival–the Collectors. The Collectors is a secret society of human hunters. Their goal: to capture, hunt, and kill shapeshifters–the Ultimate Big Game. The Collectors have been so successful, shapeshifters are forced to seek legal rights and protections or become an “endangered species.”

When creating COLLECTOR’S ITEM, I decided that I wanted to use a feline shapeshifter instead of a werewolf. Nothing against werewolves, but I’ve always been a cat person. Also, by not choosing to do werewolves, my shapeshifters would not be tied to the moon’s cycles, giving them more autonomy. However, the biggest difference in my shapeshifters is that I gave the animal side of my shapeshifters their own names and distinct personalities.

The heroine, KT (Katarina Teresa) Marant, shares her consciousness with Andi (Andromeda). The hero, Peyton Allers shares his consciousness with Max (Maximilian). The animal personalities fulfill the role of “side-kick,” and provide a bit of comic relief as well.

The story of COLLECTOR’S ITEM begins when a member of KT Marant’s family disappears and KT Marant immediately suspects the Collectors. As the trained, but inexperienced Female Alpha of the Marant Clan, KT has the skills but lacks the knowledge to follow through on her suspicion. Enter Peyton Allers, an undercover Alliance Protector and Alpha in his own right.

EXCERPT:

Peyton Allers struggled to contain his temper as he faced the “princess” of the Marant clan, AKA Katarina Teresa Marant. Because a high-blood princess had slipped her leash and made herself a target for the Collectors, his cover and his operation were blown. No simple “chip & tip” would do for this Collector’s Item, damn it!

Added to the inevitable hysterics and demands for protection, he’d be elbow deep in politics. God, he hated politics. Bowing and scraping while maneuvering to find the best location to stick in the knife.

Not with this one, his jag, Max asserted.

The princess stood behind the couch, hands on hips, a tiny crease between her eyebrows while she looked from Massey on the rug to him and back. No hysterics in sight, Peyton noted with relief. Points for restraint.

Alpha, said Max.

Princess, Peyton countered. Even they had their moments of intelligence, but he knew better than to expect more.

To see how this all works out, I invite you to read COLLECTOR’S ITEM, now available from The Wild Rose Press.

* * * * *

THE CONTEST: One lucky person will win a COLLECTOR’S ITEM mug filled with caffeine and chocolate! Rules are:

1. LIKE my Denise Golinowski/Author Page on Facebook = 1 Entry
2. TWEET about Collector’s Item using #collectorsitembook and @DGolinowski = 1 Entry
3. POST a comment here and mention that you’ve completed #1 & #2 = 1 Entry
4. WAIT – I’ll be drawing a lucky winner on May 23^rd and post the winner on my Denise Golinowski/Author Page
5. EXTRA CREDIT – LIKE FB page for COLLECTOR’s ITEM – Collector’s Item/Golinowski = 1 Entry

Easy Peasy you can have 4 entries in the drawing.

* * * * *

ABOUT DENISE: Denise Golinowski has always been a writer. A hopeful romantic, she gravitated to fantasy and romance.  She is a PRO member of the Romance Writers of America, Virginia Romance Writers, and James River Writers.  A native of Richmond, Virginia, Denise lives with her uber-supportive husband and one devoted lap kitty. She is currently working on a Contemporary Paranormal Romance involving another member of the Marant Clan—KT’s older brother, Peter Marant.  You can find her on facebook at Denise Golinowski/Author and at her blog, Golinowski’s Gambol.

I’m still not recovered from the RT Convention in Kansas City. Can’t seem to make myself sit and write. Maybe moving immediately to another house to house sit while my dd is in DC has something to do with it. I like my writer’s cave. Like the fact I don’t have interruptions. Who knew 4 dogs and 4 cats would be so needy?! 😕

In the meantime, there are some things I thought you all might like to know about. First, for you readers…

Two scintillating full-length volumes of erotica are currently on sale for just $.99 each! So what if you don’t read lesbian erotica! Readers have loved taking the walk on the wild side for these stories. If you thought you knew everything there was to know about vampires or shapeshifters, think again! These are very original, very unique, award-winning stories. And for such a great price, don’t you think you owe it to yourself to see what all the fuss is about? Click on the covers to head straight to Amazon!

And then there are the June books up for pre-order now!

Crescent Moon begins releasing June 4th! What do I mean by that? It’s a serialized full-length book. Montlake, an arm of Amazon, will release a new installment every two weeks. You pay one price, $1.99, and get the new installments shipped automatically to your Kindle every time they release! Fun, right? And the story? Well, think mummies and demons and cops…

Twice the Bang? It releases June 18th! You know what to expect there if you’ve been reading the Delta Heat books. It’s book #4 in the series. I plan 5 stories total for my horny Memphis cops!

Lost Souls is the sequel to Shattered Souls, the next Caitlyn O’Connell PI story, and there are more spooky happenings in Memphis! It releases June 25th!

I promised something for you writers… How about a big ol’ nag! I need stories for Hot Highlanders and Wild Knights! If you’ve ever thought you’d like to give writing a medieval romance a go, now’s the time! The stories are due to me by June 1st, so there’s still time. You can write a short story in a weekend, promise! See the details regarding the call here:  Hot Highlanders and Wild Knights

My first firefighter crush was on John Gage (Randolph Mantooth) on the TV show Emergency! I was in elementary school. Ever since, I’ve had to check out TV shows with firefighters.

One of my favorites was Third Watch, especially in the wake of 9-11, where the characters would head to the rubble of the WTC after their shift. That was really intense and heart-breaking, but so cathartic to watch.

Then came Rescue Me, which my husband loved but I loathed. I didn’t find one character I could root for. Not one of them was heroic, which my husband said was the point–they were just regular guys doing a hard job. But they spoiled my ideal of the firefighter, which I am convinced is more the truth than that show would have me believe.

Now I’m loving Chicago Fire. That show has its share of firefighters making bad decisions (CRUZ!) but there are redeeming moments and characters you can root for, and a hottie or two. I love the overarching storylines, like Casey’s problems with the cop. My favorite character is Christopher, the down-on-his-luck firefighter who has so many money problems. He makes the show for me.

I love my fictionalized firefighters, because they remind me of the dangers these brave men and women face every day.

What about you? Do you have a favorite TV or movie firefighter? What about in books? How flawed can a character be before you can no longer root for him?

BIO: MJ Fredrick’s first two books were about firefighters: Where There’s Smoke is about a city firefighter who falls for his best friend, and Hot Shot is about a wildfire fighter who falls for the reporter who wants to make him out to be a hero when he sees himself as anything but.

Falling in Love with Characters

As a reader I often become emotionally involved in the story. I’ll learn to love and hate the characters and become attached to them. I miss them when I’m done and often count down the days until the next book in a series is released. So you might be able to imagine how much worse the hero worship gets when the characters are my own. I live with them, dream about them, and let them speak through me. Aside from feeling a bit narcissistic it can also be heartbreaking when they stop talking to me. I’m a pantser so my characters write my stories. Sometimes they go on and on. Sometimes it’s like pulling teeth to get to the end.

Whenever I have a new release I don’t read it right away. I, of course, read the book through during the final editing phase. However, when I’m sent the absolute final copies before the release date I put them into a file and ignore them for a while. Why? Well, I’m usually already onto another story and another set of characters. In essence, I’ve already fallen in love with someone else. I know I’m such a floozy. I do find myself going back months later to read my books and sometimes I’m surprised by them. I usually fall in love with my heroes all over again too.

In my series, Love Beyond Barriers, it was easy to fall in love with each one of the heroes. All of them share the traits of patience, honesty, and loyalty. All of them showed true concern for their heroine and the other people in their story they call friends. In the final installment, Too Much to Lose, Ben is unique. He’s a young, single personal trainer who has set his sights on his friend’s sister. Don’t worry, the friend doesn’t mind but the sister does. Shayla is from New York and just can’t see things working out between her and the insistent Texan. But of course love will find a way, especially with all the sparks flying between these two in the bedroom.

Too Much to Lose will be available on May 15^th!

Here’s a little taste:

Shayla loves her life in New York. She loves her job, her freedom and her friends. What she doesn’t love is going home to an empty bed every night. There’s definitely a solution for that in Texas…Ben. The only problem is she’s not certain she’s ready for another serious relationship.

Ben fell head over heels for Shayla almost from the moment they met and it was obvious the attraction was mutual. However, great sex is all she’s willing to give. She tests his patience at every turn and his endurance whenever they’re alone together. He doesn’t know what more to offer.

It might take a force of nature and the emotional past coming back to haunt her before Shayla realizes what they have is definitely Too Much to Lose.

A Romantica® erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave

Want more? You can find all of the books in the series here: http://www.ellorascave.com/too-much-to-lose.html

-Missy Jane

*Make reading a guilty pleasure…*

www.authormissyjane.com
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