The Coffee Wars - a Guest Post from Michelle Miles

Since I had so much last week with my first guest post, I decided why not do it a second time! By the way, if any of my readers are interested in guest posting on my blog sometime in 2011, drop me an email and let me know. In the meantime, here's the lovely Michelle...


Hi, everyone! I’m happy to be guest blogging today at Meghan’s blog! Thank you so much for having me.

Today I’m talking about my latest release, THE COFFEE WARS. It’s the fifth novella in my series, the Coffee House Chronicles.

I started writing this series back in 2006 with the debut novella, TALK DIRTY TO ME. I never really intended to write a series, but it seemed like a natural progression after the first one was released and seemed to do well. I look back and it’s hard to imagine that I’ve written five stories in the same series!

I wrote TALK DIRTY TO ME in about six weeks. It was mostly for fun but one of my critique partners at the time urged me to submit it to Samhain, which was new at the time. After much cajoling, I did and lo and behold it was accepted. Imagine my surprise?

Next came NICE GIRLS DO, the story of Cara and bad boy Mark, followed by TAKE ME I’M YOURS with Graeme and Marion, and then SEX LUST & MARTINIS with Delilah and Sam. The theme of the stories is all rooted in the same type of story: people can change and often do for the ones they love the most. I set them against the backdrop of a coffee shop called The Bitter End.

When I set out to write a story for the Christmas line from Cobblestone Press, I really struggled with the idea. I mentioned it to two writer pals whilst at Nationals over drinks and dinner. It seemed painfully obvious to them I should write something in my Coffee House series. It was a “duh” moment for me.

So when I got back home, feeling all inspired from Nationals, I set out to write THE COFFEE WARS. I had a very tight deadline. In fact, I cranked it out in two weeks. In order to do that, I made myself keep strict

rules: keep the storyline simple and don’t go over 12k. I stuck to it and am pleased with the results. I was delighted to receive my contract on the new novella.

The story is about David and Lilly. She’s the hot owner of the new Java Perks, the coffee shop up the street trying to put The Bitter End out of business. David is the co-owner of The Bitter End, disgusted about the new competition. The two meeting and all their friction causes a lot of hot steam between them.

Here’s the blurb:

Lilly owns the new up and coming, Java Perks. She’s determined to be the number one coffee house in town, crushing her competition down the street, The Bitter End.

Meeting the mystery woman in his coffee house, David immediately wants her for himself. After a hot encounter on his desk, he can’t stop thinking about her. Until he learns she’s the owner of the place trying to put him out of business.

When David confronts Lilly accusing her of using him, she throws down the gauntlet. Now the two are at war and may the best woman win!
-----

It’s a fun story and I hope you’ll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you’re interested in the other books of the series, following is a little blurb about each one. You certainly don’t have to reach each one in order as I’ve written them to be all stand-alone.

TALK DIRTY TO ME (Samhain, 2006) is about Claudia, who is a phone sex operator, and Blake, a lonely doctor looking for love on the other end of the phone. A chance meeting brings the two together and Claudia realizes the hot doctor could be the sexy voice on the other end of her phone.

NICE GIRLS DO (Samhain, 2007) follows ex-stripper, Cara, on her journey to reinvent herself and gets a job at the local coffee house, The Bitter End. But things go awry when she meets bad-boy Mark and son of the coffee house owner. Especially when he and his brother, David, vie for her affections. When Cara and Mark learn the coffee house is in danger of closing, they team up to keep the doors open and rescue the coffee house.

TAKE ME I’M YOURS (Cobblestone Press, 2009) goes in a little bit different direction with Graeme, whose love is painting but whose bread and butter is designing adult websites. When Marion, the jilted bride of his ex-best friend, comes back into his life, he sees it as a chance to get the woman of his dreams—and paintings. Marion is encouraged by her fashionista best friend, Delilah.

SEX, LUST & MARTINIS (Cobblestone Press, 2010) picks up where TAKE ME I’M YOURS left off, but this time Delilah is in the driver’s seat. Meeting up with her ex-husband after a long separation makes her realize she still has feelings for him, but he’s never been the responsible type. Sam does everything in his power to make her see he’s changed…and he wants her back for good.

Get your hands on THE COFFEE WARS here: http://cobblestone-press.com/catalog/books/coffeewars.htm

Where I am on the Interwebs:
Website: http://www.MichelleMiles.Net
Blog: http://www.michellemiles.net/blog
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MichelleMilesRomance
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MichelleMiles

I've made a big decision - I'm going back to school!

Once the unemployment benefits extension was officially passed last week, I realized there could be no better time for me to go back to school for accounting than right now. NY state has a program where a person can continue collecting unemployment while going to school without having to look for a job. As anyone who's browsed the help wanted section/craigslist/careerbuilder etc. in the past few months can tell you, there are no decent jobs out there right now. The only jobs that are available want to pay you SH*T money. I'm talking $5-10 less (an hour) than what I was making at my previous job. It's disgusting. And it drives me nuts that the government and the media are trying to tell us that the recession is getting better. IT'S NOT.

But enough about that! I've realized that, as much as I love writing (fiction), it's not a career option for me right now. I don't enjoy freelance (article) writing, and even if I did I know that it's a really tough market to break into right now. I'm unpublished with two unfinished manuscripts to my name that are taking me forever to write. And I do not want to go back to working as a peon (or pee-on, which is how most of us feel), aka an administrative assistant. It's a horrible job where you get treated like crap.  You do the hard work for a sh*t salary while you watch the higher-ups get paid the big bucks for having passing off their meaningless tasks to you.

I plan on taking classes through the summer and winter breaks, so it may be possible for me to graduate (with my associates, not bachelors unfortunately) in Dec 2011. It depends on how many credits from my past college courses they will accept towards the accounting degree. What I also love about it is that the college I'm going to (the local SUNY school) offers many of their courses online now! (When I first attended college in 1996 - this same college, actually -, I don't think I could've imagined such a wonderful thing! LOL) I might be able to take 3 of the 4 classes I need to take this semester through the internet. Woooooo hoooooooo!

Of course I still plan to continue writing. I'm hoping that going back to school may actually help me get more writing done, as crazy as it sounds. Because I've been suffering lately from that problem most people only wish they had - too much time on my hands! You know how they always say so many writers wish they could quit their full time jobs and spend all day writing? (Hell, I was one of those very people before I got laid off in July!) And then those same people end up finding other things that need to be done during the day and don't get nearly enough writing done as they should? Yep, that's me! I've been surfing the web (yes, mostly looking at writing-related things, but still), reading books on craft, etc. But I still haven't been doing any actual writing.

I need to set up a daily schedule and stick to it. The cold weather has turned me into a bear over the past month - I've been hibernating! I sleep till noon almost every single day b/c it's so nice and warm under my covers and I don't want to get up. But that's not realistic, nor is it healthy. Yes I hate winter and I hate the cold, but wishing away 4-5 months every year isn't a great way to live. I'm hoping I'll be able to snap out of my little funk once the new year hits!

On that note, I want to wish everyone who celebrates a very Merry Christmas! I hope Santa gets you everything you wanted and more (a publishing contract maybe?!?  ;-)  'Till next time!

A special treat - my first ever guest post!

Hello everyone! Can you believe Christmas is just a few days away? Where does the time go?  =P

Anyway, last week I was approached by the lovely Tiffany Jansen who asked if I would like to have her guest post on my blog. I said sure, why not! I'm always up for something new and exciting! Tiffany has written a thought-provoking article on making a living as a writer that I think my fellow writers will enjoy reading. So, without further ado (and what does that saying really mean, anyway?), here's Tiffany...!


Writing’s not a real job by Tiffany Jansen

The hours aren’t steady, you don’t have a set yearly income, and it doesn’t offer the paid sick leave, paid vacation, healthcare and pension that a regular 9-5 offers. There’s no boss, no employer. Just you, the
freelance writer.

Thus, many people toss writing off as not being a ‘real job.’

Though you will have many supporters throughout your writing career, you will also have a number of nay-sayers. Some of whom will counter your writing aspirations with “But writing’s not a real job.”

If you confront them with names like Stephen King or mention that many make a living as bloggers or
journalists, they’ll agree but then point out that those people are not you. Those kinds of instances don’t happen every day and the odds of you being listed among them are not great. You’d be better off getting an office job.

And, in a way, they’re right. The odds of any of us making it big like Stephen King or Darren Rowse are not in our favor. In fact, the odds are very much against us. Many writers have to take on two or more jobs and stay up into the wee hours of the night to fulfill their writing assignments.

There are stories of writers having to live out of their cars because they couldn’t afford a place to stay. Even JK Rowling was once forced to do her writing at a nearby café so she could save on her heating bill. Then, she was a single mother, barely able to make ends meet.

Of course you hear of overnight successes, but in those cases the writer was either simply in the right place at the right time or worked their buns off to achieve the accomplishment.

If the outlook is that bleak and depressing, why would anyone in their right mind want to be a writer?
Well, perhaps it’s not a ‘real job’ but it allows us to leave our mark in the world. It affords us the opportunity to do something we love and to feel fulfilled. And, if it’s done right, one can make a good living as a writer.
We may work longer and harder than most of corporate America, but we can do it in our pajamas. We create work that touches, educates and makes a difference. How many people with ‘real jobs’ can say that.

It may take us years to get off the ground and start making enough to be able to take to the bank, but we’re in charge of what work we take on and what assignments we forego. We decide when we want to take a vacation and when we’re in need of a break. We get to work when we’re at our best and put our work aside if need be.

No, I don’t make enough via my writing to pay the bills. I don’t have tons of clients and I don’t get paid $1 per word. My writing doesn’t cover medical costs or continue to bring in the dough when I’m sick or go on holiday. I don’t have any grand notions that I’ll be the next Phillipa Gregory or Nora Roberts.

But none of those are impossible goals for writers. With hard work and persistence, they can be reached. Just allow us the time to grow and build before you tell us that writing is not a real job.

Tiffany Jansen lives in the Netherlands and, according to some, doesn’t have a ‘real job.’ Instead, she writes, performs, crafts and teaches on a freelance basis and manages to actually make some money. Catch her at Putting Words to Paper or on Twitter to lament over the various woes of freelancing.

How do I make my hero NOT so nice? (Advice please!)

I was re-reading my WIP the other day when I realized something - my hero/MC's love interest is too damn nice. He cares about the MC/heroine from the get go, as soon as he has to carry her sick mother back to her room. This is not good. There needs to be some romantic (& sexual) tension. No one wants to read a book where the hero is all la-de-dah oh sure I'll help you, damsel in distress! You're sweet & beautiful & perfect, and I'm a hero so what else would I do?!? Hello snooze fest!!!!

I went back, edited a bit and got rid of some of his niceness. I emailed my first chapter to my friend to read over, and she told me that he's still too nice (which I'd kinda figured anyway). So now what? I don't want him to be an as*hole or anything, of course. But I don't want him falling at my MC/heroine's feet the moment they meet, either. Is there some sort of happy medium I can find?

For those of you who read (and/or write) romance, do you prefer if the male character starts out as a total d*ck and during the course of the book becomes a guy who actually does have a heart? (Keep in mind that he isn't my protagonist in this story, so I don't want the story to be all about his changes, but hers.) Or I could go the route that he is a nice guy, but due to miscommunications, etc., he seems like a giant douche bag in the eyes of my MC/heroine.

So whaddya guys think? Any thoughts? Or can anyone recommend an article/blog/book whatever that may help me figure out where to go with this? Help a newbie writer out and leave me some thoughts! I'll toss some virtual cookies your way (chocolate chip of course, unless you prefer another kind!)  ;-)

Cart before the Horse? (or the confusion of an unpublished, newbie writer)

Usually once someone decides they want to be a doctor, plumber, teacher, whatever, they research what needs to be done before they can start their dream job. That's what I did when I made the decision to get serious about my writing this past January; I started researching how to write a novel and get it published. I must say, I was completely overwhelmed with the amount of information I found on the internet about writing and publishing. I started off following a just few author/agent/editor/publisher blogs and I now follow well over a hundred.

I've joined Pennwriters (a writing group based in PA with over 300 members) and the Romance Writers of America (as well as a few subgroups of RWA, including my local Long Island chapter and FF&P (Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal) online).

I took Holly Lisle's six month online course How to Think Sideways. I've taken nearly thirty (yes, 30 - ask paypal, I'm not kidding.) online workshops this year. I've attended two conferences (Pennwriters and RWA), and I've already signed up for one coming up in February (DFW in TX).

I blog. I tweet. I facebook (although it's mostly a personal profile, I have added authors/writers as friends, and I "like" publishers, agents, editors, etc.). I'm on Savvy Authors. I'm on Romance Divas.

I subscribe to Writer's Digest and The Writer (magazines). I have bought I don't know how many books on writing (mainly on the craft itself) this year (probably somewhere between ten and twenty), as well as borrowing a bunch from local libraries. I copy/paste, format and print articles that I read online that I think are helpful and put them in binders (along with lessons from the workshops I've taken).

Now that's dedication! (Right?) I've certainly done my homework! I would never presume to submit an unedited first draft to a publishing house. I know about revisions, query letters, the dreaded synopsis. I know most publishers won't look at an unsolicited manuscript unless it comes from an agent. I am a wealth of information!

There's just one thing I didn't get around to yet this year - finishing a complete first draft. I began a sci-fi romance manuscript in January, got almost 30k written. I took an online workshop in June that completely confused the hell out of me. In a good way, I mean - it helped me find my plot holes and discover ways that my story didn't make much sense. But it meant major revisions to what I'd already written and I wasn't sure where I wanted to go with that story anymore... so I put it aside.

I started plotting and planning my second (unfinished) manuscript in August, but didn't start actually writing it until November 1st. (Yes, I foolshly thought I could win NaNoWriMo.) Thanks to an almost last minute (less than three weeks prior) decision to move in the middle of November, I failed NaNo miserably (see my previous post). I have a little over 15k written on my current manuscript.

Of course, there are both pros and cons to spending the whole year reading up on craft and taking workshops. One big pro is that instead of learning from my mistakes, I can learn before the mistake is made - which (hopefully) won't happen thanks to all I've learned! I know about plotting and outlining and character archetypes and the three act structure and... shall I go on? (Yes, I know you're all shaking your heads and saying "please don't!") But the big con is, as I mentioned in my previous paragraph, I have no completed manuscript. As I've read many times in articles and blogs, you can't edit a blank page. You can't edit one, you can't submit one, and you certainly can't publish one.

I don't regret any of the time (or money) I spent honing my craft this year. I just hope that it helps me in the future to be a better writer. I know I have talent and I've been told by others that they enjoy my writing. Now my #1 goal is to stop procrastinating by reading and researching how to write, and JUST WRITE. Please convince me it can be done  :)