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AppearancesCheck out my chat loop and publisher loops! Nothing "officially" scheduled. Other InfoBooks available from Changeling Press Books available from Ellora's Cave Books available from Samhain Publishing To subscribe to my monthly newsletter please send an email or visit my newsletter page for alternative methods of joining. To subscribe to my chat loop please send an email or visit the group site.
Reviews"The storyline was pure reading heaven..." - Talia Ricci, Joyfully Reviewed, for Riding Partner "This
novella is an erotic romance and delivers on both counts - it is quite romantic
and is full of some hot bed play." Marina, Cupid's Library Reviews for Revealing
Photos " UNDER HER SKIN is so much more than a wonderful romance, it’s
a lesson in love and acceptance. It is an experience not to be missed."
Recent Posts
Writing Wednesday: Scruff your inner editor Sexy Feet - Some Thoughts on Cover Art Writing Without Distractions Writing Wednesday: Is it really work? Marketing Monday: Code Everything You Send Finding Your Bliss...Bears? Writing Wednesday: Writer's Organizations Make A Difference Monday: Get out of the Box My March 2008 newsletter is out! New Release - Mission: Carnal (Live Action Hero 1)
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So in the first post we talked a lot about internal negativity. You know, that little voice in the back of your head that you'd like to stomp to ittybitty bits. And is the desire to stomp this little voice into bits simply feeding more negativity? Ahh, the philosophical questions we find ourselves asking. This next post--and I'll try to deal with this as diplomatically as possible--is about external negativity. Going to throw a standard disclaimer here and say that this is my opinion. Your mileage may vary. Having been in this business a while, I believe external negativity comes from a few different sources. The first source, and probably largest one we deal with, is other writers, published or pre-published. For the most part, the writing world is a pretty great place. Authors help other authors. We answer questions, steer the newly published along a hopefully profitable road, band together for events, and in short, make this creative world a fun place to be. However there are times, whether it's dealing with a professional organization (or chapter thereof), dealing with other authors at the same, or different house, or dealing with others when negativity will creep in. How do you battle it? First, don't take it personally. This is a tough one for me. I mean this is our careers, our dreams, our hopes and our futures that we're talking about. Not taking it personally is tough. But it's important to remember that whatever issues have driven the individuals to negativity probably aren't about you, it's about them. Second, use whatever steps you feel are necessary to get away from the negativity. If that means leaving your professional organization or chapter, do it. If that means judiciously using your email program's spam filters and junk mail filters, do it. If that means stepping away from an author's group, do it. The only person who is going to look out for you is, well, you. When it comes to taking care of yourself, it's up to you to do what you feel is necessary. Third, find a support group. Whether it's your friends, a few trusted writer associates, whatever, make sure you have people around you who love and support you. Lean on them when you need to. It's okay. It really is. Although I only mentioned one source of external negativity, there are others. However the great thing is the three steps above will help you, regardless of the source. If it's a blog or website--don't read it! If you need some support from a particularly cutting remark your editor said, lean on friends and family. And the last piece of advice is to keep this all in perspective. Writing consumes so much of our psyches. It's our creativity, our outlet, these characters who come along for a ride during our lives and then proceed to commentary on everything. It's a passion for most people, something they have to be doing. It's way too easy to let the drama that happens in this business sweep you away. Keep it in perspective. There are other things out there. Your kids. Your home. Your spouse. Your hobbies. Your family. Your day job. Don't let your writing eat away at everything else that's important in your life.  
I think I'm going to write a series of posts on, well...writing, for a while. I hope no one minds, but I've been going through a bit of rethinking and redirecting and even fighting a little burn out. I will also admit that I'm a writer who suffers depression and let me tell you, between a few things that have happened and the weather being lucky to get into the single digits, winter is not a fun time of year for those with depression. But I've made the decision that the two things that really help me kick it are my horse and my exercise, and I did both this morning. Saw Fortune, gave her a pet and some food and a brushing so she's all pretty again (until she rolls in the mud, haha!), and completed my run since it's a gorgeous 43 out according to my computer. So all is good. Lately, I've become really big on letting things go and banishing negativity. I kind of quit watching the news. I get my weather from the National Weather Service (www.weather.gov) which is reliable enough for me. And I have the Weather Channel Desktop that came with my recent installation of Trillian (an all in one chat program). So I'm well situated when it comes to the weather. I even kind of quit watching the Daily Show and the Colbert Report. I found I had other things to fill my evenings, and while I don't want to be an ostrich head in the sand, frankly, I don't want to let that much negativity into my head space. I have enough without opening the doors and laying down the welcome mat. To me, there are two kinds of negativity - inner and external. The hardest to banish is the inner. It's that voice inside my head that goes "no one is replying to your emails so you must suck" (rather than oops, the email went wonky again. LOL!!) or "you can't write. What the hell do you think you're doing?" All creative people have these voices to some degree, and I don't think you can banish them completely. however, you can tell them to go find someone else to talk to as you're not interested in the snake oil they're selling. They can sabotage you and turn a productive day into, well, not so productive time. This is the negativity YOU can control and fight. It's tough. I won't lie. And for someone who suffers from depression it's even worse because you can feel when you're out of whack, so to speak, or at least I can, and I can feel myself tipping into darkness and trying to claw my way back out. Except I chewed off all my fingernails (or broke them) so I can't get a finger hold on the edge of sanity. So I can feel myself tipping and I try to get back even. Why am I telling you this? First of all, writing is a lonely job. I want others to know that THEY ARE NOT ALONE. Secondly, I want to help, if I can. So if you think what I'm saying here is TMI - then please tune into another channel. But if you find yourself feeling like you're talking to another kindred spirit, then I hope these posts will help you. So what can you do to beat the inner negativity beast? Remember the good things. If you're a published author think about the books you've published. They didn't publish your book on a whim. They did it because you CAN write. :) If you're still pre-published, at least you're writing, and that's a lot more than some people. Hopefully there are other things you can focus on in your life too. Family, kids, friends, hobbies, pets, health. Be thankful for what you do have. For the external negativity, well that's probably the subject of another post. But I will say tune it out. Like a three-year old, put your hands over your ears and go LA LA LA LA LA. It's important to be aware of things, like global warming, or the current political or international situation, but don't let them drag you down. If there's something you can do to help, do it! If not, don't obsess. And yeah, I think that's another post too. So for this week, let's look on the bright side. If nothing else, at least here in Iowa the coldest month of the year is almost over. Of course tornado season is coming.... wait! positive! It's a beautiful day and I won't worry about tomorrow until it gets here. :)
 Nicole Harvey of Paranormal Romance said this… “…Mary Winter wrote a keeper. …The passion and love between Tyranna and Trace exploded off of the pages with such heat and love that it made you feel alive. I look forward to reading what Mary Winter comes up with next.” http://www.ellorascave.com/productpage.asp?ISBN=9781419912863
 For Love and Countryby Mary Winter Release date: 01/15/08 publisher: Samhain Publishing Genre: M/M historical (civil war) length/price: novella $3.50 Blurb: Love? Or duty? His choice will damn his country—or his heart. Vampire Basile Gagnon wants nothing more than to put the United States, its war, and the heartbreak he found on its shores far behind him. He has suffered the loss of one too many mortal lovers, and refuses to risk his heart again, not even for Emil, the mortal he turned away five years ago. When Union soldier Emil Franks steps aboard Basile’s ship, his mission is to try to convince Basile to lend his vessel to the Union cause. But with one look at his former lover, he reveals far more—his lingering love for Basile. Neither time nor the fires of war have dimmed their passion for each other, but not even the fact that Emil is now a vampire can sway Basile from his course. In two days’ time, he leaves for his native France. On this war-torn Valentine’s Day, Emil must choose: Love? Or country? purchase now: http://samhainpublishing.com/romance/for-love-and-country For more information or to find out about Mary's other works, please visit her website at http://www.marywinter.com/
I'll admit, I never used to watch a lot of television. I had a few shows I loved. At the start of this season I thought I'd become a big fan of Moonlight, Bionic Woman, and resume my watching of Bones, along with a few other shows. However, I work second shift and that doesn't give me time for evening tv watching. And frankly, there's always other things I can be doing when the tv comes on. I miss an episode or two, and bam, don't care anymore. Saturday nights are devoted to Torchwood and as soon as it returns, Sundays will be Battlestar Galactica night. But that's about it. I noticed something though. This week The Daily Show and The Colbert Report came back with new episodes. I love these shows. I'll confess that I'm one of those people who usually gets her news from these "daily news" programs. However, I find, now that I haven't watched television in any great capacity over the last few weeks that I don't miss them. Yeah, they're still funny and amusing, but my life isn't over if I don't watch them. I'll watch the reruns at midnight, but like last night, I went to bed before The Daily Show was over (after my partner got home from work). I have no desire to catch the reruns today. I'm sorry. For this television watcher, the WGA strike has shown me that I don't need what little television I do watch, and that I can use the time better, such as writing or reading. I don't think I'm alone in this. It's kind of sad, really, because if we all turn away from television, then even if a deal gets signed, there won't be any viewership for new programs, which means that things will never go back to the way they were. We will all have found other outlets for our time and creativity, and the big companies, in their short-sighted grab for profits, will have killed television. The Buggles sang that Video killed the radio star. Maybe, this strike, will have killed television.
 So, the kitten has a name - Tenzin (which means protector of Dharma in Tibetian - we wanted a Tibetian name since we think he reminds us of a snow leopard). And he checked out at the vet. With the exception of a mild case of worms, which nearly every baby kitten has, feral or not, he's as happy and as healthy as a little kitten can be. He's also taming down, and still trying to convince Mr. Nerms to play "big brother." We also have an appointment in three weeks for a neuter, follow up shots and deworming (and we'll get him microchipped at the same time). I won't tell you what the total is. Suffice to say that had I gone down to our local Animal Rescue League and adopted a cat for (I believe $110), it would have been a lot cheaper. Since I intervened before this guy got to the shelter, I am not worried about the cost. I saved this guy from going to a shelter, and as a feral, may have saved him from being put to sleep. (Feral kittens are kept a lot more than feral adults, who are deemed "untamable") But, I thought I'd share this information on today, Make a Difference Monday, for anyone concerned about the cost of adopting a pet from a shelter. The "cost" may seem to be a lot initially, but considering that most shelters handle spay/neuter and vaccines, it's a deal. And you'd be saving a pet's life. Just a little something to think about.... :) Thanks everyone for your well wishes on the kitten. We are very pleased with the new addition to our household.
It's a new year, and around this house it means new spreadsheets for submission tracking, new books for noting daily word count and new goals. If you're a bit of a Type A personality like I am, you have plenty of things to track and to use as goal settings. Was your goal last year to get an agent? Did your submission log show you submitted to several of them? Do you have word count goals, and if you don't write them down, or use a spreadsheet or some way to track them, how do you know when you've made them? So, with it being a New Year, I'm going to talk about my preferred method for tracking. Submissions: I use an Excel spread sheet. Now that I have the real version of Excel and not Works I'll probably just add an extra worksheet and use the same file. In my spreadsheet I track the following: Date, Name, Publisher, Project, What Sent, Date Response Recv'd, and what Response. So an entry might look like this: One line: 08/13 - Miss Editor -- Great Publisher -- My Awesome Book -- Partial - 11/13 send full Second line: 11/14 - Miss Editor -- Great Publisher -- My Awesome Book -- Full -- 12/25 personal rejection Word Count: I set some pretty hefty word count goals for myself. Even when I worked in an office, I had pretty big goals. Now that I work from home, the goals are even larger. I've tried spreadsheets, but what works for me is to use a datebook. Because I'm pagan and I write a lot of metaphysical inspired things, I use Llewellyn's Witches' Datebook. It has five days on each page with astrological, moon phase, and other magickal info for each day. For example, today, January 2, the moon is in fourth quarter in Scorpio and the power color for today is white. It's a good day to write occult, conspiracy, and other hidden, super secret things. Me, I write what's on the "to do" list, but it's interesting, to me at least, to know the influences. Here, I make manual notes. As much as I love technology there's nothing like a written "to do" list with things crossed off. So in each day's place I'll write something like this: (here's my goals for today, if you're interested, LOL!!) 2K StarMyst 2/1K Ursa Major/1K Candle Magick If I do revisions I'll note... Rev 25 pages of this project, of course using the title or whatever moniker I choose in place of "this project" Money: Ahh, the fun part of this job. I've kind of talked about it, but the new year means new spreadsheets. The earlier you get 2007's data input and filed, the easier your taxes will be. I'll be continuing to use Quicken's Smart Start. I have little books all over my desk. My running training journal (one of my New Year's resolutions is to get back to that), a notebook I was using to write down what I eat (rejoined WW so that book can be set aside) and the day book I use for my writing. I suppose I could put all of this on the computer, but for me, I prefer pen and paper when it comes to certain things. Good luck with all your 2008 goals and resolutions! Don't forget to track them so at the end of the year you can see how far you've come.
Happy New Year everyone! Can you believe how fast 2007 flew? I sure can't, but here it is 2008 already, and the January issue of my newsletter is up. I hope you click on the link to my newsletter page to read it. Not only does it feature outstanding new reviews for Au Naturel and Under Her Skin, two of my favorite stories, it also has an interview with KA Mitchell, another author in Samhain's Serving Love anthology. The stories will be released on January 15. Thanks so much, and here's to a wonderful 2008 for all of us!!!
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