Wanna see me fit my whole fist in my mouth?

LOL, I do attempt to...

Over HERE at this interview for SHE READS NEW ADULT.

:D

Do You Have Questions For A Literary Agent?

Jordy Albert of the Booker-Albert agency is doing an interactive interview TODAY ONLY over at Falling For Fiction. Head on over and ask those questions and see if she might be a good fit for you or a writer bud!

Oh, and we redesigned the blog over there too. So come over and see the new pretty ;)

FALLING FOR FICTION

A Little Honesty

I try to keep my blog a positive place. Happy, light, fun... just like my books. But there are times when I feel the need to write down something a little deeper. Even though it hurts, it helps to talk about. Or write about in my case.

There are people out there all over who are opinionated, argumentative, and just mean. For some reason, I feel like I am a magnet to these people. I don't know what I did, or what I'm doing that attracts them, but they stick to me like flies on poop. Something good happens, or I'm celebrating another achievement or goal reached, and word spreads, then they come rolling in. I get emails, comments, messages on anything they can think of to complain about or speak negatively toward me.

I don't respond normally. I delete and move on, but sometimes they get very personal. They attack not just my work, which I can deal with, but my family. My friends. My values. They attack my ability as a mother. As a wife. It goes beyond the surface of just writing. It goes into my family. I can't tolerate that. I can't deal with that.

But the thing is, when I stepped into an online world, I opened myself up for this kind of thing. My blog is public. My author page, my GR, my Amazon... everyone can see me. I'm not one for pretending to be someone I'm not. I'm going to be dorky and crazy and silly. I'm going to fangirl with my fans over book boyfriends and amazing reads. I'm going to respond to my readers because I AM NOT ABOVE ANYONE.They are the reason I write.

When I get people who tell me *certain things* it ruins my day. I know that's their intention. They want to ruin my day. They want to make me feel like crap. Well, mission accomplished I guess. I'm so tired of it, and it sucks that no matter how many positive words there are, one negative can make you question yourself and who you are. Words are powerful suckers.

For clarity, I'm in no way talking about reviews. Those I can and do handle. Everyone has different tastes. And as an author, I expected the bad reviews when I dove in.

It's the personal attacks on FB. On my blog. Emails and messages from people I don't know. And some that I do. Some I thought were good buddies. I hate feeling like no matter what I do, or post, or achieve, there's always going to be someone who tears it down with a rant. Is this what I signed up for?

I hate to be the Debbie Downer, but I wanted to express how I feel about this. That it takes strength and positivity to be an author as well as patience and a good listener. You need to pick yourself up, keep writing, keep upbeat, keep on keeping on... but I think it's also okay (and normal) to be a little weak sometimes. Not to the point of giving up, but to allow yourself to wallow. To get angry, to throw popcorn at the TV, to dive into mounds of chocolate, to cry over a few words that hurt you. It's okay because we're all human, and as writers, we know we can use these feelings and emotions in our books ;)

So, yes, I cried a little bit when I was hit by trolls yet again. Yes, I thought about how much I suck and I was silly to think I could do this. Yes, I typed back a nasty reply and never hit send. Yes, I ate a whole symphony bar and watched teeny bopper dramas. And yes, I cried to my best friends online, hoping, praying, and desperately wanting their words and their support to heal me.

But I'm still here. I'm still writing my books. I'm still blogging and FB-ing and tweeting and all that other stuff because even though I had my weak moment, I AM STRONG enough to keep going. No words, no matter how harsh they are, will stop me from that.

Spell for the day:

Reparo

My Nerd Baby Has a Face!

I know some of you have already seen the awesomeness that is my cover for HOW TO DATE A NERD, but this is the official reveal, so pretend it's the first time you're seeing it, ha!

And yes, I came off really braggy, but I love this cover so much. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect one.

Okay, and if you are reading my babbles here instead of just scrolling to the cover, I know most of you have followed my journey with HOW TO DATE A NERD and know just how big a deal this is for me to get it out there to everyone. It's scheduled right now for a September release, and here's to hoping I don't lose my mind waiting :) And I want to thank all of you for the support you've shown me in the past two years since I started blogging. Nerd wouldn't have been queried, wouldn't have even been written without my bloggy buddies and their support. So THANK YOU! This is the one that started it all :)

Here's the blurby thinger and my author stuff. :)

Zoe has a great pair of legs, perky boobs, and wears exactly what she needs to show it all off. She works hard for the easy sleazy ‘you only wish you were me’ reputation, burying who she really is—an all-out nerd.

The only time Zoe gets to be herself is when she hides under her comforter to read X-Men comics, sending jealousy stabs at everyone who attends Comic-Con. Keeping up her popular rep is too important, and she’s so damn insecure to care about the consequences. But when Zoe’s sister takes her car for a ‘crash and burn into a tree’ joyride, her parents get her a replacement. A manual. Something she doesn’t know how to operate, but her next door neighbor Zak sure as heck does.

Zak’s a geek to the core, shunned by everyone in school for playing Dungeons and Dragons at lunch and wearing “Use the Force” t-shirts. And Zoe’s got it bad for the boy. Only Zak doesn’t want Popular Zoe. He wants Geek Zoe.

She has to shove her insecurities and the fear of dropping a few rungs on the social ladder aside to prove to Zak who she really is and who she wants to be… if she can figure it out herself.

Cassie Mae is a nerd to the core from Utah, who likes to write about other nerds who find love. She’s the author of the Amazon Bestseller REASONS I FELL FOR THE FUNNY FAT FRIEND, and is the debut author for the Random House FLIRT line with her New Adult novels FRIDAY NIGHT ALIBI and PULLING THE SWITCH. She also has a three book deal with Swoon Romance Publishing, including her book HOW TO DATE A NERD. She spends her time with her angel children and perfect husband who fan her and feed her grapes while she clacks away on the keyboard. Then she wakes up from that dream world and manages to get a few words on the computer while the house explodes around her. When she’s not writing, she’s spending time with the youth in her community as a volleyball and basketball coach, or searching the house desperately for chocolate.

And now, the reveal. *plays dramatic music*

 

*squee!*

Spell for you guys today (because I'm just so happy!)

EXPECTO PATRONUM!

Things I Shouldn't Do, But I Do Anyway

Ever since I hit publish, I've become a crazy person. 

I admit it. I am not ashamed. 

And there are some very bad habits I picked up along the way, that probably isn't the best thing for me or my writing. 

Allow me to elaborate with gifs

THINGS I SHOULDN'T DO, BUT I DO ANYWAY

Read the book after it's been published and there's nothing I can do about it now.

Stalk readers who've told me they loved my book.

Analyze my Amazon ranking.

Read anything by Colleen Hoover or Nyrae Dawn while drafting. Curse them for being so talented!

Go on Goodreads

Good reviews:

Bad reviews:

(Now I filter reviews so I only read the good ones.) 

Entice readers with teasers if I get enough likes on my author page. (I know people hate this. But I have a good reason. If I don't have a liker goal, I'd be tempted to throw the entire book up there.)

Check my sales...

Three times a day...

Spend too much time on Facebook.

And Pinterest.

Write kissing scenes to unclog writer's block.

 

I wonder if I'll ever get back to normal.

Or if this is just what normal is for a writer. 

 Maybe I'll be better the second time around.

But probably not :)

Spell for the day:

 

Happy Book Birthday Rachel!

Rachel Schieffelbein's SECONDARY CHARACTERS is out today! Whoot Whoot! If you want an easy, sweet read to relax with (and swoon over) go check it out :) 

Congrats girl! :D

Amazon Purchase Link

Abberation Blog Hop!

Lisa Regan has a new psychological thriller, Aberration, coming out on June 6th. To celebrate, she will be hosting a Blog Hop on June 6-7 called The Aberration Blog Hop: Finding the Most Aberrant Characters. "All you have to do is list your top 5 choices for the most aberrant (i.e. abnormal or freakish--think Hannibal, Dexter, etc.) characters in fiction, television or movies. Also, if you're a writer, you can then include a short paragraph about who you think is the most aberrant character from your own work.

There will be prizes! (Amazon gift cards, signed copies of the book and ebook versions of it)


Here's the deets! http://www.lisalregan.blogspot.com/p/aberration-blog-hop-finding-most.html

And if you're like me, and have no idea what Aberration means, let me save you the trip to google. :)

¹ab·er·rant

adjective \a-ˈber-ənt, ə-, -ˈbe-rənt; ˈa-bə-rənt, -ˌber-ənt, -ˌbe-rənt\

1

: straying from the right or normal way

2

: deviating from the usual or natural type : atypical 

 

Sounds like fun!!!! Head to the link to sign up. :) Fun prizes and cool blog button too. Win-win :)

 

Spell for Lisa today :)

 

Wingardium Leviosa!