My first book is trickling into bookstores near you and, I gotta tell you, I’m a nervous wreck. I don’t know whether I’ve done enough marketing OR what’s going to happen next, and not knowing is driving me right around the bend.

I am a major control freak, and here is a list of things about a book release that I can’t control:

• Whether bookstores stock the book;
• Whether bookstores that stock the book put it in a nice location that human eyes can see;
• Whether people buy the book;
• Whether people who buy the book actually like the book;
• Whether people who buy, dislike and trash the book on Amazon.com outnumber the people who buy, like, and recommend the book on Amazon.com;
• My Amazon.com ranking (1,080,954 as of thirty seconds ago, 1,065,529 yesterday); and
• My Barnes & Noble ranking (92,729 as of thirty seconds ago).

Here is an exhaustive list of things I’ve personally done that were LESS stressful that waiting for public reaction to my book:

• Going to law school;
• Taking law school exams;
• Studying for and taking the bar exam;
• Planning a wedding and getting married; and
• Giving birth. Twice.

Other authors have told me to stop worrying and just enjoy the experience, and I plan to do that. Eventually. Like, maybe, a year from now.

In the meantime, I’ve stocked up on Tums, Tylenol, and chocolate.

Sometimes I feel really sorry for my eighty-five year old mother. She’s so proud of my success and afraid to tell her friends exactly what it is I write. The funny thing is, it’s not the fact my stories are erotic romances…no, what bothers her is that the characters can shift from human to animal and back again.

It’s just not natural!

On that note, we were at a family gathering awhile back and my older brother started teasing me about being the “family porn queen.” Much to my surprise, my mother jumped to my defense.

“Have you read her books?” she asked.

“No, are you kidding!”

Big brothers are all the same, even when they’re 62 and you’re 56. What surprised me more than Dave’s flip comment was my mother’s answer.

“Then shut up.”

We all did…shut up, that is, and stared at Mom. Now that she had our attention, she explained herself. “Don’t criticize something you’ve never read. I wish we’d had stories with explicit sex available when I was young,” she said. “We knew nothing about sex and no one would tell us. Books like your sister’s are empowering. They show women taking control of their lives and enjoying their sexuality.”

Needless to say, that got a conversation going. It also led to a phone call from my brother a couple weeks later. “It’s got a plot,” he said, obviously shocked. Well, du-oh. He’d bought a copy of STARQUEST and said he couldn’t put it down, which, of course, I relayed to my mother. We got a good laugh out of it, but what she said has stayed with me.

Our stories are empowering. My female characters in the WOLF TALES series from Kensington Aphrodisia have complete control in their lives, from their reproductive status to the mates they choose. They truly are the alpha bitches in their packs and their men love them for their strength and intelligence.

It makes me feel good to know the message resonates with woman of all ages. I doubt Mom will ever read WOLF TALES, but it’s really gratifying to know she appreciates what I do for a living, even if she can’t brag about it to her friends!

My self-imposed sabbatical from blogging continues this week. Trust me, my brain is so scrambled over the imminent July release of my book, TROUBLE (you HAVE pre-ordered it, haven’t you? At Amazon or Barnes & Noble? Sorry, I digress!) that I couldn’t put together a coherent blog if my life depended on it.

Luckily, we will have some entertainment because Kensington/Aphrodisia author Kate Douglas is stopping by. Douglas writes erotic paranormals featuring shape-shifting pack beasts called Chanku, and her first novel for Kensington, WOLF TALES, is a big hit.

One of Douglas’s biggest fans and staunchest defenders is her eighty-five year old mother, as you’ll see in Douglas’s entry.

Here’s Douglas’s website: http://KateDouglas.com

Here’s her blogspot: http://theaphrodisiaauthors.blogspot.com/

And here’s a little more about WOLF TALES at my other blog: http://blogitorium.com/annchristopher

Here she comes …

Ever hear the expression, ‘catch a wave’ or ‘got a tiger by the tail’? That kind of over-the-top wild excitement is what happens when a writer finally finds herself in the right place at the right time with the right story.

I write for Kensington’s Aphrodisia line of erotic romance. And boy! Did I catch a wave! It’s been wildly exciting and feverishly creative this past year. Not to mention stressful.

I have to admit, it took a looonnnnggg time to finally catch this particular wave. I’ve had my surf board ready for years, but alas, I kept missing the big ones. So, when it happened and I got the call that I was in the launch anthology, THE HARD STUFF, I thought I was prepared.

I’d been writing for oh, about 20 years (a couple small sales sprinkled in, some articles, non fiction stuff) and I’d been a member of RWA since 1986. I knew what I was in for.

ACK. Nope, not even close. No sooner do I sign in screaming excitement, than I begin to worry about the next story. The big “O” (and not the good kind of O) The option. This is where those doubts creep in. If I did it once, do I have it in me again?

Then I discovered I did! (This is when I realized my surf board just lifted) I’m now waiting with bated breath for my next novella to appear in July. I’m in PURE SEX (mine’s called Slow Hand) with Lucinda Betts and Sasha White.

But wait, should I be satisfied with novellas? Dare I pitch an idea for a single title, maybe two connected stories? I’m up on my board now, feet solidly planted, perfectly balanced and TERRIFIED.

Ring my bell! Yes, my editor loves the idea and suddenly I’ve got MIDNIGHT CONFESSIONS slated for March 2007 with the sequel set for June 2007. Wow, I think my stomach’s churning…never been seasick before, but now I see a heck of a lot of other surf boards out here. We maneuver close, ride the wave together, cheer each other on.

A blog is born, websites are created, I learn how to do small updates! YAY! Cover art is to die for, promo opportunities appear on shore. Newspaper stories abound, even Geraldo At Large on FOX NEWS does a piece on erotic romance. Oh, baby, will this ride ever end?

I don’t know. I’m still out here, paddling and watching the horizon. With my own anthology of novellas due in the Fall, life is good, the sun is shining and the waves keep rolling in!

So if you find yourself at the crest of a wave, grab onto the other writers you see out there, (because there will be others), plant your feet firmly, learn to balance your ambition, creativity, and life and hang on for the ride of your life. Sometimes you only catch ‘the big one’ once, so enjoy the ride!

This week’s guest blogger is Bonnie Edwards, who writes sizzling erotic romance for Kensington’s Aphrodisia line. Edwards’ novella was included in Aphrodisia’s very first book, THE HARD STUFF, which was featured on Geraldo at Large and several other news shows. PURE SEX (don’t you love these names?), another Aphrodisia anthology, will hit stores at the end of June, and includes Edwards’ SLOW HAND.

Oh, but wait! There’s more! Edwards is branching out into single titles, and her books, MIDNIGHT CONFESSIONS and MORE MIDNIGHT CONFESSIONS, will hit stores in March and June 2007, respectively. How’s this for a premise: the spirits (and their stories!) of Perdition House, a brothel west of the Mississippi built in 1910. I dunno about you, but I’m thinking these “confessions” are going to be hot, hot, hot!

Edwards is here to blog about Riding the Wave, her journey to publication. You can also check her out at her website:

http://bonnieedwards.com

or her blogspot:

http://theaphrodisiaauthors.blogspot.com/

and you can read more about erotic romance at my other blog:

http://blogitorium.com/annchristopher

Okay? Okay. Here she comes …

Hi, y’all. Yep, I’m from the South, the deep South, where from June to November we watch for hurricanes. But I don’t want to bore you with storm stories. Nope! I’m going to address literary agents and the often asked questions – Do I need one and how do I find a good one?

I’ll answer the last part first because finding an agent is not hard. Getting an agent to represent you – now that’s a different deal. And finding a good one for you – that’s the most difficult task of all. What do you look for in an agent for you? First, you need to ask yourself some questions about your career. Where are you and where do you want to go? I think that might be the most important question you can ask yourself. If you want only to write series romance, then you may not even need an agent, but if your goal is mainstream then the need for a ‘good’ agent is essential. Accept the fact unpublished authors have more trouble getting their work accepted by an agent than published authors.

You also need an agent that doesn’t scare you to death. Look for someone you can talk to, someone who is interested in helping you grow. Also, remember, you are hiring the agent, so you ask the questions. You have probably heard that before, but when you interview an agent, write your questions on a piece of paper and have it ready to review as the interview continues. If you‘ve written your concerns down and have the paper handy, the agent will get the idea you are serious about your career. Know your goals, question the agent on her/his procedures, don’t forget to ask about percentages charged. If you are comfortable with the individual, you may have found the agent for you, especially if that agent likes your work.

Now the first question – Do you need an agent? That depends. Don’t you hate that answer. I always did. But let me explain my statement. Finding an agent to represent you depends on what you want to publish. As I hinted, writing series romance doesn’t require an agent. Anything else, maybe. E-publishing doesn’t need an agent yet, but as the industry grows that may change. Mainstream, definitely. All the other types – probably. An agent can get your work read, can send your manuscript to a publisher interested in your time period or style, can negotiate a better contract. But, again, the key to getting an agent is to identify your writing goals. That’s the first step in answering the question, “Do I need an agent and how do I find one.”

Romance writer Allison Knight is this week’s guest blogger, and she’s going to tell us about finding an agent. Don’t worry—she’s got terrific credentials. She’s sold twelve books, including two traditional gothics (I LOVE gothics!), THE BRIDES OF OWL’S HEAD and THE SECRETS OF HANSON HALL, which are both currently available from Wings ePress, Inc., at www.wings-press.com, and an anthology, MY FUNNY VALENTINE, from Kensington/Zebra.

Check out her site when you have a minute, and discover why she collects cows:

www.allisonknight.com.

I am great at multi-tasking. In my mind, Super Woman has nothing on me. So after I sold my first book, I ordered pens and bookmarks, designed brochures, launched a website. Articles are good promo, so I queried RWR. Bingo! Article scheduled. Placed an ad in RT. Sent out promo packets to readers’ groups and bookstores, but I couldn’t just stick a bunch of bookmarks in an envelope and call it good. Heaven forbid! They had to have a personal touch. So I signed each bookmark I sent. Every. Single. Bookmark. Five thousand of them. Then line edits for Warrior needed done. And a full synopsis of Book Two for my editor. Hey, I needed to finish that book, while I was at it. And I needed to write that RWR piece. Reviews are coming in—all good. No sweat. Clean the house, kiss the hubby, pat the dogs, fall into bed. Repeat ad nauseam.

Then March, the month THE WARRIOR was released, rolled around. Deadline for RWR met (by the skin of my…uh, teeth), I worked on Book Two between a schedule of 2-3 signings, conferences, and speaking engagements every week. To say that I was booked would have been a teensy bit of an understatement. Super Woman was starting to get very, very tired.

“Tired? I can’t be tired, I’m a published author! This is my dream, full steam ahead, balls to the wall. Anyway, I have to finish Book Two. It’s gotta be great. Stunning. Way better than Warrior. I can do this. No problem. Lots of time.”

Then, on March 14th, I found out I was pregnant. Surprise, Super Woman. Guess why you were so tired?

“Pregnant? I can’t be pregnant, I’m a published author! This is my dream—” You get the picture.

And now it’s June. Book Two is in NY with my editor. All deadlines are met, promo (for the most part) for Warrior is over, articles are history, interviews now dated. The months between January and May are a complete blur to me. Honestly, most of the time during that period, I could not have told you what day of the week it was. I met so many fantastic authors and readers, but could probably only tell you ten of their names. Bottom line? I really, really regret not being able to enjoy the process of my first book more fully.

Would I do it all again? Hell yes. I’m a published author, this is my dream. But for the next book it will only be half-steam ahead, ball to the wall. You’ll see me around, smiling, relaxed and—gasp!—enjoying myself. I’ll probably know what day of the week it is, and I will really try to remember your name.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, Super Woman has Book Three to write and a date with a big bowl of ice cream. And probably some pizza, too.

I’ve been blogging for a while now, and, as I warned you from the outset, I’ve run out of ideas. It’s true. I’m having a tough time thinking of interesting things to *yawn* blog about, and you may be getting tired of hearing about my writer’s journey, which could be getting a little boring, and *ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ*

Lkrg;lsdhlrkg.asldgnskgaw;oiegyaoiwer4gylakwhrglasgwglaiwyhgaawreglaop

*Snort!*

Oh my goodness! I just fell asleep on my keyboard! I actually bored myself to sleep!

Sorry.

Luckily, help is on the way. I know lots of interesting new authors, and several of them have agreed to blog for us for the next several weeks.

New blood. Thank goodness.

Heather Grothaus is first up. Did you pick up her exciting debut novel for Kensington/Dafina, THE WARRIOR? If you didn’t, you should. Heather is a great novelist, a hard worker, and very ambitious. As you know, those qualities can sometimes come back to bite you in the butt.

Here’s Heather’s take on going overboard. Enjoy.