Monday, February 24, 2014

My Writing Process Blog Tour - Rachelle Ayala #romance #mywritingprocess


Since I became a writer, I've always been curious about how other writers write: how much time do they put into each draft, whether they plot and plan or free write, how they approach revisions and editing, and of course, whether they are ever blocked and what they do about it. Therefore, when Natasha Brown, author of the Shapeshifter Chronicles, asked me to join the Writing Process Blog hop, I eagerly accepted.

1. What am I currently working on?

Whole Latte Love is my sixth novel. It is an opposites-attract romance: Wall Street meets Berkeley, between an uptight investment banking intern and a rebellious barista/guitarist. I'm in the final revision phase, but this book has taken me quite a while doing research in investment banking and finance, as well as walking around Berkeley to get a feel of that vibrant and quirky city.

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I'm crazier than other romance and romantic suspense writers. I'm not afraid to tackle controversial topics such as abortion, racism, homelessness, disability, and mental illness. These themes are not the center point of my stories, but they give realism and provide situations for my characters to grow emotionally and make the changes needed for a happy, romantic ending.

3. Why do I write what I do?
I'm an ultimate romantic. I truly believe love can conquer all. I write for the feelings and emotions of falling in love, working through problems and difficulties, putting that love to a test, and the reward of the grand romantic moment with kisses and hearts and balloons and sweet desserts. I also write deep into my character and I won't hesitate to let the reader into the character's most private feelings and thoughts to expose their flaws and amplify their passions. Every character has his or her distinct and authentic voice. The best praise that I've received were from readers saying they "were" my character while reading the story, whether it was Princess Michal in the badlands of Israel to Vera on the beach with Zach to Evie hanging tight on the back of Romeo's motorcycle. That sense of being the character is what I strive for.

4. How does your writing process work?
Each story is an unique adventure and I have yet to settle on a repeatable process. Scary, huh? or exciting. Depending on perspective. I'll let the timelines speak for themselves.

first draft - Dec 2010 - Feb 2011
critiques and revision - Feb 2011 - Nov 2011
To Editor - Dec 2011
Published Feb 2012

first draft - Nov 15-30, 2011
critiques and revision - Dec 2011-June 2012
beta reading July 2012
To Editor - Aug 2012
Published - Sept 2012

first draft - Aug 7 - Oct 30, 2012
critiques and revision - Sept 2012 - Dec 2012
Editing - Dec 2012
beta reading - Jan 2013
published Jan 13, 2013

Feb 4 start - threw out 27,000 words
Restart March 12
First draft finished May 10, 2013
Critique and revision - March-August 2013
Beta Reading - June 2013
To Editor - July 6, 2013
Published Sept 6, 2013

Whole Latte Love
Started July 16, 2013
Restart First Draft Sept 11 - Nov 2, 2013
Second Draft - Nov 2 - Nov 29, 2013
To Developmental Editor - Dec 2013
Third draft finished Jan 20, 2014
Fourth draft still in progress
Critique/revision still in progress

First draft Jan 20-Feb 3, 2014
Beta Reading/Editing Feb 4-11
Published Feb 12, 2014

In general I can whip out a first draft pretty fast. However the bulk of my time is taken in critique and revision. I am an active member of CritiqueCircle.com, a free online workshop where writers exchange critiques and feedback on their work. I work with several free lance editors, depending on my need and so far, I've proofread everything myself, however that may change since I found a person who is incredible at spotting obscure things.

I don't plot and outline. The one novel I plotted and outlined, Kyra's Shield, is unpublished because after I finished the first draft, I felt that I had already done everything I could for the story and I was no longer interested in discovering anything else. Therefore, I like to reserve the spirit of discovery in my writing process, whether it is first draft or in revision. I love to surprise myself, even it it involves plot changes late in the game. It keeps my writing fresh and my interest level high enough to live my characters' lives by not knowing exactly what will happen next.

I hope you enjoyed my writing process, or lack thereof, and that something in here has inspired you.

Since I wrote and published Taming Romeo in 25 days, I am going to offer a free online writing class - "Romance in a Month"  where the participants, YOU, will embark on a journey with me to write a romantic story in a month. Sound exciting???

The class will start May 15, but I will start taking signups now. I'll form a private Facebook group to post the lessons and hold the class discussions and schedule a few Google Hangouts for participants to ask questions.

Please email me at ayala (dot) rachelle (at) gmail (dot) com or contact me at my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/RachelleAyalaWriter or the Romance In A Month Group page https://www.facebook.com/groups/romanceinamonth/ to sign up. The class is no pressure, fun only, and motivational. We will, as a group, inspire and support each other. There are no wordcount goals, nada. You may write a flash romance to an epic romance, or finish with an outline or synopsis. The important thing is to go through the experience together and know that you CAN do it!

Now, it's my turn to pass the Writing Process baton to the following author, Charity Parkerson, award winning erotic romance author! Check out her post next week. Also, look for romance author Christina Jean Michaels who also writes under the name Gemma James at her blog.

Monday, February 17, 2014

#NewRelease Sexy Story: TAMING ROMEO by Rachelle Ayala #NewAdult #romance

Passionate, raw and sexy.


Evie Sanchez is recovering from heartbreak by working at her parents’ Filipino restaurant when in walks Romeo Garcia, the boy she left behind. Only now, he’s a hot movie star surrounded by gorgeous actresses and adoring fans.

Bad boy Romeo Garcia never understood why Evie stood him up at the prom. When he rescues her from a flying coconut in the dumpster, he is determined to dig into her heart for the reason. Their mutual attraction and unresolved feelings ignite in a scintillating night of daring sex, and Romeo shows Evie what she’ll miss the rest of her life if she walks away again.

Evie lands a part as Romeo’s co-star and falls into her role, totally in love. He plays his part, too, with his romantic gestures and skillful lovemaking. But is the fantasy real or revenge? Evie and Romeo are about to discover if their buried feelings will explode in pure delight or utter disaster.

“Second chance love is always the sweetest.” - Jessica Cassidy
“Sexy and funny, a unique take on love reignited.” – Racquel Reck

Author's Note: I had a lot of fun writing Evie and Romeo's story. I let my fantasies go wild and I hope you'll enjoy the motorcycle, hot tub, and restaurant scenes.

Taming Romeo is available for 99c [introductory price] on Amazon US India UK DE FR ES IT Canada Brazil Japan Mexico Australia
Cover Design: Rebecca Berto, Berto Designs


Friday, February 14, 2014

Favorite Indie Author Blog Hop - Mina V. Esguerra - Writing Instructor #filipina #chick-lit


Mina Esguerra is a prolific indie author who writes fun and exciting romances. She's also a generous writing instructor who offers online classes for free to new and aspiring writers. I became acquainted with Mina through one of her students and have since read several of her stories, Welcome to Envy Park, Playing Autumn, and That Kind of Guy. I'm also looking forward to reading her complete Interim Goddess of Love Trilogy.

Last year, she led an online #romanceclass that provided the basics for several of her class members to publish romantic novellas. I've read and enjoyed three of them, Save the Cake by Stella Torres, Vintage Love by Agay Llanera, and Over Her Head by Anne Plaza.


Mina documented her class notes in a handy little guidebook. If you've ever wanted to write a romance, pick this up, work the exercises (or not), and get going!

This year, she headed a #buqosteamyreads class, of which I'm a remote member of. I took the challenge and wrote a 52,800 word "Steamy" romance Taming Romeo in 15 days and published it yesterday. It was a lot of fun and I highly recommend Mina's methods of writing short, cute, and fast. Mina herself is also writing a hot story for the class and I'm looking forward to seeing what she comes up with.

Mina currently lives in the Philippines, but she has lived in the United States and her writing reflects her knowledge of both American and Filipino culture. To check out more of Mina's books, go to Mina's Amazon Author Page , Goodreads page, or her website, Publishing in Pajamas.



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Books Up For Grabs!

Knowing Vera
Under Different Stars
Bubba the Bulldog Tries to Smile
Dangled Carat: one girl's attempt to convert the ultimate commitment-phobic man into a doting husband with a lot of help from his family and friends
Venice in the Moonlight
Starlet's Web
Starlet's Run
Starlet's Light
Pierced
Escaped
No Alligators in Sight
The Silken Edge
Illusions Begin: The Mysticseeker Series
The Hideaway
Meeting Destiny
Blood Debt
Destiny's Revenge
Centaur Legacy
Destiny's Wrath
Centaur Redemption

Thursday, February 13, 2014

How I Wrote and Published a Romance Novel in 25 Days #selfpublishing #amwriting

Remember my Steamy Story in a Month class with Mina Esguerra? The story I wrote, Taming Romeo, is now published and live on Amazon, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble.


Title: Taming Romeo
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Heroine: Evie Sanchez, medical student on temporary leave of absence
Hero: Romeo Garcia, Filipino soap opera actor on location in San Diego for three weeks
Primary Setting: Evie's family's Filipino restaurant
Trope: The One Who Got Away
Steam Level: Three
----
I took the challenge twenty-five days ago to write a first draft romance by February 15th. At that time, I figured I would write a short story, not much more than 5000 words. Doable? Pretty much.

A few days later, I realized I had a lot more story than 5000 words. I documented my progress in a series of blog posts and before long, I had over 50000 words, a full fledged novel. I finished writing February 3 and put the story away to work on my other novel and look for a cover. However I couldn't stay away from Romeo and Evie and in a few days, I had already revised it twice.

My cover designer, Rebecca Berto of Berto Designs, surprised me by finishing the book cover in a few days. Well, heck, now that the cover was done, I figured I could publish it. Fortunately, when I called for beta readers, many of my friends jumped to read and two of them even edited for me. Of course I also edited and did three rounds of proofreading.

Could I finish this love story and release it by Valentine's Day? My beta readers and critique partners gave their opinions back in record time and I went on to revise my story two more times, take editing from several sources and proofreading along the way.

I format my own electronic files and that was the easiest part of the process. At 10:00 pm February 12, I uploaded to Amazon, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble. No time yet for Smashwords, but I did order my Createspace proof today.

Jan 20 - start first draft
Feb 3 - finish first draft
Feb 6 - finish two revisions, format and send to beta readers and editors
Feb 7 - hire Rebecca Berto to do the ebook and print cover, proofread pass 1
Feb 11 - cover ready, edits done, two revision passes, proofread pass 2 [read backwards]
Feb 12 - last proofreading pass, formatting .mobi/Kindle, .epub/Nook/Kobo, and Createspace print, upload ebooks to Amazon, Kobo, Nookpress
Feb 13 - Ebooks live at vendor sites, approve Createspace proof and ordered it

Still to do: Smashwords and Apple formatting, blog tour, book launch posts

I'm still reeling from this schedule. I never set out to publish within a month, but with the help of my writing BFFs, my cover designer, editors and beta readers, I was able to do it. A big XOX to all who helped.

My 2014 motto: "Don't Say You Can't."

Wishing everyone a Happy Valentine's Day and may all your Romeos be tame today. [Knowing Vera is free Feb 14 on Amazon, Taming Romeo is 99c]

Since I wrote and published Taming Romeo in 25 days, I am going to offer a free online writing class - "Romance in a Month"  where the participants, YOU, will embark on a journey with me to write a romantic story in a month. Sound exciting???

The class will start May 15, but I will start taking signups now. I'll form a private Facebook group to post the lessons and hold the class discussions and schedule a few Google Hangouts for participants to ask questions.

Please email me at ayala (dot) rachelle (at) gmail (dot) com or contact me at my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/RachelleAyalaWriter or the Romance In A Month Group page https://www.facebook.com/groups/romanceinamonth/ to sign up. The class is no pressure, fun only, and motivational. We will, as a group, inspire and support each other. There are no wordcount goals, nada. You may write a flash romance to an epic romance, or finish with an outline or synopsis. The important thing is to go through the experience together and know that you CAN do it!


#NewRelease Dark Sentinels Prequel by Dariel Raye #paranormal



In response to readers' questions and requests, there's a new addition to Dariel Raye's award-winning "Dark Sentinels" series! "Dark Sentinels Prequel" is LIVE. Here's the cover and blurb for the new release as well as information about other available books in the series.

“Dark Sentinels Prequel”
Sometimes a girl has to go the extra mile to capture the man she loves, especially when she’s a sentinel wolf shifter from Washington state with no possible mates for miles.

Orphaned in childhood, Dr. Syreena Adler learned at an early age to depend on her twin brother, Sable, and herself, but phone conversations with a Georgia sentinel she’s never seen spark unexpected desire.


Southern red wolf sentinel Cord Velasquez has spent his life atoning for the death of his entire family. He wants a life with Syreena, but when she surprises him with an impromptu visit, the realization of his greatest fear seems inevitable.
Amazon            Barnes and Noble


Dark Sentinels Book One: Sable 

Sable, a sentinel wolf shifter, is captured and locked in his wolf form until Akila, a veterinarian, tries to tame him and unleashes a 6'5" baby blue-eyed surprise.
Dr. Akila Marshall is a veterinarian with a calling – save as many stray animals as possible. The only child of wealthy, yet distant parents, she’s convinced that love is not for her. Until…

Sable’s search for his twin sister leads him to Akila. Born into a rare species of wolf shifters whose main purpose is protecting others, he has always been forced to fend for himself, but Akila’s loving, protective nature draws him – and not a moment too soon. Together, they must learn to trust each other enough to overcome a new, deadly enemy.


“Dark Sentinels Book Two: Torin”

When greedy land developers set their sights on Dark Sentinel land, Torin turns to attorney Stephanie Bates for help, but she’ll need his protection to stay alive long enough to save his land.

Real estate lawyer, Stephanie Bates, has risen to the top of her field through meticulous sacrifice and goal setting. She has no time for distractions – and that includes pets, messy relationships, and loose ends.

Torin DuMont is a forensic scientist who chose the profession to avoid dealing with people as much as possible. Raised by a stepfather who hated him, he’s been forced to live a life of solitude, fueled by anger and distrust. When wolves and shifters start turning up dead, Torin must battle an enemy bent on destroying those he was born to protect. His greatest challenge, however, is Attorney Bates and the surprising effect she has on his heart.


Prequel – Amazon            Sable – Amazon                  Torin – Amazon                 Paperback – Amazon
Prequel – B&N                    Sable – B&N                    Torin – B&N                       



                                                            Here, Kitty Kitty Paperback

 On the Web
            
About the Author
Dariel loves books, animals, and all things paranormal. Dariel has written articles for The News Item of Mobile, and Black Health Magazine of Atlanta. A classically trained pianist and vocalist with a degree in piano and vocal performance and a master’s in counseling psychology, she completed studies for a Ph.D. with the exception of her dissertation. She is presently writing a shifter romance series, “Dark Sentinels,”  two Nephilim series with vamp-like heroes, “The Alerians” and “Children of Cain,” several erotic paranormal/fantasy romances inspired by blog flashes, and an erotic fantasy newsletter serial. Lives with a very spoiled Dobie/Coonhound and a passel of black cats. To learn more about Dariel and her books, visit her blog and join her newsletter.


Starts 2/13/2014 – check my blogger site for tour hosts!


Monday, February 3, 2014

Sexy Story in a Month finished in Two Weeks #amwriting


My steamy story in a month project is finished! Two weeks ago, I took the challenge from Mina Esguerra's #buqosteamyreads class to write a complete story in a month. The only requirements were that it had to be 5000 words or more, adhere to one of the romance tropes (assigned) and commit to a STEAM level (I chose 3).

Little did I know when I started the story that I would overshoot the 5000 words ten times. The story exploded out of the gate and each time I tried to rein it in, my hero and heroine had other ideas. They joked, fought, made love, and deepened their understanding of each other, so at the end, my 5000 word story turned into a 53000 word novel.

To be sure, it was a whirlwind romance, both for me and my characters. Fifteen days of concentrated writing with a group of authors all around the world shooting for the same goal. I wasn't the first one finished, but it was not a race. It was fun, and I will continue to cheer the others as they get to their goals and finish their stories.

Title: Taming Romeo
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Heroine: Evie Sanchez, medical student on temporary leave of absence
Hero: Romeo Garcia, Filipino soap opera actor on location in San Diego for three weeks
Primary Setting: Evie's family's Filipino restaurant
Trope: The One Who Got Away

Here is my second week progress:

Jan 28 #buqosteamyreads 29600 words - heroine signs a contract do do a lap dance on a motorcycle

Jan 29 #buqosteamyreads 32900 words, on their way to a studio to film naughty scene

Jan 30 #buqosteamyreads 36100 words - that was one hot ride, glad they didn't crash.

Jan 31 #buqosteamyreads 39700 words - that has got to be the longest tease before cutting to black. Think my readers will hate me.

Feb 1 #buqosteamyreads 44500 words - my lovers demand another love scene. Hot tub meditation.

Feb 2 #buqosteamyreads 47700 words - bad news at the benefit concert. the end is near.

Feb 3 #buqosteamyreads Taming Romeo - THE END! 52700 words in 2 weeks. Thanks Mina V. Esguerra for the inspiration to get going.

See One Week Update and Writing a Sexy Story in a Month [previous posts]

The biggest lesson I learned is to never say "You Can't" and to write every day. Each day is a new discovery and I never knew exactly which way the plot would turn. I'm going to try this project again in a few months, maybe recruit a few other writers to do with with me. Thanks to my writing besties for putting up with me and my daily updates.