Tunes for Vampire Sorority Sisters: Book 3

My Jill

I think most people are particular about the way they do things. I've mentioned before that I really, really need to have a clear picture of what exactly my characters look like in my head before I can start writing their story. When I first saw Melissa Debling, I KNEW she was my Annie. (Melissa, if you're reading this I know you're your own person and my casting you as one of my characters was not at all creepy. I swear)

My Tokyo/Miyoko

Once I have my characters in place, I also like to come up with music that makes me think of them and their story. I have some really depressing music in mind for VSS Book4. Sam is in a pretty dark place. I had some great R&B tunes for Benny and Cleo, though "I love You" by Lenny Williams can and should be listened to at least several times a week just to add a little bit of drama to your day.

Yesterday, while I sat prepping for another adventure in reality tv, a song came up on my pandora station that was just too perfect for my next sorority girl/vampire lady adventure.

Readers have already told me a bit about how they feel about these two. Please feel free to read the first two books in the series to get a glimpse of what they're getting at. Jill is annoying. So annoying, but I love her so much. A clingy little freshman when we meet her, who has issues with personal boundaries and a verbal bluntness that I personally love. Tokyo too is a bit of an asshole who has a habit of getting in the way. Am I bringing them together as a couple? YOU BETCHA! And I'm really excited about it. So what song is the perfect fit for them?

 Glowing by Nikki Williams

Why? You'll just have to read VSS Book 3 to find out. Oh and I should probably start writing it. :)

IM GUEST BLOGGING!

Hey friends! Brie over at Romance Around the Corner is hosting Herione Week, where various romancey types like myself have contributed blogs about women in romance.

My post is up today and I'm talking about women of color in romance, something I can relate to a little. I think. Please check out the posts and give Brie some props for hosting such a kick-ass event!

Coming Attractions

Thanks to the twitter nets and May over at Smexy Books, I've decided to do more formal updates re: what I have coming up next.

I make lists. I even posted one up here on my blog last week about what I was going to write next. That list has changed BUT now that list is more solid and I'd love to share what the rest of 2013 has in store for my typing little fingers. This list will remain that same as in I will be writing these things for sure, but I of course don't know when this stuff will be released for sure.

1. Getting Busy on Route 66

I'll be writing a roadtrip themed novella. This will feature a young (20's) black lesbian couple. Sex will be had. I don't have a title for this yet, or character inspiration because I usually write the shorter stuff in one or two sittings. The story comes to me in one hunk. I don't outline or anything. I NEED character inspirations for outlines. I have NO idea when this will be released, but I will update you folks when I know.

*EDIT (May 15)*

See this is why I hate announcing things until I actually start working on them. So I've added to this list

1A. A Screenplay

I'll be working on a treatment then screenplay for a lady-buddy comedy. I'm writing this with a good friend

1B. New Adult Romance 

Meet Shay-Leigh and Austin

 










I have a working title for this, but I'm almost positive that I'll change it. This is a little something I dreamed up about two black kids meeting during their freshman year of college. There will be some angst as there always is with these New Adult things, but for the most part it'll be a sweet, fun journey.

2. The Chance Encounter Trilogy

I'm kind of excited about this. I'm going to write a contemporary romance trilogy. For now I'm calling it The Chance Encounter Trilogy. Each book will feature a different couple, but all three books will be connected by the heroes' professional relationships. They all work together.

Couple #1: Bryan Connelly and Michelle Nordin

I don't have character inspiration for these two because Bryan is a 6'5 urban lumberjack type, with tattoos and an enormous chest. Michelle is half black/Swedish and what I like to call bottom heavy, or think in the hips. Finding people who look like that on the internet is hard.

Couple #2: David Nah and Amanda Baldwin

David and Amanda were headed toward being the stars of a really dark novella, but I like them so much as a couple I wanted to give them a brighter story. Their relationship starts on Tumblr over some fanart of their favorite show. What can I say, you write what you know. David and Bryan work in the same industry so I figured hmmmmmm maybe we can do something with these four. And that gave birth to...

#3 Theo Walker and Samita Tambe

Right now, I like their conflict the best. Parents, professional strife, SEX!

All three stories will have the sexy times. I don't know how to omit them. All three stories will be fun and relatively light. All three heroes will be sweethearts and all three leading ladies will be all around kick ass. I've never come up with three books so smoothly before. Did I mention that I'm excited to write these books?!?!? As of right now, I plan to self-publish this trilogy, but I have no idea how I'll feel when I'm done writing them, so we'll see.

3. Soul To Keep: Vampire Sorority Sister Series Book 3

Jill and Miyoko (Tokyo)

I'm pumped to write Jill and Miyoko's story. Jill is trying to figure out what kind of adult she wants to be and Miyoko is trying to deal with the kind of vampire she has become. I needed to get Benny and Cleo out of my system. Now I'm ready for some real angst and some demon related murder wrapped up in an x-rated vampire on human love story. 

And there you have it. I've done the math and all of this comes in at around 360,000 words. Can I do it? Yes. Yes, I can. Or else, why did I vote for Obama. I'll check back in as things move along. Feel free to bug me about my progress. I need to know that people care.

Are you there, New Adult? It's me, Bekah.

Today I'm talking about this New Adult fiction business. What's New Adult, you ask? Well I've been asking the same thing for a few months and over the weekend I decided to get to the bottom of this for my own selfish reasons. I've read three titles that I enjoyed, Homecoming by Nell Stark, LoveLife by Rachel Spangler, and Sheltered By Charlotte Stein. I'm currently reading Take What You Want by Jeanette Grey, but only Jeanette's book was presented to me as a New Adult book.

The New Adult genre has been a thing for a long time. I'll even go as far to say it's been around as long as stories themselves, but recently St. Martin's Press and the rest of the publishing industry decided to slap a title on these stories.  Here's what Wikipedia has to say on the genre (with a little help from St. Martin's and NA Alley).

"New adult literature touches upon many themes and issues to reach the readership that falls in between the categories of young adult and adult fiction. Many themes covered in young adult fiction such as identity, sexuality, depression, suicide, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, familial struggles, bullying^[6] are also covered in new adult fiction, but the various issues that are dealt with in the category hold it separate. 

Some common examples of issues include: first jobs, starting college, wedding engagements and marriage, starting new families, friendships post-high school, military enlistment, financial independence, living away from home for the first time, empowerment, loss of innocence, fear of failure, and so many others^[7].
 
This category focuses heavily on life after an individual has become of legal age, and how one deals with the new beginnings of adulthood. Commonly, these themes and issues have been seen taking place post-high school in popular new adult fiction titles, but there are exceptions^[8]." -- Yes, I'm citing Wikipedia because they had the most clear definition.

Inside Romancelandia, I've seen a bit of a divide on the subject. Some think this is simply a marketing gimmick, another set of quick buzz words to push something that already exists. And others actually find this is new description to be rather helpful and exciting. I actually fall into both camps. Do I think it is a bit of a marketing ploy? Yes, but honestly that's how you sell things. You use marketing techniques to drive customers to your product. Books are a business. But for me categories like this help me understand what I'm getting.

I want to know if I'm reading about a certain age group or certain themes. A perfect example would be Regency romance and Westerns historicals being separated under the umbrella of historical romances. I love historical Westerns, but I'm not a huge fan of Regency romances. These categories help me find what I'm looking for as a reader. As a reader, I also enjoy reading about the 18-26 age bracket. These romances a bit more mature than YA.

I'm at a point in my life where the Boyfriend and I are struggling to get beyond our college life-style. I mean I have to put in the effort to not stay up all night, watching cartoons and eating junk food. He recently just bought his first car. That was a traumatic experience. It's only been in the last couple of years that I've stopped calling my parents every time something goes wrong. For a while I felt that I was reading romances with characters that we too serious and in periods of their life (secure in their careers, too mature to get swept up in slightly immature (fun and hilarious) situations etc.) that I just couldn't relate to at all. New Adult solves this problem for me as a reader.

What does this have to do with me and my books? I'll tell you. When I first started writing Better Off Red, I realized that I hadn't read many books about characters in college. I think. I wanted to read more stories, particularly more romances with characters that were of college age.

When I first started sending Better Off Red out for submission, I knew I had  unique problem. Now there are Young Adult books with sex. Forever by Judy Blume is one that immediately comes to mind. That book has a lot of sex in it. A lot, but it's a straight up YA novel. It was written for the YA audience and the main characters are in high school. Better Off Red has explicit sex, but Ginger is 18. She acts and talks like a typical New England 18 year old. She's a bit on the angsty side. She's trying to nail down her sexuality and a good studying schedule. Ginger's life just didn't fit in with the standard romances I was reading.

So who the hell was I going to sell this book to? Luckily Bold Strokes was willing to deal with me and Ginger, and that part of the story is history, but then I had to market the damn thing. And that was tricky too. I could say it's a paranormal romance, but it still didn't fit in with the adult or the YA paranormal romances I was seeing out there.



Then along comes this New Adult business and I feel like Ginger and the girls of Alpha Beta Omega finally have a little place where they belong. Where dealing with class schedules and new relationships and parents and vampires all makes sense. So I'm taking a stand or jumping into the pool (thanks Jeanette), and I'm going to say that my vampires series is most definitely New Adult. All of my main characters will be between 18-22. They will all be in college and dealing with their sexuality and their parents and race and the undead.

Yeah. New Adult feels good.

Me and Sally Jessy

no one is as cool as SJR

Personal perspective is an odd thing. My sister and I chat on the phone sometimes and it's interesting to hear about things that happened when we were kids from her point of view. Most recently I was telling the Boyfriend about a pair of Sally Jessy, big red rimmed sunglasses my sister picked out for me in 6th grade to take to camp.

We were in Wal-greens and she was telling me that those sunglasses were cool. It was a day she had to take a her little sister to the store. For me that was the first time in my pre-teen life that my big sister, easily the coolest person I knew (she wore Exclamation! perfume after all) was trying to bring me to her level. I texted her about it the other night and we both had a laugh remembering those silly sunglasses that we quite a hit at camp.

What does this have to do with writing? I'm glad you asked even though you totally didn't ask. Something interesting happened the other day. I got paid. YAY! Let's hear it for money. This isn't about money though. Not really.

I think every author has their favorite stories and their favorite characters -- of their own. If a reader asks my what book of mine they should read, I automatically say Better Off Red. If they had little time I'd tell them to read Better Off Red, or The Fling if they ABSOLUTELY hate paranormal, but I always start with Better Off Red. I don't even know that it's my favorite of my books, but it is the first thing that comes out of my mouth. Funny thing is The Fling has been my best-seller since it's release around this time last year.

I've blogged about The Fling and the trouble it caused me.(Check out this post for my account of writing and editing while suicidal.) When I finished The Fling I hated it. Not, the work or the characters, I love both, but I hated my relationship to the book itself. Its creation reminded me of a very, very bad time in my life. But I sucked it up and went on with things, wrote some more, what have you.

At one point I told my live-in-lifemate that I had a feeling that readers would like The Fling the most. A few months later I saw my publisher and she confirmed that The Fling was doing very well indeed. Not that my other books were doing poorly, The Fling was just doing better. A year later, that's still the case.

My life just goes that way. When I don't like something, other people love it.

So what does this all mean? Hell if I know. Does writing while suicidal work? I guess though I don't recommend it and I'm sure I don't want to go down that path again. But I do know that as an author what I think about my work on a personal level will most likely not match up with what the readers think. In the fall my new short, Forever Yours, Eileen which I think is the best thing I've written so far, will be out. We'll see what readers have to say or if they even give it a chance. Here's my favorite review of The Fling to date.

By the way, The Fling is still for sale.

----

Misc. Update : Here's what I'm working on now/what's coming up from me.
Edits for At Her Feet which will be released in September
then I'll be writing a hetero novella
then I'll be writing a lesbian novella
AND THEN I'll be writing a hetero novel
Two lesbian shorts of my lesbian shorts will be released in September
Another lesbian short of mine will be released in October.
then I'll get around to writing the next book in the Vampire Sorority Series.

Sorry I'm taking my sweet ass time. Also take all the writing portions with a grain of salt. Sometimes I say things I don't mean. 

5 Favorites Blog Hop

Gimme 5!

Beverly Diehl cornered me at romance writers' meeting a few weeks ago, put me in a headlock and told me if I didn't do this block hop that she would confess awful secrets of mine to the whole world. She's so mean. 

Of course I'm kidding. We're hopping around the blogesphere (is that how you spell it) sharing our favorite books. Our 5 favorites to be exact. It was hard to choose, but I think I did an okay job.  Here my top 5(7)

Confessions of an Ugly Step-Sister by Gregory Maguire

This retelling of Cinderella was a pleasant surprise. This is a story of a family of women struggling to survive. It feels like the story is set in medieval (I think) Holland. The step-mother in this tale is left penniless with two daughters, one of which suffers from some kind of mental retardation. She remarries to keep herself and her daughters off the streets. Cinderella is somewhat of a spoiled brat. It's a good time.

I read this book right after a break up, when I was dead broke and about to move back to New Hampshire to live with my dad. I remember clearly sitting on my balcony one afternoon, because my power had been cut off and it was too dark inside my apartment, reading this book and completely forgetting about my troubles. I think that's exactly what a book should do, transport you to another place. I know Wicked is Maquire's most famous book, but this is by far my favorite of his. 

A Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon

This is the fifth book in the Outlander Series, I'll skip the plot summary because at this point in the series you're more following along with the family. This was the first book in the series that made me sob. Like raining buckets on my face. The first chunk of the book is brutal because it's almost a real time retelling of a single day, but the rest of the book tore my heart out.






Baby by Patricia MacLachlan

A Tale of a baby in a basket. Who doesn't love a little small town story about a baby in a basket. But really, I read this book in 7th grade and kept the copy that I "borrowed" from my teacher. I still have it. Sorry Mr. A. I loved Larkin's voice. She was a kid I could relate to, but what I really loved about this book was how it didn't sugar coat death and loss and trauma. Toward the end of the book Larkin's teacher talks about the death of her brother and reads a "Dirge Without Music" by Edna St. Vincent Millay to the class. I memorized this scene and recited it to make it to the finals of our school's oral interpretation contest. I think it was one of the few times I really applied myself academically. In hindsight, I think this was a time when my own family was really starting to change and as a kid, this was a story I could really hold on to.

The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty/Beauty's Punishment/Beauty's Release by Anne Rice writing as A.N. Roquelaure

Sleeping Beauty is awoken and swept off to a BDSM training camp in a nearby kindgom. There is a for real fairy tale ending. Uh... I'll just leave these here.

Always and Forever by Beverly Jenkins

Picking a favorite among Beverly Jenkins's books was hard. Really hard. I read a book of hers and I love it and then I move on to the next one and then I love it. Always and Forever for me is one of her most complete stories, not just a romance, but an adventure and a story of personal growth and love. Jackson and Grace come together as they wrangle a group of prospective brides to head out to the Kansas Territory. Jenkins writes hilarious interactions between the women and an amazing Western for Jackson and Grace once they fall in love. And it ends the way I want nearly all romances to end. You'll have to read it to see what I mean. It's corny, but I love it. 



And here's the reserve list because 5 books is just ridiculous.

Vows, Years, and Morning Glory all by LaVyrle Spencer 
She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb
Fledgling and Kindred by Octavia Butler
Witches by Raul Dahl
Night Song by Beverly Jenkins
Voyager and A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon
Lover Avenged by J.R. Ward
Split by Mel Bossa
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

Now you! Tell me some of your favorite titles in the comments. I need more books to read! 


Next week check out the faves for some of my favorite author friends. 

Jeffrey Ricker
'Nathan Burgoine
A.C. Mason
Ambrielle Kirk
Felice Fox

 They'll keep this hopping right along. :)

Day 993: Crowd Participation: UPDATE!

Hey, I need opinions. I'm writing a short story about an existing couple, but I can't decide which couple to pick. What do you guys think? Should I write about Ginger & Camila, Benny & Cleo, or Annie & Oksana? I'm going to decide by Friday 3/ 8/1. Please help. Gimme your opinions in the comments below. Please. Help.

Update: I've gotten feedback everywhere (facebook/tumblr/twitter), but here. Was it something I said??

Here's the tally so far.

Annie & Oksana (The Fling): 9
Ginger & Camila ( Better Off Red): 8
Benny & Cleo (Blacker Than Blue): 4

Ginger and Camila took it!
Final Tally:
Ginger & Camila: 14
Annie & Oksana: 9
Benny & Cleo: 4
Looks like I have a sexy short about Ginger and her Mila to write. :)