Y is for Year in Review

Debra reflects on her writing year.

In many ways, 2016 has been a successful writing year for me.

*I released four (out of the five) novellas in my Holidays at The Corral series. And although none flew off the shelves, it was nice having a release every few months or so.

*In the spring, I participated in the BadRedHead Media 30-Day Book Marketing Challenge which had me create a Twitter account (Which I need to be better at using.) and to rethink how I use my Facebook page (I still need to work on that.) among other things.

*Valentine's Day at The Corral took third place in the IDA short contemporary category.

*This Feels Like Home was part of Amazon's July romance sale, which increased sales on that title greatly. (Still not enough by any stretch of the imagine to consider it to be 'making a living' with my writing, but it was nice to see bigger numbers in sales, at least for that title.)

*A Christmas to Remember was offered for free this past weekend as part of The Wild Rose Press's tenth anniversary celebration. (Always good for publicity.)








*And just this week I launched my crazy #sellathousand challenge for New Year's Eve at The Corral.
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*As always, I've enjoyed blogging here at HWH to share tidbits, insights, posts, encouragement, and excitement with my fellow bloggers. I am most grateful to have you all in my life.

When I look at that list, I feel pretty good. :)

However, the latter part of the year, as I've mentioned before, has been a bit frustrating in the 'getting something written' area of life, but I have high hopes that will turn around soon. It's been really nice this week delving back into 'writing life' as I've worked on getting my challenge ready. And while it hasn't (yet) nudged me enough to sit down and work on a WIP, like I said, in this season of hope and miracles, anything is possible!

As we head into the last week of the year (WHERE did the time go?!) I look forward to ushering out the old and welcoming the new with a bright new outlook.

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com

P is for Placement

Debra's Valentine's Day story placed in a contest!

Going through my inbox on a daily basis...sometimes more than once...can sometimes be a chore. More often than not, I delete more e-mails than I wind up reading. So much spam, it drives me crazy.

Today, though, I had some good news. My novella Valentine's Day at The Corral placed fourth in the International Digital Awards (#IDAWinner2016) contest! Yay!

I've had some pretty good luck in this contest. Last year, One Great Night was the first place winner.

It is always interesting to me to find out what readers prefer. This year I also entered my Christmas story from the Holidays at The Corral series. Out of the two, I like the Christmas book better myself. I found it interesting that one didn't place. It just goes to show, reader preferences and tastes are varied. I think often times we never know what will catch their ear or tickle their fancy. I guess all we can do is keep putting our work out there and hope it resonates with someone.

It's been a long time since I 'visited' my Valentine story. It was fun to think about it again today. Here's a little snippet for you. This scene takes place after Gail runs into her new boss at a speed dating event.

Monday morning Gail found a small box wrapped in pink paper with red hearts on her chair. After hanging her coat on the tree behind her and stowing her purse in the bottom drawer, she pulled the package onto her lap.

She cast a furtive glance out over the office as a niggling suspicion about who had put the box on her chair teased her. Most of the cubicles were still empty. Most days she was the first to arrive.

The red satin bow came undone easily when she tugged one end. The wrapping paper fell away to reveal a box of conversation hearts. She smiled even though she’d never really cared for the chalky candy.

A folded piece of cardstock was taped to the box. She stifled a laugh as she read the note:
Roses are red
Violets are blue
I had a nice time
Talking to you.

Initials ST completed the message. The bold, masculine scrawl was a stark contrast to the silly rhyme.

Amusement lingered as she tucked the note beneath her keyboard, then pulled a small glass dish out of a drawer. She filled it with the candy, then set it on the high ledge in front of her desk. Familiar with the collective sweet tooth of the employees at Thompson and Sons, it wouldn’t last until noon.

Did the new president have a sweet tooth as well? Scott Thompson had only recently taken over as head of the company for his ailing uncle, and she didn’t know much about him.

Except that she agreed with the woman in the pink jumpsuit. He had a nice ass. Normally she didn’t go for men in suits and ties. She only wanted two things out of life. A pair of nice fitting jeans and the man inside them. Some girls liked shoulders or chests or abs. For her, it was all about the butt.

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com

Sunday Snippet - A Peek at Debra's VALENTINE'S DAY AT THE CORRAL

The latest in Debra's Holidays at The Corral Series released on Friday.

“Gail?”

She groaned. Someone had recognized her? The stairs were only a few feet away. So close to freedom. Maybe she could pretend she hadn’t heard her name. She took another step.

“Gail Robbins?” The deep voice was closer now.

Crap. She turned.

Double crap. Scott Callahan, the new president of Thompson and Sons, the accounting firm where she worked, stood before her. She bit back another groan. Of all the people to run into.

He smiled. “I thought I recognized you.”

“Hello, Mr. Callahan.”

“Scott.”

Even though theirs was a small firm, being on a first name basis with the head of the company seemed too familiar, so she merely nodded.

“Fancy meeting you here.”

Not the word she’d use. More like awkward. Or embarrassing. Running into your boss at a speed dating event? Gads.

Wait…

“What are you doing here?” The question popped out before she could stop it.

He chuckled and tapped the name tag affixed to the lapel of his tailored suit jacket. Had he come right from work? “Same thing you are.”

Her mouth dropped open. “You’re here for the mixer?”

His green eyes twinkled. “Yep.”

“Really?” Triple crap. Her mouth had a mind of its own. If she wasn’t careful, it would get her fired. Not to mention the fact she’d snuck out of work early to go home and change before heading to The Corral.

He quirked an eyebrow, which drew her attention to his face again. Up close, he appeared more boyishly charming than stern executive. Younger too. Considering his position, she’d assumed he was in his mid-forties. Now she reassessed and put him closer to her own age of thirty.

“Does that surprise you?”

His age? She jerked back to the conversation at hand. “What?”

“You sound surprised I’m here for the speed dating event.”

“I am.” In for a penny, in for a pound. Not like the situation could get any worse. She might as well be honest.

He laughed. The deep, throaty chuckle was…sexy.

Gail blinked. Where had that come from? You shouldn’t think your boss’s laugh was sexy. Or the wayward lock of sinfully black hair falling over his forehead, loosened from the sweptback style as if he’d just run his fingers through it.

“I have to admit, I’m surprised I’m here too.”

“That makes two of us.” She bit her lip. “I mean, me. Not you. Me being here is surprising. It’s all my cousin’s fault.” Ugh. The more she tried to explain, the more tangled her words became. And now she was rhyming.

“Ah, we have something in common. It’s all my sister’s fault that I’m here.” He grinned. “Tell you what, how about I buy you a drink, and we can swap stories about our meddling relatives?”

Once again Gail gaped. Had he just asked her to have a drink with him? Her first instinct was to say no. For one thing, she wanted to get the hell out of there. For another, he was her boss. Mingling socially didn’t seem…proper. Then again, was it worse to refuse to have a drink with your boss? That couldn’t be good for a career either.

He leaned closer. The spicy yet subtle scent of his aftershave tickled her nostrils. “Come on, help a guy out.”

Odd phrasing. “Help you out?”

“Yes. Please save me from the woman dressed in a pink jumpsuit checking out my ass.”

Gail laughed. How could a girl say no to that?

G is for Gail

Gail Robbins is the heroine in Debra's "Valentine's Day at The Corral".

We first meet Gail in This Feels Like Home. She is Amber's cousin, and provides the emotional support Amber needs as she works her way through a relationship with Jake. After I finished The Corral trilogy, and those niggles kept nudging me to write a few shorter spin-off stories set there, I knew Gail would star in one. When I decided those spin-off stories would have holidays themes, it was always in the back of my mind to put Gail in the Valentine's Day one.

I never dreamed I would be writing it this summer. The deadline for submitting a VD story was long past for a 2016 story, so I decided I'd focus on the Fourth of July one. Little did I know my muse had a completely different idea. One morning, I woke up, long before I wanted to be out of bed, with the opening lines for Gail's story in my head. They kept pushing me until I got out of bed, grabbed the notebook on my nightstand, and scribbled away. Before I knew it I had not only the opening line, but several paragraphs to follow.

What followed that was simply a whirlwind. I wrote the story in eleven days. Now granted, it's a 13,000 word novella, but still...I was proud of myself. I sent off a quick e-mail to my editor asking if there way any chance for a 2016 release or if I should put it in the hopper for 2017. (Which just seems like so far away.) She checked with the powers that be and told me to send it ASAP. I did a quick, but deep (hopefully) edit, and sent it off. Either she knows my writing really well or I wrote one heck of a synopsis, because she passed the story right along to the reader (a step in the process at TWRP) without doing a read herself.

Now I wait to see if Gail will get her story in 2016. The mss needs both reader recommendation and senior editor approval before a contract would be offered. If not, the story will go into the hopper for some revisions and edits before I submit it again at the beginning of next year for a (hopeful) 2017 release.

So let me tell you a little bit about Gail. She's thirty, has lived in the same small town her entire life, works as a receptionist for an accounting firm, and has never found Mr. Right. She lets her cousin talk her into attending a pre-Valentine's Day singles' mixer/speed dating event, where she runs into her new boss. Scott has just taken over the company for his ailing uncle. And while sparks and an attraction have been there from the start, Gail is not keen to mix business and pleasure and date her boss. Besides, she likes cowboys in boots, hats, and jeans, while Scott is all city business man in his suits and ties. However, when Scott begins to woo her with candy and flowers and gifts for Valentine's Day, she finds her resolve wavering. Perhaps he's just her type after all. Now all she can do is hope he discovers small town life is to his liking and decides not to return to the big city.

Here are the opening paragraphs and a peek into Gail's mindset at the beginning of the story:

Payback was a bitch.

Gail Robbins assessed the surprisingly crowded barroom and wondered for the eighteen-thousandth time how she’d gotten herself talked into this. Hundreds of people milled around the spacious room. Tension hung thick in the space, almost like the smoky haze of days of old. Were there really so many desperate people in this small corner of Texas?

The whole thing made her see red. Literally. Cherry-colored cherub and heart cutouts plastered the walls. Pink and white twinkle lights twisted around the wooden columns framing the parquet dance floor. A single blood-red carnation in a bud vase centered on a paper doily on a red or pink plastic table cloth scattered with confetti stood on each high table. Supposedly to set a romantic, Valentine’s Day mood, instead the insipid decorations turned the cozy, rustic barroom of The Corral into her own personal hell.

Most of the soon-to-be participants wore shades of red as well. Gail’s stomach knotted behind the navy and white striped sweater she wore over blue leggings. Her hand shook slightly when she sipped her drink. Chardonnay. Not merlot. Refusing to give into the nauseating color scheme even a little bit, she’d stuck with white wine.

A slightly balding man in his late thirties/early forties wearing a red and white plaid sweater vest…yep, no lie…caught Gail’s eye and smiled. She half smiled in return, but quickly averted her gaze, not wanting to encourage him.

She was going to shoot Amber. Favorite cousin-almost-like-a-sister or not.

When Amber had first suggested Gail attend the singles’ event, she’d laughed it off. When Amber had handed her an already-paid-for entry ticket and reminded Gail about the auction where Gail had set her up on a date with Jake, a sneaking suspicion had wormed into her mind.

Was this Amber’s idea of revenge?

Amber had no reason to complain. Jake was…well, had been…the hottest commodity at The Corral. Gorgeous. Charming. The most eligible bachelor…yada yada. Not anymore. Now he was officially off the market, and he and Amber were as happy as clams. All due to Gail.

And this was how her dear cousin paid her back? A lonely hearts speed dating event? The whole thing was just so…humiliating.

Why hadn’t she put her foot down and refused?

Wish me luck and keep your fingers crossed!

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com