Romancing the Genres: Jenna Dales

Saturday, October 27, 2018

Out of This World with Jessa Slade

Out of this world and out of my mind…to yours!

by Jessa Slade writing science fiction romance as Elsa Jade

Imagination is weird. You can’t see it or touch it. It doesn’t have any weight or texture. It comes seemingly out of nowhere and yet is informed by literally everything around. It has no inherent value and yet as a writer I use it to pay my rent!

And here’s the really weird part: Imagination is completely incorporeal and yet binds me indelibly to you—the reader.

The first book in the latest trilogy of my science fiction romance series the INTERGALACTIC DATING AGENCY: BIG SKY ALIEN MAIL ORDER BRIDES just came out, and as I created a new storyworld of alien cyborg cowboys, I was weirded out again by how imagination links us. Here I am, spinning letters into words into a story right out of my imagination, and there are you, somewhere on the other end, gathering the adventure, the thrills, the love into your imagination.

Some readers have told me they aren’t interested in science fiction romance because it might be “too weird” for them. I say, if you are a reader, you already understand quantum entanglement and spooky action at a distance! Writer and reader are linked together in a dance of the imagination, a force as invisible as quarks, as powerful as orbiting suns. You are already weird and spooky! How cool is that?

While I was writing MACH ONE, the book that just came out, I had a moment where I was doubting the story. I was at the Oregon Coast for a writing retreat with other writer friends, where all we do is sit and writewritewrite. But for a day, I wasn’t writing. I just couldn’t figure out why this mattered, why would these characters come together, who would want this adventure? My imagination was failing me, like shooting stars crashing to Earth…

(Sunset of my writer soul, minus stars, with obligatory seagull for scale)

And that night, as I was meditating contemplatively at my little netbook (well, banging my head against the keyboard after drinking a high-caffeine sparkling water, whatever) I thought about the reader—you. And that other reader (who is my mom, tbh). And all those other readers (some of whom aren’t related to me!). All those tiny, far-away points of light shining down on me, waiting to be connected by that tenuous thread of imagination.

Okay, maybe it was just the caffeine and I was standing outside in the cold looking at the stars… But! I started typing again, and as if he came down from the heavens above—which he kinda did—was MACH ONE.

He came from my imagination—which sometimes seems even more remote and dangerous than outer space!—and now he’s leaving again for your imagination. Spooky action at a distance—out of this world and just in time for Halloween.

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It’s autumn in Big Sky Country, and crash-landed aliens are falling in love!

Oversized Montana rancher Mach Halley’s very big Stetson and giant belt buckle are hiding a secret of cosmic proportions: He’s a survivor of a transgalactically prohibited private army of cyborg alien warriors built to kill. But with a long-dormant member of his unit about to be born, he needs a healer—even if it’s a pretty little lady doc who must forget everything she sees.

Making a name for herself in rural, large animal veterinary medicine has been tough for Doctor Chien Lun-mei, so she takes a strange midnight call to prove herself—only to discover a secret wilder than any bucking bronc. If she rants about UFOs and ETs, she’ll be laughed out of the county, but this strong, silent cowboy who feels even more out of place than she does touches her in more ways than one.

Together they’ll fight to save an alien life, but for Mach to escape a war he never wanted, he’ll have to risk an alien love.

On the outskirts of the Big Sky Intergalactic Dating Agency, the Cyborg Cowboys of Carbon County are rounding up earthly pleasures for their forever mates.

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MACH ONE

Cyborg Cowboys of Carbon County #1

Intergalactic Dating Agency

by Elsa Jade

Is it too late?

By Jessa Slade

Is it too late for you to be a doctor or lawyer or shoe salesman? Yes? Damn, sorry. Well, if you’re doomed to be a working writer, here’s one thing (not the only thing, mind, or even the most important thing, but a thing) I think you should know before publishing:

Have a strategy.

I know this is sort of boring, business-y advice, but it’s something I wish I’d done. I’ve always been more interested in the art of writing than the business side, and that hasn’t helped my publishing career. I’ve made decisions on a whim and spread myself too thin. I’ve jumped on good opportunities that I haven’t been able to capitalize on. I’m playing catch-up now, learning the boring business side on the fly* and trying to retrofit a plan to multiple pen names and titles when having a strategy from the start would have been easier and likely more profitable.

Obviously, everyone’s strategy is going to be customized. But I think there are some core questions to noodle upon on your way to crafting a publishing strategy.

1. What do I want out of publishing? (A traditional contract? Self-publishing control? A one-and-done books just so I can say I did it? Fame and riches?)

2. How can my personal strengths support my publishing goals? (And if my skill set isn’t sufficient to reach my goals, should I be rethinking my plan?)

3. What creative and business choices are likely to contribute to my success? (How can I make my stories even more appealing to my sort of readers? Who are the key players around me and what can I learn from them?)

4. How am I going to implement my plan? (What is my timeline? Who is going to be on my publishing team? What else do I need to know?)

5. Eh, ef it. Let’s do this thing!

Once you are published, the situation gets much more chaotic. You have to oversee the released book** while managing the pipeline on the next books and at the same time looking ahead to possibly changing your strategy based on how your plan is executing. You will never have more time and less stress than you do before you publish, so make the best use of those brain cells to position yourself properly. In the end, you’ll probably find you rushed the process anyway (thanks a lot, #5) and made mistakes, but having strategized once, you’ll be able to salvage the best pieces and rethink as necessary.

I take a certain amount of twisted comfort in knowing that I can revise my career at least as much as I revise my stories. :)

* The world of publishing is going through a lot of changes, and I don’t see it coming to a peaceful status quo anytime soon, so learning is going to be an on-going task. I just remind myself learning new things is good for my brain.

** Even traditionally published authors are finding that many of the tasks involved in making a book successful are falling on their shoulders.

Bonus hard truth: no one cares as much about your career as you do, so due diligence is always on you, no matter how or where you publish.

If you have a creative or business strategy that worked out well for you -- or that failed miserably! -- please share so we can all learn more.

Bio: There are too many cool worlds to explore! Which is how Jessa Slade got started writing paranormal romance, urban fantasy romance and science fiction romance… but then dabbled in hot contemporary romance as Jenna Dales…and now also writes sexy shapeshifting romance as Elsa Jade. All her worlds feature mighty alpha males and strong, smart heroines with a bit of attitude. You can get QUEEN OF STARLIGHT free most places ebooks are sold or HERO for 99¢ at Amazon or free with Kindle Unlimited.

You can find her online in the usual haunts:

JessaSlade.com | JennaDales.com | ElsaJade.com
Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Saturday, October 27, 2018

Out of This World with Jessa Slade

Saturday, August 22, 2015

Is it too late?