Maggie Wells-Margaret Ethridge
Love Without Limits
You guys, I have so much to tell you, but none of it is set in stone yet, so I can’t. Let’s just say it’s been another awesome weekend and I am very happy, very blessed, and very tired (but for the best possible reason-too much to write).
I’m too BLAAAAGAH-YIP-YIP-YIP! to put together a coherent post, and for that I apologize.
I promise, I will spill all as soon as I can.
So…how was your weekend?
Yesterday, I ate bee pollen.
That’s a sentence I never thought I’d type. Those of you who know me are aware that I’m insanely picky eater. Add in the fact that I’m petrified of bees, and you might get an inkling of why it was so weird for me. But, bee pollen is supposed to be some kind of all-natural super-food. Fodder had a friend who was a long-distance runner who swore by it. We’ve both been trying to be better about exercising lately, and you know I’m a sucker for anything with the word ‘super’ in front of it. The truth is, I’ve been battling seasonal allergies for the past two weeks and am willing to do just about anything to feel better at this point, so yeah…we bought a jar of locally collected bee pollen. I’ve started sprinkling a 1/4 teaspoon full into my morning yogurt.
I apologize in advance if I inadvertently start buzzing.
In other news Jamie Fraser and Don Draper are back in my life. I couldn’t be happier. Not that Fodder isn’t enough for me, but… you know. *wink-wink*
Of course, their return takes place in a month when I am already overbooked. I’m doing Camp NaNoWriMo this month, and have set a goal to write 30k words by month’s end. In truth, I hope to find the energy to exceed that. I’d love to complete the first draft of Play Dates within the month. It’s totally do-able. I’m a little over 1/3 in already.
I also started doing a 30-day yoga challenge that I found online. Suckered my friend Lulu into doing it too, so we’re keeping each other on track.
I’m pleased to report that we have yet to drape any article of clothing on the elliptical machine. This is particularly good news, because we parked that bad boy in the living room. I’ve been slowly but surely building up my endurance. I can now go the entire length of a Gilmore Girls episode (@44 mins) without keeling over. Yay, me!
So what’s new with you? Eat anything weird lately? Doing any challenges? Is your exercise equipment wearing your clothes?
I received a rejection on a submission the other day. I half-expected one from this person, given what I’ve read about her preferences, etc., but it was a request and definitely worth a shot, right? Right. But…ouch. I still hate getting those letters.
Yes, they are the way of the publishing world. I know that, and I’m much better about receiving them than I used to be. To tell the truth, I think I’m about as good at it as I’ll ever be at accepting the rejection that is part and parcel of this business. And in the interest of efficiency, I’ve whittled the five stages of grief down to three:
1) Righteous indignation
2) Wallowing
3) Self-indulgence
So yeah, I zipped right through number one this time. Like I said, I was somewhat prepared for a no answer. The Wallow took place in the bathtub, where I gave myself the usual “You can do this. It’s just one person’s opinion. Other fish in the sea. somebody other there will love this book,” pep talk. Then Fodder and I hit the road. first stop, delightfully greasy hamburgers and fresh-cut fries. Then, we wandered around until something pretty caught my eye.
I’ve never had an orchid before, so it may prove to be as successful as this submission, but hey, it’s pretty and now it’s in my office. Keep your fingers crossed for this poor helpless plant, and my other submissions, will you?
How about you? Do you have a little risk/reward system going? What do you to to cheer yourself up when things don’t go your way?
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!
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?
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?
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?
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:
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?
New year, new website, new combined blog…what does it all mean? Well, hopefully it will translate into a whole lot more action around here. With Facebook tightening the clamps on what you can see on my author page and Twitter becoming more and more negative, I plan to take refuge here on my blog.
With you.
Combining my pen names will certainly make it easier to maintain things, but I want to have more of a chance to interact with readers. Therefore, I will continue my Weekend Writing Warrior posts on Sundays and my usual Monday Mayhem mumbling, but I’m going to add in some days to talk about the stuff we love.
Please join me (and bring your friends) for Whatcha Reading Wednesdays (there will be book giveaways) and Fangirl Fridays to celebrate all we love that is shippable, but won’t fit in a box. Yes, I need people to talk about Scandal, Downton Abbey, Outlander books and series, Chicago Stars novels… You see where this is going?
So yeah, lots going on here. Be sure to click the email subscription box on the sidebar so you’ll receive notifications of new posts in your inbox!
Did you see? Did you see? We have new cover art for Spring Chickens!!!! Just a few more weeks until release day – January 8, 2015!
In other big news: I’m in discussions with a web designer on the planned Margaret/Maggie website makeovers. I’m loving the samples she’s shown me and I think it could look pretty slick. Stay tuned!
Oh! And Maggie has a new release today! If you’re looking for a short, hot read featuring a couple who aren’t twenty-something, check out Three Little Words!
It’s never too late to make the best impulsive decision of your life.
Jo Masters isn’t the party girl she used to be, but now that she’s a woman without obligations, she’s ready to recapture a little of her misspent youth. Her niece’s wedding, with its open bar and dark dance floor, proves to be the perfect opportunity to let loose.
Gregory Stark is just trying to make it through his son’s wedding day… and make some time with the gorgeous brunette on the bride’s side of the aisle. His kid’s wedding probably isn’t the best occasion to put the moves on the sexy woman, who introduces herself only as ‘Josie’, but his best friend is closing in on her too and he has to act fast. With a couple of tequila shots under his belt, Greg propositions Josie — and neither wants to refuse.
Amazon ~ Apple ~ B&N ~ Google ~ Kensington ~ Kobo
And finally: All of the TMP boxed sets will be going back to full price as of January 1, 2015. Please, please, please help me with one last push on these. Each set is only $0.99!
Unforgettable Heroes – includes Long Distance Love
Love Finds A Way – includes Contentment
Enchanted Lover – includes Paramour
Heat Wave – includes Maggie Wells titles Seducing Steve and The Art Lover
Hot Nights in St. Blaise – Maggie Wells – the complete 12 novella collection
