For the next stop on my blog tour promoting Moral Authority, I’m being interviewed over at Literary Nymphs. I talk about what I think is the hardest part of the writing process as well as share an excerpt from my latest release. The giveaway is still going on, so if you’re interested click here, leave a comment at Literary Nymphs, and you’ll be entered to win. 🙂
Well, we are almost at the finish line. Round 3 had just ended, and it was a cowboy massacre. But in the end, one stud came out ahead, and the winner for Round 3 is:
Round 3 Winner–Stud #14
Stud #14 joins our winners from round 1, Stud #5, and round 2, Stud #7, in the final round, which starts next week! I can barely contain my, um, inspiration!
As always, click here for the rules and the process in case you’ve forgotten.
So far, you’ve learned that the new series I’m writing on will be a set of three novellas set in a destination location. Just where is that? Well, I can tell you this: it’s set somewhere in the south. Maybe I’ll let you know where exactly next week. 😉
For now, let’s get to our final five men vying for your votes to be my inspiration. During week one, you had to choose from hot, tattooed guys. For week 2, you had a case full of Twinkies to sample, and last week, I strutted my cowboys out for you to giddy-up-and-go with. This week, the theme is scruff. So here they are in all their hairy glory. Don’t forget to click on the pic to see bigger…images. 😉 Additionally, please remember that in order for your vote to count, you must click on the radio button corresponding to your hunk below the images and then click on the vote button. Only votes cast in this manner will count toward choosing my inspiration. 🙂
Which of these 5 guys would you want to be a main character in my upcoming series? (Round 4)
Total Voters: 75
Loading ...I’m over at Top2Bottom Reviews, which is the third stop on my blog tour, talking about cliffhangers in fiction. The plot device is not a fan fave among readers, and I talk about why that is. See if you agree with me or not by clicking here.
The giveaway is still going strong. All you have to do is leave and comment and you’re automatically entered for a chance for a free copy of the book.
For the second stop on my blog tour, I’m over at Mama Kitty Reviews talking about why I wrote Moral Authority, my latest release from Wilde City Press. It’s amazing what can inspire you to create an entire new world, and that’s just what I did. If you’re interested, click here to be whooshed away to Mama Kitty’s site. Don’t forget to leave a comment. Those who do are automatically entered to win a free copy of Moral Authority. I hope to see you there. 🙂
Today is release day for Moral Authority, and I’m kicking off my blog tour over at 
It was great to be back with Jay and all her pals. I talk about what makes Moral Authority gay mainstream fiction instead of a gay romance. I also set the scene for the dystopian America that I have created in the novel. If you’d like to stop by, please click here. Also, if you leave a comment, you’ll be entered to win a free copy.
I hope to see you there!
Round 2 of the “Choose My Inspiration” Contest was just awesome. Once you guys put one of these studs in the lead, he stays there. Here is the winner from Round 2:
Round 2 Winner: Stud #7
Stud # 7 advances to the FINAL ROUND in a few weeks along with our Round 1 winner–Stud #5.
Round 1 Winner: Stud #5
In case you’re just joining the contest, click here for the rules and the winner selection process that will take place during the FINAL ROUND.
Last week, I discussed that the new series I’m working on, the one which you readers will be choosing my inspiration, will be a set of three novellas. Today, I want to let you know that like the Provincetown Series I’m currently working on, this new series will also be a destination series. But where will that be? Well, you’ll just have to keep coming back to find out! I’m such a tease, aren’t I? 😉
But enough of that. I know you’re chomping at the bit to see the latest studs in my stable, right? Well, here are the five new hotties who want you to vote for them. The theme for this week is COWBOYS! Who’s ready to ride?
Don’t forget to click on the pic to see bigger…images. 😉 Additionally, please remember that in order for your vote to count, you must click on the radio button corresponding to your hunk below the images and then click on the vote button. Only votes cast in this manner will count toward choosing my inspiration. 🙂
Which of these 5 guys would you want to be a main character in my upcoming series? (Round 3)
Total Voters: 103
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Mark Bryan
Hi, everyone. My name’s Mark Bryan. Have you noticed how seriously fu–, um, fouled up our country is right now? Yikes! I almost messed up on that one. We’ve all gotta watch our language, you know? I don’t know about you, but I’m not looking to violate the moral code of purity with profanity. Who needs a moral violation right now? I sure don’t! I’ve got enough on my plate with trying to finish grad school and working. I don’t need the moral foot patrol complicating my day. I just want to be left alone. That’s why I do my best to fly under the Moral Authority’s radar and be the perfect little citizen Uncle Sam is always telling us to be. Speaking of Uncle Sam, what’s with all these new moral awareness posters going up everywhere? It’s getting to where you can’t even walk down the street without Uncle Sam’s beady eyes following you. If I have to stare down that bony, accusatory finger of his one more time, I don’t know what I’d do. Maybe join those “domestic terrorists” in the Human Rights Campaign. Yeah, right. Like that’ll ever happen. I’m no one special, but I hope to be someday. I want to make a difference. Change this country. But attacking it like the HRC isn’t going to get me anywhere but killed. I have to be smarter than that. We all do. If we want to stay alive. And I don’t know about you, but that’s exactly what I intend to do.
Isaac Montoya
Hello. I’m Isaac Montoya. Lots of people these days are saying that America might be in trouble. That our golden moral age is being threatened by the HRC and their terrorist attacks against moral law. What do I think? I think change is coming. It’s an eventuality. Speaking like this could get me arrested for breaking the moral code of loyalty, but it’s time for different voices to be heard. Not just the voice the government thinks they give us. At the same time, though, we have to be careful. Being too brash leads to a stay in moral prison. Or worse. Like those containment camps I’ve been hearing about. I definitely don’t want to wind up there! That’s why it’s important to work within the system. Or at least appear that way. That’s all that really matters in America now anyway. As long as you appear to follow the rules, you’re left alone. And when I’m left alone to my own devices, well, lots of things can be accomplished.
Samuel Pleasant
I bid each and every one of you a good day. I am Samuel Pleasant, the Supreme High Chancellor of the Moral Authority, the august branch of government responsible with the moral direction of our great country and its citizens. I’ve heard many rumblings in recent weeks, if not months, about this Human Rights Campaign. They attack moral law, so they claim, to bring true freedom back to America. To silence the voice of moral law that they feel is a faceless, oppressive tyrant. That couldn’t be further from the truth. I, and the other High Chancellors, stand before you, unmasked. You know us. And our families. Like any other public official, we have nothing to hide. The HRC does. They operate in the shadows. Using fear and chaos as weapons. Against truth and morality, their tactics will not work. I know many Americans fear that change is coming. But do not fear the change. I ask you to embrace it. For change is coming. It’s just not what the Human Rights Campaign thinks it will be.
Follow Mark, Isaac, and Samuel into the pages of Moral Authority on sale May 22, 2013 from Wilde City Press.
When I first started as an author, I had a naive view of the industry. I expected the long hours in front of the computer, slaving away at the keyboard, and I was ready. I had my comfy chair in the living room set, my trusty laptop ready to go, and plenty of snacks (often cookies, sometimes chips. Okay, perhaps even a Snickers bar or three) to give me sustenance when I needed it.
I was a man with a
Or so I thought.
What was that plan again?
It turns out I really had no plan at all. Oh, sure I had tons of stories to tell and endless characters just ready to be set loose in those worlds, but that wasn’t a plan. That was my product.
Yep, that’s me. The Homer Simpson of the author world
I had no direction for my career.
That’s when I had to ask myself the big question:
That might seem like a silly question for an author to ask him/herself, but it isn’t really. How can we know if we’ve accomplished something if we’ve never set a goal to be met?
I think many writers tend to look in the here-and-now and not in the future. I know that’s what I did. I had my head buried in my computer and in the stories I wanted to tell that I wasn’t cultivating my career in the way that I should have. After all, I was an author not a business person. Writing was my craft. I didn’t need to focus on anything else.
But I was
Just like any other profession, I had to take stock of where I was and where I wanted to be. After all, the only way to get where you want to go is by charting a path.
So, just what was my writing goal? Well, I want to be a full-time author. No big surprise. Writing is what I enjoy doing the most.
What I had just done for myself though was give myself a goal, an end product to be reached. Now that I had that goal in mind, I could now plot a course to get there. I couldn’t just magically arrive at a self-sustaining writing career. There’s no genie in a magic lamp for that!
Sorry Barbara Eden, I’ve got to do this one myself
I had to lay the ground work to get there. That involved more than just writing books, lessons I learned by talking to other authors and attending the Dreamspinner Conference in Chicago, where I attended a very enlightening session led by fellow (and prolific) author Andrew Grey.
Apparently, writing books was only a fraction of what I had to do. If I wanted to play in the big leagues, I had to bring my big league game.
But didn’t I already do that when I said I wanted to be a full-time author? Yes, but that was my end goal. What I had to do now was figure out how I was going to get there.
Just what is that puzzle piece?
In order to be a self-sustaining author, I realized I needed to write more books than I was currently publishing. I had to take stock of my full time job and family commitments and come up with a plan for the year that would help get me there.
So I have planned to write 240,000 words before the next Dreamspinner conference in 2014. That translates into roughly four books. Whether that’s a lot or not doesn’t matter. The goal fits in my life, which is important, but more importantly it moves me forward on my ultimate goal to being a self-supporting author. Additionally, the goal gives me motivation to meet it and perhaps even surpass it.
If I can write four books, great! But what if I end up writing 300,000 and produce five books. Then, I’ve exceeded my goal and gotten myself even closer to my end goal.
Now that’s a win!
So, now I strive to write 1,000 words a day, and I force myself to keep track of my progress. When I exceed my daily goal, I reward myself with a cookie, or chips, or a Snickers bar. If I don’t meet it, I drown my sorrows with a cookie, or chips, or a Snickers bar. But the important thing beyond the rewards or punishments is that I’m holding myself accountable.
That is a great place to start.
Round One of the “Choose My Inspiration” contest started with a blast. Though the competition was tough, here is the winner from Round 1!
Round 1 Winner: Stud #5
Stud # 5 captured the hearts and, um, inspirations of the majority of the voters. Although Stud #2 got close, our Stud #5 never once lost the lead. He will now proceed to the final round in a few weeks.
For those of you unfamiliar with the rules for this contest, click here. You’ll learn all you need to know about the process and how a winner will be chosen.
Also, as most of you know from last week, readers are choosing the inspiration for one of the main characters of an upcoming series currently being developed. While I’m still not ready to divulge too much information about the new series, I will tell you this. This new set of three books will be novellas.
Okay, enough of my rambling. Let’s get to the brand new set of five studs vying for your votes this week. Don’t forget to click on the pic to see bigger…images. 😉 Additionally, please remember that in order for your vote to count, you must click on the radio button corresponding to your hunk below the images and then click on the vote button. Only votes cast in this manner will count toward choosing my inspiration. 🙂
Which of these 5 guys would you want to be a main character in my upcoming series? (Round 2)
Total Voters: 78
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Sarah Palin after her 2008 presidential election win
Washington D.C., March 4 (AP)—Plans are being finalized in our nation’s capitol as the country prepares to celebrate the anniversary of the newest branch of American government, the Moral Authority. Thirty-five years ago next month, the 44th President of the United States, Sarah Palin, made history for more than being the first woman to occupy the Oval Office. Former President Palin, and the constitutional amendment she helped push through Congress, added a moral branch to the executive, legislative, and judicial branches that helped found our nation.
Though a very vocal minority publicly opposed the creation of a moral branch of US government, the Moral Authority has been heralded a success by a majority of American citizens today.
“The Moral Authority is the best thing that happened to this nation,” says Ruth Monroe, 86, who plans on attending the celebrations that begin on April 6. “Before the Moral Authority, you couldn’t even watch television without seeing something scandalous or inappropriate. I don’t have to worry about what my grandchildren are watching anymore.”
In fact, thanks to the Moral Authority, media violence and pornography have ceased to be issues of contention between concerned citizens and First Amendment advocates. The American Moral Code of Conduct has made such hotly debated issues moot.
“I respect what the Moral Authority has been able to accomplish in such a relatively short span of time,” says President John Ellis Bush, Jr. “Due to their pioneering efforts in moral law, some of the most terrible offenses in human society, such as murder, rape, and assault are virtually nonexistent.”
The Moral Authority’s success, however, extends beyond its effect on violent crime. With strict adherence to the moral code of care, the Moral Authority, through a series of lifestyle legislation, has freed the country from unhealthy lifestyle choices, such as obesity, smoking, alcoholism, and homosexuality. As a result, there has been a sharp decline in diabetes, high blood pressure, and cancer. Additionally, with the abolishment of homosexuality coupled with the AIDS cure discovered in the last decade, STD’s have been virtually eliminated as a social disease.
Recent HRC attack on NYC Moral Police Department
It is because of all these successes that the country is excited about the month long celebration. However, there are those in the nation who feel differently. The Human Rights Campaign, who have been dubbed as domestic terrorists by most media outlets and government officials, vehemently oppose the Moral Authority. Recently, the HRC has been linked to several smoke bombings of moral police departments as well as a rash of breakouts from moral prisons around the nation.
Supreme High Chancellor of the Moral Authority, Samuel Pleasant, plans to address the nation next month as part of the festivities but also in part to answer the recent concerns being raised about the HRC. Speculation abounds that as part of his speech S.H.C. Pleasant plans to unveil further legislation aimed specifically with dealing with the HRC. However, when asked, S.H.C. Pleasant had this to say: “Although I am not able to provide specifics at this moment, American citizens should rest assured that the Moral Authority has this situation well under control.”
Follow the rest of the headlines on May 22 in
