So, it’s the question I ask myself every time I sit down at the computer with the intention of writing my next story. Do I write something that’s hot with the market or the story that’s rolling in my head? And trust me when I say … they’re not usually the same.
Now, let me clarify by saying that I’ve never written a story where I wasn’t proud of the final product. It’s just that I’ve enjoyed writing some more than others. And I have yet to have any characters just run away with the story. Nope. Soooooo not me. I’m really envious of authors who say they couldn’t type as fast as their characters talked or that scenes unraveled and they were just along for the journey.
Yeeeeah. Maybe some day.
But until then I weigh and measure which story to work on next. I have figured out I’m a one story author. That doesn’t mean that I haven’t left some of my novels to write something shorter, but I don’t work on two stories at a time. I’m singularly focused. I do have several plot ideas rolling around in my head, all the time, but until I have a really good idea where they’re going I can’t put fingers to keyboard.
For the last couple of years I’ve been really focused on what is selling in the erotic market. I’ve tailored my characters to fit in that mold. And you know what … it was hard. I’m proud of the stories and pleased with the end product, but the journey to completion wasn’t fun. Now don’t get me wrong … everyone, no matter how much they love their job, has those days when they just don’t really want to show up and when work is just that … work. And the same is true for me.
But the last book I re-wrote, the one where the rights reverted back to me, was a wonderful journey of being reintroduced to characters I loooove and writing that makes me VERY proud. It’s a futuristic erotic romance titled A TOUCH OF LILLY and is set in deep space. I really enjoyed creating the aliens and weapons and discovering a new setting. When this was out with a publisher, the reviews were awesome! The sales? Not so much. And that’s supposed to be all right because my writing should be about the story and not about what the readers are buying.
Or should it?
Let’s face it. I’m writing to make a living. I’ve never hidden that fact. When my body gave itself over to the MS I was forced to stop working. My writing has become my new career. Failure is not an option … okay, that has more to do with how I’m wired rather than my need to buy groceries and pay the electric bill. But still, I want this new career to keep me contributing to my family’s budget. So then I vacillate back to … write what the readers are buying. And with this new self-publishing thing going on it means I do have flexibility. I’m not bound to what publishers are buying. Still …
It’s a ping pong match in my head with stories vying for my attention. I don’t know what the answer is. I wrestle with it every time I sit down to write a new story. Ideally, I’d like a balance of both worlds, a story that is fun to write and one the readers will love. I have no idea if I’ll ever find the middle of that road, but I’m working on it.
So as an author, where do you head with your stories? And as a reader do you read by genre or by author or a balance of both? Because I’m dying to know.
And because this is my blog and a place for me to do a little marketing. Here’s the new cover from Dar Albert … an aaaamazing cover artist and the blurb:
Ex-Chicago detective LILLY D’ANGELO has a secret she doesn’t share with anyone. A master of the one night stand, she’s given up ever finding a soul mate and thrown herself head first into her career. That is, until she captures the wrong alien. Kidnapped and sold into the sex slave trade, she’s shipped into deep space. Barely escaping with her life, Lilly now travels the galaxy working as a bounty hunter using her secret talents to bring down criminals and seeking revenge on the one male who ruined her life.
Agent DALLAS SAWYER works for deep space’s version of the FBI. After a disastrous mission that left several of his team members murdered, a president executed, and Dallas near death, he’s determined to take down the assassin targeting government officials. When a sexy human female gets between him and his goal, Dallas and his alien partner find themselves on the receiving end of a passionate night they won’t soon forget and a proposition that may very well blow up in their faces.
Because in deep space … true love can happen with just a touch.
Okay, winners for the naughty blog hop were drawn weeeeeks ago. But such is my life at the moment. When I went to post them last week wordpress was down and … oookay, I’ll stop making excuses and just let you know …
Winner of a digital book from my backlist
Christine S.
(who chose A Touch of Lilly)
Winner of my romantic suspense anthology “Dangerous Affairs“
Maureen L.
And the grand prize winner of a KINDLE FIRE HD:
JODER!!!
Congratulations ladies. And thank you everyone who stopped by and visited during the blog hop. I hope you join us again for the next one!
Welcome to another paranormal Six Sentence Sunday. Since this is the last Sunday before Halloween I wanted to share a little something from my futuristic erotic suspense A Touch of Lilly.
Laying over Thaegan’s shoulder as she was, Lilly focused on pouring the sexual energy not only through her palms pressed to his low back, but out through every pore, praying it would be enough to take him down.
The grip around her waist relaxed a fraction and she held her breath, willing the big alien to drop her. When he didn’t slow, Lilly forced the energy higher, her own body burning with the need searing through her. She would be hard-pressed to ease the ache between her thighs on her own. It didn’t matter—all that mattered was getting away from these men.
Thaegan stumbled, a warrior cry ripping from his throat, “stop, witch, I will not succumb.”
This book is also available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Thanks to all of you who stop by to check out my Sunday Six and a special thanks to those who take a moment to comment. I love hearing from you. You can click HERE to check out other authors participating in Six Sentence Sunday this week! See you next Sunday!
Okay, so with all the book noise and chatter out there authors are always trying to figure out how to be heard in the din of thousands of books. We’re always trying to find that little gadget that will lead a reader to our books. One reader actually said “an author’s promotional item is like a little gift to me”. And maybe little doo-jiggers don’t have readers buying your books, but simply seeing your name. It’s a general rule of thumb that someone needs to see your name 10 times before they stop and look into it.
So the question becomes … how do we spend that promotional dollar effectively?
On all the loops I participate in authors are discussing what draws a reader to buy your book. In e-publishing this it’s even more difficult as your product is sort of nebulous… not something the consumer can put their hands on… and that makes it a difficult sell.
So with all sincerity we’re discussing bookmarks and postcards; sticky notes and glitter pens; emery boards and flashlights; trying to come up with the gimmick that will make a person so fired up they just can’t wait to get home and download your book!
I’ve spent alot of time designing and printing romance trading cards for my books. I send them out to reader conventions that I’m not attending. I’m fortunate in that I have an artistic eye and putting something together like that is enjoyable. Anyhoodles… I thought they came out beautifully. But left to their own devices, sitting among all the other glitzy author material, will they entice someone enough to 1) pick it up and 2) buy the book or at least 3) check out my website. Frankly, I don’t know.
Through this whole process it’s occurred to me… I don’t buy books. (Or I didn’t until my friends started publishing, now I buy their books. And forgive me for even thinking this… but if it’s coming out in print… I wait to buy that version… oh, I should have my hand slapped!)
So, what’s the point of all this rambling? I’m just curious… if you can’t pick the book up in the bookstore and you only have promotional material available to you… what makes you curious enough to investigate the author/book? A snazzy bookmark? A postcard with a blurb about the book? Some cute trinket?
Tell me… I’m dying of curiousity.
Oh, and here’s a sampling of my trading cards. Email me Nina (AT) NinaPierce.com if you want a full set for yourself.
Welcome to another scorching Six Sentence Sunday. I hope you’re enjoying this first official weekend of SUMMER! (My favorite season ev-ah!) This week’s six come from my futuristic erotic suspense A Touch of Lilly
Dallas and Thaegan moved in synchronized harmony, playing her body like a finely tuned instrument. Their moves, choreographed without words, were meant only for her arousal and satisfaction. Lilly suspected she wasn’t the first women these two had shared but at this moment, that just didn’t matter to her. They were making her first experience with multiple partners one she would never forget. In all her wildest fantasies, Lilly couldn’t have imagined the security and thrill of being pressed between the heat of two men whose sole focus was her pleasure.
“Yeah, this is definitely okay,” she managed to whisper.
*sigh* I love these three! This book is also available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Thanks to all of you who stop by to check out my Sunday Six and a special thanks to those who take a moment to comment. I love hearing from you. You can click HERE to check out other authors participating in Six Sentence Sunday this week! See you next Sunday!
Welcome to another Six Sentence Sunday. I know summer doesn’t officially start for a few weeks, but I thought for the next 12 Sundays I’d offer some of the hottest six sentences from my erotic romance books. This week is from my sci-fi erotic suspense A Touch of Lilly
Dallas cupped his hand around her sex, both surprised and pleased her thighs were slick with her desire. Pressing the tip of his finger against her clit, he swallowed her moan of pleasure and gave it right back to her when she ground against the assault. Sliding his other hand along the lacy edge of her thong, he slipped it beneath the material and traced a slow path down her satin labia.
She broke from their kiss, her lips swollen from his assault, her breath coming in hard pants. “Enough is enough. I’m hot, I’m wet, I’m ready and it’s you I want.”
BUY from Amazon
Thanks so much for stopping by today. I always appreciate your comments. Click HERE to check out other authors who are participating this week.
Welcome to Six Sentence Sunday. This month my name appeared in the Romance Writer’s Report magazine. Not for first sale or newest amazing book deal. Nope. It was part of an ad by the Fantasy, Futuristic and Fantasy chapter announcing the winners of their Prism Contest. My novel, A Touch of Lilly placed third in the erotic romance category. It was in reeeeally small print … but hey, I was in there!
So I thought I’d celebrate and share six lines from this science fiction menage story:
Lilly’s focus had been on Dallas and her desire for him. But having the heat of Thaegan’s body pressed against her back certainly kicked her heart rate up another notch.
“I was hoping to join you.” Thaegan’s words came out as if he’d dragged them over a burning road of molten lust.
“I don’t know. I…” Her body thrummed with energy and need and Lilly didn’t really know what she wanted.
Click HERE to visit more participating authors or follow #SIXSUNDAY on Twitter.
Welcome to Six Sentence Sunday. Be sure to click the link to visit other participating authors. This week’s six comes from my science fiction erotic romance, A Touch of Lilly.
Lilly D’Angelo could have been walking into any of the seedier establishments lining Forty-fifth and Wester on Chicago’s south side. Except for the clientele, the tavern’s owner had managed to replicate nearly every detail right down to the blue haze and the soft crooning of a jazz band on the corner stage. The acrid stench and gruff hum of a Friday night crowd tripped Lilly down memory lane-—a place she had no desire to travel at the moment.
Lilly pushed the sour thoughts of home out of her mind and focused her energy on the patrons at the bar. Morphing her features into her sexiest vixen pout, she moved gracefully toward the long bar on the other side of the room. The eyes watching her ass sashay around the battered tables were clustered on various life forms-—none of them human.
Thanks so much for stopping over. I’m thoroughly enjoying this meme. Your comments totally make my day! See you next week!
I’ve been thinking a lot about promotion lately. (But really, if you ask most authors, their marketing concerns rank right up there with their looming deadline and the next line edits.) Because, let’s face it, our books might as well just be sitting on our computers if they’re not out their finding readers.
But then again … there is such a thing as TOO much. And I wonder when an author knows when they’ve crossed that line. I mean, I think everyone else knows when a promotion, whether it’s blog/contest announcements or a promotional excerpt that’s blasted everywhere, is driving them insane. Eventually, that cool promo the author was so excited about, becomes the spam that every receiver just deletes with an eyeroll.
And you know, I’ve begun to wonder if I am that author. I know there’s a balance between letting people know my new book is out and becoming a nuisance in the inbox. The fact is, when you hit that point, people no longer see you anyway.
Yet there is that 10 exposure thing before a person consciously recognizes your name. That’s right. We need to see something an average of 10 times before it works its way into our psyche. And of course the same 10 things aren’t going to be seen by the same 10 people so that means a smattering of promo across different avenues to be sure you’ve hit everyone more than once…or does it?
There are so many ways to market that a gal can go crazy trying to keep up with it all. And the old addage, do what you enjoy doesn’t always apply, because quite frankly, I enjoy more than I should. Sometimes to the detriment of my writing. LOL! There are times when I’d be just as happy sitting around chatting on twitter or making a book trailer as writing my next book. Heck, that other stuff is easy, which meant I did it A LOT.
Well no more. I’ve dropped out of Yahoo loops I wasn’t really using. I’ve stopped blog surfing (which is rather ironic since I blog) and I’ve limited my twitter to a couple days a week. You see, I’ve been watching some really successful authors and they don’t market. They write. Now isn’t that a novel idea?
Anyway, I just thought I’d share with you the newest in my “paper” marketing…romance trading cards. They came out beautiful. I’m so pleased. Frauke at Croco Designs took my vision and turned it into these …
Aren’t they gorgeous? I’ve just started sending them out. (And yes, Zane is noticeably missing from the “Bonded” set … there was a glitch that’s been fixed and he should be arriving soon.) They’ll be making their debut appearance in some goodie bags at RWA National Convention in a couple of weeks.
So what do you think? When does an author’s promotion become an annoying buzzing in your ears. Because you know me … I just gotta know!
I’m participating in Whipped Cream’s SPRING FLING. They’re giving away a KINDLE, NOOK or $150 Giftcard to one lucky commenter at the end of this month. GO HERE to check out my post about May/December relationships. Leave a comment and you’re entered.
You can also visit the other posts and comment there as well. Every comment on every post is an entry … Good luck!
This week Black Raven Reviews gave MAID FOR MASTER four Ravens and MacKenzie had this to say…
Nina Pierce did a great job of bringing these characters to life; really taking her readers on a journey along with both Claire and Jonathon. The location was breathtakingly detailed; the characters well developed. The erotic scenes were intense as well as sensual. Every scene drove us toward the ending at a steady forward pace…With such great details, I hope that Ms. Pierce might one day revisit these characters. I’m sure that Claire’s brother, Jonathon’s best friend, could use a soul-mate too. *grin*
If you’re looking for a fun novella with intriguingly hot BDSM scenes and seriously passionate moments, then be sure to check out Maid for Master by Nina Pierce.
A TOUCH OF LILLY finalled in RWA’s Passionate Ink’s Passionate Plume contest. w00t! w00t!
I thought I’d leave you with an Excerpt:
Some emotion she couldn’t decipher marred Dallas’s brow. “I want to help you,” he said. “But I can’t keep you safe if I don’t know everything.” He brushed hair from her face. “Thaegan mentioned some myth, but I’m thinking it’s much more than that.”
The man was an enigma. She wanted to believe the compassion in his voice was real, but the hard set of his jaw communicated something entirely different. But when it came right down to it, she wanted someone to know. Someone who could share her burden without judgment. Lilly had no idea if Dallas was that person, but sitting here, bound and naked, she figured she really didn’t have a whole hell of a lot more to lose.
“She was my great-great-grandmother. It’s barely a part of me.” Lilly looked down. Even with Dallas’ hand warm on her shoulder, there was shame in the telling.
His finger came under her chin and gently lifted it. She had no choice but to stare into the chocolate pools of his eyes. “Then it’s not your fault. Whatever it is, the responsibility belongs to someone else.” His thumb brushed over her lips. “The beginning. Start at the beginning. I have no idea what it is. What you are.”
Confusion and frustration warred within her. How could he not know? The answers were as obvious as her beaded nipples and the dizzying aroma of her arousal. Dallas was so close she could feel his body heat pressing against her, making it hard to fill her lungs. Yet the man seemed immune to the sexual energy crackling between them. Even without trying, her own arousal was usually enough to affect any male close to her and drive one with his hands on her to sexual delirium.
“I mean…you’re very obviously human.” One side of Dallas’ mouth curved, the dimple dancing. “But there’s something that makes you special.” His hand brushed up her face to cup her cheek and she couldn’t stop herself from leaning into it. “I just want to understand it.”
His gaze searched her face, settled on her lips and Lilly thought for a moment he might kiss her. She wanted to feel the heat of his mouth on hers. Instead, he dropped his hand, rubbing them both on his jeans. “Just please explain to me what Thaegan was talking about.”
Even that slight rejection stung. Seduction and escape no longer mattered. What Lilly needed now was Dallas—a human man to accept who she was. Filling her lungs with courage, she stared straight ahead, unable to witness his revulsion as she recalled the story her mother had told her the night of her first menses. “Serapheliums are an ancient race. They came from another galaxy, hundreds of light years from where we are now. It’s said they resembled humans, but their beauty was unmatched. Gods bowed down to their perfection and angels sang at their births.” She chanced a look at Dallas and shrugged, embarrassment heating her cheeks.
“I can see the resemblance.”
She laughed out her disbelief. “Yeah, whatever.”
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