Tag: writer

Three Months Time

Three months ago I said I was not going to submit to anymore agents or publishers. I said I “was not going to wait for someone to tell me that I am good enough”, but three months ago I had just barely stepped into the ring, joining the legions of self-published authors swimming against the tide to claim the title for “Best Seller”. I had no idea that there was more than agreeing to the terms and conditions that Amazon required before one’s book was live and ready for purchase. Writing the book was easy. The hard part is marketing and building a platform. I am a part of Lord knows how many Facebook author/writer/blogger/editor groups my news feed is a long list of confusion. And, in each and every one of those groups that claim to offer support and advice to authors is just another place for authors to saturate news feeds with their latest works, and it makes it difficult for anyone to make any sense of it all.

Then, there are the authors who consider themselves established because they are selling more than $1.50 a week, and their noses are so up their own behinds they hardly want to offer any advice to a newbie author for reasons that are more than obvious. Self-publishing has become a cut throat swamp of authors who only think about themselves-which they should to some degree because the hard work as well as the costs fall on their shoulders, but still. Authors should support each other because who is better suited to understand the highs and lows of writing? So unless one can quit their day jobs and live lavishly off of their work, there is still much more ground to cover and it doesn’t hurt to at least throw someone who is new to the game a bone.

Three months ago I did not have anything else in completion that I could believe in again that would capture the attention of an agent or a publisher. Now I do. I finished Blind Salvation two weeks ago, spent hours working on my queries, synopsis, outline and researching potential agents and publishers that might spend less than 15 seconds on my submission and I decided to give it another go. Self-publishing is fine…its perfect for those who want 100% control over their work but I could not go another year writing something that I am in love with without trying to see if an agent would love what I had I had devoted a great portion of myself too. 11 agents and 13 publishers later, so far I have been declined by four, which is fine and I am waiting to see what the others will have to say. In three months I will know if I will be offered a contract, or if I should go back to the drawing board or just focus on developing my career in self publishing.

In the mean time I am working on four additional works to keep my mind off of sitting around checking my email every 15 seconds for a reply. In the mean time I have also created a personal website, an author page, and I have been offering my services to other independent authors to help promote their newest releases. I have also scored a book on self publishing to help me further understand what I am up against and in three months time when I reflect on this blog, I will be much more in tuned with myself as writer, as a business person (because let’s face it, the books that we authors create are our brands), and should a newbie author ask for a bone, I will give him or her a whole dinner plate. I guess I should use the quarter system to evaluate my personal growth: all I need is three months time.

An Excerpt The Family Curse

Chapter 4

I was in the middle of a luxurious shower when there was a knock at my door. Frustrated and still soapy, I wrap myself up in my favorite blue towel and make my way to the door. I already know who it is, so when I open the door my heart completely melts. My fantasy personified is standing right in front of me with a big toothy grin. His bronze skin seems to be illuminating under the dim light; his long thick, straight black hair is pulled back in a ponytail and as always he smells divine. Dressed in a pair of designer slacks, a white button down covered with a black blazer and a single small cross molded from white gold dangling from his neck. I step to the side to let him in while at the same time taking in the vision that stood before me. Without a word he pulls me into an embrace; something that I desperately needed.  He held me for what should have been forever, releasing me so that I may finish my shower while he gathered his thoughts. It was then that I remembered that we had quite a bit to discuss and the weight of it all triggered another round of pain in both of my temples. “Another headache?” He asked while removing his blazer and tossing it on my beige sectional that my mother insisted on picking out for me. “Yes, but I will be fine. Let me finish at least rinsing off and then I can explain everything.”  The pain goes beyond throbbing. I feel as if my brain is splitting like the cracks in the sidewalk cement during a massive earthquake. My mother said that the headaches are normal but as I set foot back into the steamy water I wonder if I should be concerned with a potential aneurism-but then again, no I should not because I am an immortal. Wait until Anya finds out the truth…there will not be enough liquor in the world to …There is a soft knock at my door and I don’t even bother to say “Come in”, because in walks Nino.  “I just came to check on you. I am worried that you might lose your balance…” I smile through the pain. “I am managing. Just give me a few minutes.” “You have a beautiful body…it wasn’t just my concern for your equilibrium that drew me in here.” Valentino smiled sheepishly at me before quickly retreating back out into my living room. Under normal circumstances, a comment like that from him would have turned me on so bad I would not be able to stand. But as another painful jab splits my skull in two I hurriedly finish up and wrap the towel around me and head into my bedroom where Nino awaits patiently.

“Do you need some help?” Nino said as he stood up from the old leather recliner that I bought from a thrift store to my mother and Anya’s dismay. “I’m fine,” I croak while I dig through my tall Chester drawer in search of undergarments and my favorite pajamas. Yeah, it was going to be THAT kind of night unfortunately. There was no way I could go anywhere feeling the way that I am feeling. Nino understood. “No you are not. Here,” Nino was next to me in an instant-something he had never done before but since it was all out in the open I should just get used to it- and he scooped me up and gently laid me down on my plush queen sized bed. He moved so quickly he looked like a flash of wind (if that makes any sense) or better yet this blur of energy. He found what I was looking for and then took it upon himself to dress me. Now, when a man undresses a woman that is some sexy stuff but for him to dress me…as sweet as it was made me feel like a convalescent. Of course, he paid me no mind and in the end I was grateful. He pulled my plain white Target sheets and comforter set back and tucked me in and then removed his shoes and climbed in the bed next to me. “I guess no night out huh?” He said smiling and gently brushing away a loose braid away from my face. “I guess not. My mom said the headaches would go away in time now that I know what I am.”  He gave a quizzical look indicating that he was more than ready to hear what I have learned. And I wanted to tell him but then there was a part of me that strangely grew hesitant. “What’s wrong?” “Nothing babe…its just that all of this is new and I am trying my best to digest it. But you were right.” He raised one of his deliciously thick eyebrows and stared down at me, as if he were trying to pry open my mind with his will. “About?” Having fallen lost in my own thoughts it wasn’t until he nudged me a little that I realized he had asked me a question. “Oh yeah, about my aunt…my mom dropped me off and told me that I would be safe with you tonight and gave me this crescent moon necklace and told me to stay away from her. She thinks that Aunt Minerva is after my powers.” And from there, I couldn’t help it: I told him everything. From the story of my father,  to what my mother said about Ambrogio, to the body snatcher and what was going on with me now. He laid there listening intently to what I had to say and when I was done we sat in companionable silence for at least ten minutes. He was the first to break the silence. “I knew you were a demi god from the moment I met you. Not just because I knew who and what your  mother is but I can smell your powers in your blood. And for a long time I had considered the consequences of being a vampire in the constant presence of a half god who knew absolutely nothing about who she is. Another vampire would have taken advantage of the situation. He would have drained you to near death and then proceeded to wreak all types of havoc on the world.” “And what stopped you?” It took him a bit longer than a second to find the resolve to answer. “I fell in love with you. Of course, becoming a vampire god was not in my plans but say, for members of my family you would be a dream come true. My intent was and still is to hunt down Minerva; and probably even more so now that I know that she is after you. All I wanted was to end this curse because whether you want to face it or not, I still have to feed. I have killed and I will kill again because there is no other way to feed my body. In my lifetime I have killed hundreds of thousands of people…some innocent…some not so innocent…and some who were worse monsters than myself. My family are not like me; they accept who they are and relish themselves in it. I am the father of many vampires; many that of which should have never been born let alone bitten. I heard that the only way to end the curse is to kill the witch responsible for the spell…” I really don’t like where this is going and my heart rate increases at the realization of his suicide mission. “Valentino, if you kill my aunt you will die too…” I barely could force the words out. My head and my heart hurt. There was no way I was going to allow this to happen. Even if I…”Let us not waste our time on such negative thoughts. The point is we are in the now and I just want to be with you. You have been through a lot and you can be sure that you are safe with me.” He didn’t give me a chance to protest as he nestled me closer to him. Now that I know he is vampire, I am pretty sure he will not be sleeping tonight or any other night for that matter. But as for me, goddess or not my body still requires sleep; and sleep was not hard to find with me nestled so closely to the man I love most in this world.

*I finished this piece last night and to be honest I am quite pleased with where this is going. I hope to have this entire manuscript completed within the next month. I am not sure if I would like for this to be a series because I have to get started on the next installment of Nubia Rising. But please tell me what you think. Follow and I will follow back. I am trying to get to know authors from every walk of life and learn from them.*