Been sooooo lazy...

I have not been keeping my blogs up...

But I have been working...Hard Work, Hot Boss came out in print on August 4, 2011, and Uncertainly Yours is coming soon.  It's been a long, hot dry spell for me over the past year. Health issues and lack of energy are partially to blame, but mostly, I have been too doggoned lazy.  Been under loads and gobs of stress, and got caught by a gnarly case of shingles a couple of months back.  Nobody ever explained that getting rid of the shingles is only half the work...you then have to go through a month or three of "post-herpetic pain" from the damaged nerves. Gah! Wouldn't you know?

Since the meds are far worse than the discomfort and pain, I opted to tough it out. Oooowwwww!

I am going to Romanticon though, so drop me an e-mail if you are going, too, and would enjoy getting together.

Hugs!

Fran Lee

http://www.franleeromance.com

Sex is serious business. It’s enthralling, enthusiastic, invigorating and enervating. In addition to being fun, it’s funny. Which is what makes my erotic romances different from others’. Humor—even in my darkest erotic romance—is my “brand.” My author’s voice.

Some people upon meeting me express surprise that I write erotic romance. My response to that observation is this: I’m not so old I’ve forgotten the joys of making love. Nor am I so young that I’m embarrassed writing about those joys. In very explicit terms!

I’ve written short contemporary, romantic suspense, Regency and Victorian historicals. I never sold. Now I write erotic romances. My sixteenth book—Her Virtual Ecstasy—will release October 1, 2011. I think you can see why I write what I write. I have two more books—It Takes a Thief and Temptress of Time that are contracted, but don’t have release dates yet.

Why do I write what I write?

· Freedom of language: To ensure I avoid redundancy, I have an American Dictionary of Slang where I find lots of synonyms for sex parts. I also have a Dictionary of Euphemisms, which I don’t use much if at all.

· Freedom to fantasize: I remember being really angry at Erica Jung for revealing so many female fantasies in her novel Fear of Flying. Now I appreciate the freedom to imagine anything—and to write about it.

· Luck: In 2005 I ran in to Lynn LaFleur at the RWA conference in Reno, NV. She suggested I attend the “spotlight” on Ellora’s Cave Publishing. I won an anthology, loved every story in it, and wondered if I could write a story as funny and HOT as Charlotte Boyett Compo’s The Windsday Club. Inspired as I hadn’t been in a long time, I came home and wrote Passion’s Four Towers, which became my first sale ever.

· Freedom to explore new (for me) subgenres: I write Historical Fantasy because I can play fast and loose with historical details—except for certain words and making sure they were in use at the time. I really admire all you wonderful authors who write historically accurate and creative stories as well. I do try to stay accurate with clothes and weaponry, but the rest is out of my own imagination. I started writing Futuristic Fantasy because I needed something to occupy my time while I waited to hear about my historical fantasy. Both genres are a lot of fun to write. I probably will never write a paranormal, even though I read them a lot.

Since I first wrote this, I have written and sold a paranormal: Chosen. It’s available from eXtasy Books.

· Challenges: I love compound/complex sentences. Most e-publishers do not. Even commas are frowned on.

· Naming Creativity: I live with my Character Naming Sourcebook from The Writer’s Digest. I don’t even start writing until I’ve named all my major and most of my secondary characters. Naming is fun. For example, Passion’s Four Towers three brothers’ names are variations on the word “spear.”

Pesky little issues of self-publishing: Q & A

While I dip my toe in the waters of self-publishing (and I write about them on my blog beginning 7.17.11 at http://cerisedeland.blogpsot.com ), I thought I would quickly list of few issues that occur to me as vital within the industry to note:
1. Like any other venture, have a GOAL. For this book, for this venture, which is going to cost you a lot of time and money, hope and aspiration, do have an idea of what you wish to accomplish.

Is it to increase your readership, assuming you are already published and have books out which new readers may now buy?
Is it to launch yourself into a new venture and learn a new business model?
Is it to establish yourself in a new medium with a low price point?

Only by having a clear goal can you have a sense of accomplishment and a feeling that your time and effort were well spent.
2. Understand that your sales may not come to you all at once within a few months of publication.
WHY?
Because digital life is long. Eternal, it would seem. PRINT life, as an author friend of mine often says, has the shelf life of celery.
Be patient. If you build it, readers will come.
3. How many will come?
Ah. That depends. On your promotion, your visibility and of course, on the quality of the work.
The visibility and promo, to some extent, you can control.
The quality and how it is received by others? Not so much.
WHY?
Because everyone has an opinion and they are entitled to it, and reviewers abound. The good. The Bad. The ugly. The unprincipled.  What for one is a 5 star, is for another a 3 star. How can that be, you ask?
As a multi-pubbed author in print and in e-book, I can only repeat: everyone has an opinion. Those opinions can be as varied as flakes of snow.
You just have to put your big girl or boy pants on and live with it.
4. Promo!
Oh, boy. My only thought on this...at the moment...is do not spend yourself blind. Choose a few good places to promote and advertise and get the heck out of Dodge!
You can go nuts AND BROKE.
amen.
Want more of my journey and a blow-by-blow of what to do, how, when and how much to spend?
Go to my blog (addy above) and begin with post for 7.17.11 and all posted with "self-pub" in the blog labels.
Want to see how I did with this book? Buy link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005DA0200/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=cerdel-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=B005DA0200
Ciao! Happy new ventures!