Blog Archives - Page 32 of 58 - Maggie Wells-Margaret Ethridge

March 16, 2015

Monday Mayhem – Kicking names and taking…

I have to tell you, I had a killer awesome weekend writing-wise. I started a new project called Play Dates. Yes, I know, you wanted Hooligans next, but trust me when I tell you that there’s a whole bunch of convoluted reasoning behind the switch in schedule. Anyhoo, I started Play Dates this week, but didn’t have a lot of time to get words in. So, I scheduled some play dates of my own.

First, I hooked up with my pal, Parker Kincaid, for pastries and pantsing at Panera. No, that doesn’t mean we pulled each other’s drawers off. It mean we both write by the seat of our pants. Fueled by bagels, danish, and toffee-nut cookies, we managed to put up some respectable numbers in the old word count column.

But then on Sunday, I took part in this:

As I type this, we are in the dinner/break portion of the day, and I am proud to report that I have over 4k for the day!

Between sessions, I did a little stint on the elliptical (part of the Body by Gilmore Girls program-I’m on ep 3), threw together some crock pot salsa chicken with black beans, ran to the store, and frolicked outside with the puppies.

I hope to get at least another 1000-1500 words this evening, and round out chapter 2. Jewels has totally kicked butt too. We’ve decided that we like having more defined writing times. Eyes on the prize and all that.

How was your weekend? Hit any goals? Take any naps? Share! I like to live vicariously. 😉

Oh! And starting this week, I’ll have a new feature on my blog – Teaser Tuesdays. These will give me a chance to introduce you to some of my writer friends and their latest projects.

That means this joint is jumping at least 5 days a week. Remember to stop by for all the fun:

Sunday – 8 sentence challenge

Mondays are Mayhem

Teaser Tuesday

Whatcha Reading? Wednesday

Fangirl Fridays!

Oh! Oh! Don’t forget to add your email address to my newsletter list. I have combined Margaret and Maggie’s previous lists and will start moving most of my future contests, excerpts and giveaways to the newsletter mailings thanks to Facebook and other social media outlets restricting the fun stuff, so be sure to hit then newsletter sign up on the sidebar if you aren’t already on there. 🙂

Happy Monday!

March 9, 2015

Monday Mayhem – Written in the Stars

This weekend, Fodder and I packed a suitcase and a snack bag and hit the road. I decided at the eleventh hour to attend the North Louisiana Storytellers and Authors of Romance (NOLA Stars) Written in the Stars conference, and I’m sure glad I did.

Friday evening, I arrived in time to hook up with my DSRA pal, Nena Clements, and say hi to fellow Arkansan, Keri Ford. I was also in time for the food and fun of the meet and greet reception. 🙂

Saturday was jam-packed with great workshops, a chance to meet some writers I’ve only chatted with online, and (dun-dun-dun) my first-ever, live pitch to an agent or editor. That’s right. I have 8 novels, 16 novellas and over a dozen short stories published without ever having to sell a story with just the words coming out of my mouth.

You know what I learned?

I’m no good at it. The second I got past the introduction, my thoughts went haywire and all semblance of cool went flying out the door. I…am a babbler. Thankfully, the agent and editor that I spoke to were both very kind and patient. They’re also at least partially fluent in babble, because they both asked to see what I was offering.

So…yay! I did it! And now I know what I need to work on before zipping out to NYC for RWA nationals. Well, that and the stories I want to write before I go. So this week, I will once again be preparing submission packages for Full Court Press.

*claps and bounces* I’m just so relieved that people seem interested. I’m also relieved that I don’t have to do that again until July.

How about you? Are you a savvy salesperson? Can you talk your way through anything? Or, are you one of those people who purposefully chose a major that involved mainly essay tests and blue books?

March 2, 2015

Monday Mayhem – Submissive me

I’m kicking a couple out of the nest!

Once again, ladies and germs, I am on submission. Gird your loins.

I emailed the manuscript for Bossy Pants (sequel to Three Little Words) to my editor just minutes ago. Now, I have to polish my proposal package for Full Court Press and send it out (on request!) this week as well.

Sending fresh manuscripts out into the world is always nerve-racking. What’s an author to do while she waits? Well, there’s usually a little binge snacking, a lot of hand-wringing, multiple neurotic emails to the critique partner, and then I move on to the final solution…start something new.

Last week, I pitched a few ideas your way and you were kind enough to give me your feedback. Book one in the Hooligans series will be the next full-length manuscript I write, and I am super-excited to tackle Rory and Mary Pat’s story.

But first, I have a couple of chances to pitch/propose other works if I can pull together outlines before the deadlines. So yeah, I’m going to be scrambling for the next couple of weeks. But there are worse problems than too many opportunities, right?

How about you? Do you have multiple projects going in your life? How do you decide which ones get attention first?

February 23, 2015

Monday Mayhem – Catching up

So, yeah… I made it back from Vegas! Came home to ice and ick, but I got to sleep in my own bed. Had a fabulous time with my girls. It’s only been a few days, but I’m already jonesing for next year.

I learned a new skill this week. Don’t think it’s one I’ll be using a lot, but I did learn to make banners using Pixlr Express. I used Spring Chickens and a silly pun for my practice run:

Since last we chatted, I finished the draft on Bossy Pants and sent it off to Jewels for her to work over. Got back to work on finishing the first draft on Full Court Press this week and guess what? I did it! I’ve been working on this story on and off for the past 10 months. There’s still a lot of buffing and polishing to be done, but I’m looking forward to working on something fresh and new.

Here are a few of my options. What do you think I should take on next?

1) Play Dates – On an outing at the park with her niece, our heroine, Monica, meets a sexy single dad. The only trouble is, he doesn’t know the precocious little girl who calls her ‘Monnie’ isn’t hers, and Monica doesn’t know how to break it to him.

2) Executive Privilege – A widow uses her late husband’s Senate seat as a springboard for her Presidential campaign. The only trouble is she’s in love with her husband’s former chief of staff and best friend. Friends turn to lovers on the campaign trail but the press is hot on their tail.

3) Dirty Blonde -She’s the scandalous small town hairdresser – dresses in Daisy Dukes, cowgirl boots, and knows unbuttoning the third button down ups her tips nearly 20%. He’s a former Army engineer & wounded warrior. Scarred inside and out, he’s happy to be home, she’s dying to get out. They should never have fallen in love.

4) Something Stupid – An aspiring actress nearly loses the role of a lifetime when she makes the mistake of confessing her feelings for her best friend’s brother – Hollywood’s hottest young filmmaker.

5) Hooligans – The first in a series of stories about three generations of single men who run a neighborhood pub in Chicago. There’s nothing Rory Houlihan wants more than to get married and have a family and his meddling grandmother thinks the girl next door, Mary Pat Brady, would make an excellent candidate. As a matter of fact, it just might be her dying wish.

What say you? Do any of these trip your trigger?

February 9, 2015

Monday Mayhem – Steamy stuff ahead!

Warning: I’m sharing an excerpt from my pal Jenna Barton’s upcoming release Closer and Closer today. It’s hot, so if you are of delicate sensibilities, clutch your pearls and look away.

As for the rest of you…enjoy!

Excerpt: Tiramisu

“We’re doing this too fast,” he said against the base of my throat, tugging at my robe. I swallowed hard, whining when his mouth closed over the skin beneath my ear. That would bloom purple and plum. It was May. I lived in the South.

Instead of heeding those very sensible thoughts, I hailed him on, twisting my hips against his. “A turtleneck or scarf, maybe—”

He broke away, panting, his eyes level with mine. “What’re you…scarf?”

“I’ll wear one.” Threading my fingers through his hair, I pulled his lips to mine. “I’ll wear one around my neck, so just don’t stop that biting.”

“Don’t tell me what to do,” he said, grinning as he tilted his head away from mine. He chuckled softly when I trailed after him. “That’s my job.”

“Oh yes, sir.” I added a mock salute before I realized what I’d said. It caught between us, a quick drumbeat underlining this thing that kept us circling each other, so fast we kept reminding each other of it, and so delirious from it we couldn’t be responsible, risk-managing adults and step back to avoid it.

I shook a little. My teeth vibrated against my lips, pressed together tight so I wouldn’t say it again. I’d dropped this thing between us into the open while we were too close for any more rational discussion, and not entirely sure we’d remembered to close my front door. And I could see it in his eyes. He was deciding.

“You ready for that spanking?” His breath fell in short, soft bursts against my cheek.

I forced myself to look past his shoulder, promising myself it was the last logical decision I’d make for the rest of the night, and checked the front door. Closed. Locked. As my eyes inched back to his, the wire-swung, slow motion feeling greeted me, and dangled me before him. I took a shallow, silent breath, and nodded, watching his mouth for my next direction.

“Yes…I am.”

Dominance and submission. The delicate balance between hurts so good and too hot to handle. They’re not just kinky trends for the members of The Enclave, a tight-knit group gathering in a Gilded Age mansion secluded in the North Carolina mountains.

Come Closer…

For Erin Proctor, life has always been about working hard, creating stability, and succeeding. She plays it safe, watching from a distance. Then she encounters an unpredictable, sensual world she’s always known was there, but didn’t believe she could belong to.

Walt Easton is straightforward and unpretentious, a big, earthy man in possession of himself—and a fierce set of solid leather floggers. Once he and Erin meet, their attraction is undeniable. Walt wants a full relationship, not just fun in the playroom. Their kinky adventures can be negotiated later.

They’ve finally found a relationship that can let them explore who they fully are. But can Walt accept that while he’s in charge in their private lives, when it comes to her job, Erin is the one in charge? Will Erin take the risk of letting down her walls and allowing Walt in all the way?

The biggest risk, after all, isn’t mixing pain and pleasure. It’s finding yourself—in love.

The first book of The Enclave Series will bring you Closer to your desire.

Preorder HERE

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24324729-closer-and-closer?from_search=true

Author: Jenna Barton

Title: Closer and Closer

Genre: BDSM Erotic Romance

ISBN: 978-1-623420-70-3

Release Date: February 10th, 2015

Available in Ebook and Paperback

Twitter: @WriteyJennaB

Author Bio:

After many years spent onstage mouthing the words of other writers, Jenna Barton found her own voice while playing with an online community of mouthy broads. Writing down her own stories proved to be far more satisfying than dodging the human and inanimate hazards that come with backstage life, as well as alleviating the need to walk and talk and gesture while inhabiting.

Mostly settled into a life of carpool lanes and checkout lines, Jenna happily resides in suburbia with her husband and their two children. Sadly there are no drooly, furry, corpulent lapdogs at Chez Barton. For now. For. Now.

February 2, 2015

Monday Mayhem – Is this thing on?

So, I’ve been having a good time with the merged blog thing. It’s been interesting to see how many people are just realizing that Margaret is Maggie or Maggie is Margaret. Worlds are colliding!

Thanks to all who have been reading and commenting on the Weekend Writing Warrior posts. It’s so much fun to be able to share snippets of my work each week.

I’m still trying to get Whatcha Reading Wednesday and Fangril Friday going. These posts are more than a chance for us to interact. They give me insight as a writer as to what is attracting audience attention. So let me know what you’re reading, not only because it helps me gauge the market, but because I am a book junkie and I’m always looking for a fix.

I started Fangirl Friday for the same reason. I want to know who you are crushing on, what attracts you to those characters, what do you wish they would do/say/etc.

As I mentioned before, social media platforms are starting to make it more difficult for authors to interact with their readers. We don’t have that restriction here. Tell me what you think. What would you like to see here? I’ve been offering backlist books to commenters on Wednesdays. Please tell your friends to stop by and comment for a chance to win. Trust me, Evelyn Jules has already read them all.

So, speak up. I want to hear from you. Is this thing on?

January 26, 2015

Monday Mayhem – Closer and Closer Cover Reveal!

Warning: This post contains smokin’ hot cover art and some pretty steamy subject matter!

Come Closer…

The biggest risk, after all, isn’t mixing pain and pleasure. It’s finding yourself—in love.

The first book of The Enclave Series will bring you Closer to your desire.

Author: Jenna Barton

Title: Closer and Closer

Genre: BDSM Erotic Romance

ISBN: 978-1-623420-70-3

Release Date: February 10th, 2015

Available in Ebook and Paperback

Twitter: @WriteyJennaB

Author Bio:

January 19, 2015

Monday Mayhem – I get by with a little help from…

…my friends.

I am blessed with tremendous friends. Old friends, newer friends, work friends, reader friends, and writer friends. Friends that have been with me for years, some I’ve never met, and a few who still seem to like me even when I morph into Extra Bitchy Recipe Mags.

This week, I’ve had opportunity to appreciate all of then above. The fact that my old friends and I sometimes have to schedule a hook-up eighteen months out (next year will be 30 years!) doesn’t seem to put a damper on our enthusiasm.

I get to see some of my Super Cool Party People in just 24 days. And if you think the official countdown isn’t honed to hours, minutes and seconds, you’d be sadly mistaken.

We don’t often think about our work friends, but we really ought to give them more credit. We spend more of our waking hours with them than with our significant others. The best ones are those you keep even after career paths diverge.

I’ve been lucky enough to meet a handful of readers who fell in love with my characters, then blessed me with their friendship as well.

But lately I’ve been relying pretty heavily in my writer friends. The publishing game is a lot like playing round after round of Cards Against Humanity. Sometimes it’s so harsh you have to laugh or you’ll spend all your time crying. Trust me, it’s tough to revise a manuscript when you’re fighting back tears. But my writer friends always seem to know just what I need–whether it’s encouragement, a kick in the ass, or a little pastry and sympathy.

Friends are fabulous, and I am so lucky to count you as one of mine. Thank you. Thank you so much.

January 12, 2015

Monday Mayhem – Mmmmkay?

Hiya gang!

How’s it going? I’ve been completely…lazy. Okay, maybe not completely. I did have a release last week – Yay! Spring Chickens!

Also available in paperback for those of you who wish to bump the old cover off the shelf, though I imagine I may be giving away a signed copy or two once I get mine.

In other news: I added about 4k to Bossy Pants on revision. For those of you who don’t know, Bossy Pants is the follow up to Three Little Words

It features Greg’s best friend and perennial bachelor, Will Tarrant. Will is a bad boy who may be just a tad misunderstood. He also looks a suspiciously like Dermot Mulroney.

Funny how that happens.

I am also getting the rights to Seducing Steve back and will be preparing to revise and re-release it as an self-published title. 🙂

And did you know that every Sunday I post 8 sentences from one of my works on my blog? It’s part of the Weekend Writing Warriors challenge and it’s a lot of fun!

In other news:

Had a hot writing date with the fabulous Parker Kincaid on Saturday, and got the scoop on what’s been happening with her Shadow Maverick Ranch cowboys – all I can say is it sounds yummy!
Received print copies of novella bundles submitted for RITA award consideration. The Last First Date in print and with the Harlequin logo on the cover. I might have geeked out just a little.
I’ve started my tenures as President of the Diamond State Romance Authors and Vice President of Passionate Ink RWA, so I will soon be a Google Hangouts master.
The not-so-new-anymore day job continues to be a vast improvement in terms of mental/physical health as well as general happiness.
Took Fodder to pick out his first-ever pair of prescription eyeglasses. Don’t be surprised if you start seeing some hot professor types popping up in my work.

Other than that, I’ve been spending a lot of time on Netflix, but I’ll save that for Fangirl Friday. I’ve also started a book I’ve been waiting for, but that falls under Whatcha Reading Wednesday, so I’ll just ask…What have you been up to?

January 7, 2015

It’s release day!

Spring Chickens – You don’t have to be a spring chicken to fall in love.

Bram Hatchett thought he buried his heart with his wife, but when a big city beauty blows into town to dispose of the family farm, she captures everyone’s attention. Particularly his.

Lynne Prescott’s former marriage was marked by her husband’s infidelities and doomed by the secrets and lies he left in his wake. Disillusioned and adrift, she seeks refuge in the simplicity of small-town life.

There are few secrets in Heartsfield, Arkansas, but when a few loose boards on a rickety old porch bring them together, not even the combined forces of nosy neighbors, disapproving children and a disturbing decrease in the poultry population can stymie the attraction between the handsome widower and the intriguing divorcee.

But Lynne and Bram are both old enough to know there are no guarantees in life.

Can they set the fears of their pasts aside and learn to trust their hearts just one more time?

All Romance ~ Amazon ~ Apple ~ B&N ~ TMP Bookstore ~ Kobo