Ten years! It’s hard to believe that I’ve been a part of this blog for that long. When the Blog Queens, Judith Ashley and Sarah Raplee, asked me if I’d like to be a part of a blog they were starting in May of 2011, I couldn’t refuse. These two giving and brilliant women have brought together numerous exciting and wonderful authors from around the world to entertain and educate readers and writers.
Roses for the Blog Queens!
I’ve been honored to be one of the authors who posts once a month on Romancing the Genres. Not only was I drawn to the blog by the Blog Queens, but the title they gave the blog made me smile and want to be a part of the group. The title can be interpreted so many ways, which makes it easy for an author of any genre to want to be a part of it.
Over the years, I’ve posted about writing struggles, new releases, and information I’ve uncovered while researching for books. And there are the ever-popular themes that the Blog Queens give us for each month. They are the best part of this blog. Really! When I can’t think of something going on in my writing life to write about, I fall back on their theme for the month and it gives me a place to start.
The other coincidences about this 10 year anniversary are the facts that I started Indie publishing ten years ago, when I joined this blog, and May is my anniversary month for when my first book published. That makes it easy every May to write a blog post. I can always talk about my writing journey.
But the best thing about being a part of this blog are the Blog Queens and the other writers and authors they bring to the blog each month on the weekends. They always have bloggers with lots of knowledge on the writing industry. The weekend blogs with the guests are a great way to learn about other authors and what is happening in the industry.
Judith and Sarah have done wonders herding the writers and authors on the blog over the last ten years. I can’t wait to do a 20th anniversary post!
If you didn’t see my post on Saturday about my current release being my 50th book, please come by my month-long 50 Book Bash Facebook party and join in the conversations for a chance to win prizes. I’m giving away prizes every day through the month of May.
Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 50 novels, 8 novellas, and numerous anthologies of murder mystery and western romance. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it.
When all else fails, talk about something you are excited about. That's what I decided to do when I could only get one paragraph written on the subject this month of Hope. It's not that I don't have hope, I think of it in a different realm than most.
I don't hope for things to happen. I'm a realist, I guess. I can either work to make my goals- desires expectations (hope) happen, or if it's not me in particular but worldwide events or family or friends, I can think of them, give them support, or find a way to make peace with whatever I can't control in my own mind and heart.
That is how I feel about hope. It's a pretty word. I like it for a name of a person, a town, a boat, a book. I know it gives people strength when they use hope and faith together. But for me, I wish and dream and work to make it happen.
So now, what I'm excited about. I'm not sure why I'm excited, it makes no sense, but I'm closing in on having published 50 books. I won't hit that nunber this year, 2020, but the year 2021 I will. I've already been working on ideas to make a BIG deal out of it. I'm not sure where, or how just yet, but I'm thinking my publishing anniversary month, will be a month long of sales, events, and fun.
What are some of your favorite author events you've attended? I'm collecting information for my 50 Books Party. I had a lot of fun last year holding a CLUE party in December with other mystery authors. I'm thinking I'll do something like that. And have a special giveaway for my newsletter peeps- Paty's Posse.
My Gabriel Hawke Novel #7 will be book 50. At this time it is set to be about MMIW - Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women. I'm thinking about making the sales from the book go toward that program at the Umatilla Reservation. The one where my fictional character Gabriel Hawke grew up. And where he'll be searching for a young woman who is missing. This is still in the works. I had plans to meet up with members of the Umatilla Reservation in the spring and Covid hit. When things take an upswing and we can get out and mingle again, I'll be contacting people and researching about the group on the reservation. I subscribe to their newspaper and have been reading all the articles on this subject. My goal is to do the organization justice and throw more light on this problem.
Back to the event. I'd welcome any suggestions for naming my event or fun things to do.
Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 47
novels, 8 novellas, and numerous anthologies of murder mystery and western
romance. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along
with hints of humor and engaging characters.Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern
Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the
western lifestyle, she lives it.
Happy Anniversary and congratulations to Romancing the Genres! The longevity of this blog speaks to the dedication of its founders and its many contributors, of which I’m honoured to be one.
The theme this month is how we celebrate ourselves. I must confess it took me more than a few minutes of thought to determine whether or not I actually celebrate myself. I concluded that I do though I’ve never thought of it in that way. Rather, I celebrate my accomplishments.
A book release is always accompanied by a bottle of Prosecco, along with equal parts elation and sorrow. A finished knitting project is acknowledged with a metaphorical pat on the back and a sense of relief. When I’ve reorganized a closet or a cupboard, I celebrate by opening the door and admiring my handiwork…several times…every day for about a week. When I experiment with a new recipe, I enjoy eating the fruits of my labours and am proud of my skill.
For me, the celebration is in the act itself. It’s a quiet, private, personal acknowledgement of a job well done.
Now, I do deliberately reward myself on a regular basis. Shovelling several cubic yards of soil into new garden beds was recently (last weekend) rewarded with a tall cold one and a bowl of corn chips. Keeping to a regular exercise schedule for a week is routinely reinforced by a bag (the small, single serving size) of Hawkins Cheesies (the best in the world, in my opinion). And meeting my weekly writing goals earns me a day of baking and reading.
So whether it’s called a celebration or a reward, I do recognize and take pride in what I accomplish, whether it’s baking a perfect loaf of bread or writing a novel.
Speaking of baking and novels…
Unemployed photojournalist Raynor Elliot stops at a bakery near the famous Deerbourne Inn. Not only does he get a lead on a job but the bakery’s owner is that awkward kid he knew in high school, only now she has fabulous curves and an irreverent sense of humor. The cozy bakery, with its aroma of sugar, vanilla and spice, has more to offer than tasty cookies.
Fiona MacLeod has been plagued for years by the need to make amends for telling The Big Lie. When the lie’s victim strolls into her bakery with his icy blue stare and killer charm, she feels like she’s standing too close to a hot oven.
Between running her bakery and frosting cupcakes for the Mad River Garden Party, she's pretty sure she's falling in love with this infuriating, sexy man. Can Fiona dredge up the courage to confess, face the consequences, and hope for forgiveness?
Luanna Stewart has been creating adventures for her imaginary friends since childhood. She spends her days writing spicy contemporary romance, romantic suspense, paranormal romance, and historical romance. When not torturing her heroes and heroines, she’s in her kitchen baking something delicious. She lives in Nova Scotia with her patient husband and two spoiled cats.
Hi, I'm Pippa Jay, author of scifi and supernatural stories to engage your emotions. And welcome to marvellous magical May!
May has always been one of my favourite times of the year, significantly because of three things. The first of May marks Beltane, the pagan start of summer and usually the point where the British weather takes a marked change for the better...well, sometimes. This year the first of May was actually a glorious day sandwiched between two very wet, windy and cold days - one extreme to the other! And how terribly British to talk about the weather. :P
May also sees my wedding anniversary - 26 years! We celebrated at home with a proper takeaway curry (to make up for each of us sneaking a posh but healthy breakfast into each other's work bags, lol).
The 7th of May also marks my seventh anniversary as a published author with my debut novel Keir. Seven years ago I would never have believed I'd have 18 published works by now.
Original cover,
seven years ago
The fact that Romancing the Genres also celebrates its Blog-o-versary just makes it all the more fun.
Hi, I'm Pippa Jay, author of sci-fi and supernatural stories with a romantic soul. Since it's the 7th Blog-o-versary and we're blogging about things we've learned about ourselves in the past seven years, I thought I'd go one more seven and make a list of things that you may not know about me that I've discovered in those years, or at least not guess on meeting me in real life.
1. I'm addicted to chickens. What started out as a pet suggestion from hubs because I don't like dogs, we still remember the massive vet bills from our cats, we have no spare room for rats who like to be active at night, and neither of us are into rabbits or guinea pigs, has become a big obsession. I went from helping out but mostly leaving it to hubs to completely taking over, falling in love with, planning a massive run, hatching eggs and now collecting different breeds of bantams. I pretty much don't go a day without posting something about my little feathered fiends...I mean friends!
My newest babies, nine days old today!
2. Finishing a book is the hardest part but I can do it. I finished my first book when I was eighteen, prompted by the axing of Doctor Who. For three weeks coming up to Christmas I scribbled away at a DW story (I suppose it could be called fan fiction now, though I did submit it to the then publishers of the DW novels) and finished something for the first time ever at about 40K words. It took another twenty years before I was able to repeat that success, but I did it!
3. Music is my muse. I can't go a day without listening to it and have my mp3 on constantly when I'm alone. But I absolutely can't have anything on when editing.
My latest obsession, Starset, rock music with a definite scifi theme!
4. I love cosplay. I went to a couple of conventions dressed up as a teen, but it's not until my kids have got interested in conventions and cosplaying that I've taken it more seriously. Now I try to make everyone a new cosplay each year, although I've been stuck with the same one three years running...
Nor-Con last year, with a fellow Jedi.
5. I hate housework but I love it when it's done. I've never been particularly houseproud, but in recent years I've grown to hate it. It feels like such a time waste when within five minutes of the kids coming home the place is a mess again! But it is satisfying to sit down after a thorough session and look around a room to see it clean and tidy, however briefly!
6. Hubs is more romantic than me. That became very evident this particular year as our 25th wedding anniversary approached. Hubs suggested going away just the two of us (our monsters are now old enough for us to do that) but I was worried about the money. He insisted on going for a meal at the very least, and booked us a table at the pub we had a drink at on our first date (a fact he remembered but I didn't, oops!).
7. Don't be so hard on yourself. Last year I experienced burn out on the whole publishing process, and it's taken me a long time to recover, the more so because I felt I should be doing this, that and the other. I realize now that the guilt of not doing those things I felt I should only made the situation worse. Sometimes we really just need to give ourselves permission for time off, to give ourselves a break and focus on a little self care, even pampering. And we shouldn't feel bad about that. If we fall, we can't help anyone else so we need to help ourselves first, sometimes at least.
And speaking of helping others...May not only sees RTG's blogging anniversary and my wedding anniversary, but my anniversary as an author too. It's been six years since my debut novel Keir released, and this year my book is part of a special blue book event in support of ASLA.
Looking for Blue skies and smooth sailing to cure ALS
May is ALS Awareness Month and twelve sci-fi/paranormal/time-travel romance authors will be donating 25% of their May book sales to the National ALS Association (including me)! Help us raise money to support the ALSA in their mission to provide care for ALS patients and continue their research to find a cure for this heinous disease.
Look for these hashtags on Twitter to find and help support our efforts:
Psst, if you buy any of my other blue cover books (like Gethyon, Keir's Fall, or Reboot, I'll add that money to my donation too). Happy reading, and may all your skies be blue!
And finally, in honour of our Blog-o-versary I'm also doing a giveaway. Comment below with something new you've discovered about yourself recently that the world may not know, and I'll pick one winner to receive a digital edition of my latest scifi romance release Unexpected, in whatever format the winner requires (to be chosen by random.org at the end of May).
Love can come when it’s least expected...
When an injured alien crashes on her planet, Soraya follows her instinct to repair and restore it despite the challenge of their differing physiology. But as she gets closer to her patient and he recovers, Soraya confronts a whole new form of existence...and a desire that could destroy her completely.
Yoran chose exile in order to release the woman he thought his soulmate from a marriage contract she had no wish to fulfill, and almost paid for it with his life. Now he finds himself drawn to his alien savior. But how can he ask her to give up the only existence she knows when he’s already suffered the consequences of such a sacrifice himself?
I am proud to be a part of this wonderful blog put together
by our blog queens- Judith Ashley and Sarah Raplee. I was one of the first bloggers
and was honored when they asked me to join. Over the years there have been some
great posts from awesome writers, our monthly contributors and spectacular
guest bloggers the blog queens have rustled up.
To commemorate the 7 years this blog has been in
existence, the topic this month is to blog about something that has happened to
me in the last 7 years.
What hasn’t!
It was 7 years ago that I took the Indie Author
plunge. I had 10 books published with a small press when other writer friends
started suggesting and pushing me toward an Indie career. At first, I was
scared and dubious I could handle all the hats it takes to be an Indie Author.
But gradually, I came to cherish the ability to put books out when I wanted,
get book covers I loved, and to price books and have sales how I wanted.
With Indie publishing comes deadlines, publishing,
marketing, and the ever-present social media.
Some days there doesn’t seem to
be enough hours in the day. I want to make my word count, get a book ready to publish,
and market. And while I’m doing this I’m also managing a household and helping
with the ranching.
Even though I’m behind already this year with my
projected books and releases, I wouldn’t change a thing about the path I’ve
taken to be a published author. I now have 32 books, 8 novellas, and a dozen
short stories published. I enjoy writing my Shandra
Higheagle Mystery series, collaborating with other authors in box sets, and
coming the end of this year, a shared world series.
I’ll have the first e-novella of my Tumbling Creek
Ranch series, a contemporary western romance to give to one person who leaves a comment. What
has been a big event in your life the last 7 years?
8 Seconds to
Love
Book one of the
Tumbling Creek Ranch series
Lacey
Wallis has put blood, sweat, and tears into her dream of making it to the
National Finals Rodeo and isn’t about to let an injury stop her. However, she
didn’t expect the ER nurse to be the man she had a crush on years ago, or to
discover that crush hadn’t been one-sided.
Jared
McIntyre lived through loving and the death of one thrill-seeking woman, and
wasn’t about to let that happen again. Especially not to Lacey. But that would
mean he’d have to allow himself to love again.
Which
will it be, a life-long dream, or the love of a lifetime?
Paty Jager is an award-winning author
of 32 novels, 8 novellas, and numerous anthologies of murder mystery and western
romance. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along
with hints of humor and engaging characters.This
is what Mysteries Etc says about her Shandra Higheagle mystery series: “Mystery,
romance, small town, and Native American heritage combine to make a compelling
read.” blog / website / Facebook / Paty's Posse
/ Goodreads / Twitter / Pinterest/ Bookbub
Hi, I'm Pippa Jay, author of scifi and supernatural stories to engage your emotions. And welcome to marvellous magical May!
May has always been one of my favourite times of the year, significantly because of three things. The first of May marks Beltane, the pagan start of summer and usually the point where the British weather takes a marked change for the better...well, sometimes. This year the first of May was actually a glorious day sandwiched between two very wet, windy and cold days - one extreme to the other! And how terribly British to talk about the weather. :P May also sees my wedding anniversary, and this year is a landmark one - 25 years! I've now been married more than half my lifetime, a sobering thought. And it turns out that in real life, hubs is decidedly more romantic than me with a dinner booked at the pub where we went for a drink on our first date together (a fact I did not remember! I did remember the film we went to see though...)
The 7th of May also marks my sixth anniversary as a published author with my debut novel Keir, and this month I'm taking part in a charity event that features Keir alongside a collection of other fantastic blue cover books in support of ALSA. Please go check out our page on the ALSA site HERE: http://webgw.alsa.org/site/TR/Endurance/GoldenWest?team_id=367681&pg=team&fr_id=12950
The fact that RTG also celebrates its Blog-o-versary this month is just another reason to party, and I hope you'll swing by throughout the month to join us. Have a marvellous magical May!
Hi, I'm Pippa Jay, author of SciFi and supernatural stories to engage your emotions.
May has always been a favourite month of mine. Spring is well and truly in and moving toward summer, and it marks two special anniversaries for me as well as Romancing the Genre's Blog-o-versary.
Me with hubs and his
parents on a bright but
windy wedding day!
The first is my marriage, reaching twenty four years as of the 8th. The 7th marks my anniversary as an author. This year is extra special because it's my debut novel's fifth anniversary and mine as a published author.
Original cover,
five years ago
The current cover
It feels like a long time, especially when publishing has changed so much in that five years. I couldn't have imagined where I would be back then, now with 12 titles available but my original series still incomplete, and my publishing life currently stuck in limbo as poor sales and real life demands conflict with my compulsion to keep writing regardless of my situation. I don't regret any of it, but things have never gone quite as I might have expected. But that's not a bad thing.
To celebrate my fifth anniversary I'm running a special giveaway for a pair of custom-made crocheted dragonscale gloves in Keir blue, created by Hoot and Luna. This is open internationally but PLEASE BE AWARE - any import/shipping taxes will be the responsibility of the recipient as these cannot be paid in advance by the sender.
This
is a big month on Romancing the Genres as we celebrate the RTG Blog-o-versary.
I can actually celebrate an anniversary myself…as of April I’ve been a RTG
author for exactly one year! So, I get to celebrate TWO blog-o-versaries!
As I write this, I’m
trying to think of all that has happened since last April.
-Number
of books published…four (the last release in April was my TENTH published
book.)
-Other
books written (but not yet published)...one
-Works
in progress…two
-I
signed with a new agent, Melissa Jeglinski of The Knight Agency.
Other significant
happenings…
Both
of my parents retired, and last September they moved away from Miami. We have
lived in the same city since I graduated from college, and it has been a big
adjustment not seeing them all the time.
My
church began a community dinner theatre. I’ve always loved acting. I was a
theatre major in college. My church formally had a black box theatre about 15
years ago, and we did productions like The
Mousetrap, Beauty and the Beast, Harvey, and The Imaginary Invalid. But that troupe disbanded and I hadn’t been
on stage since. Last summer, the dinner theatre became a reality again and the
first production was in July, Oh, What a
Tangled Web where I played a mom…to two teenagers! Then we did a really
funny Western melodrama in February, The
Vile Veterinarian, where I played a diva opera singer named April May June.
It has been really fun exploring my acting side again.
So,
that was my year…it went by SO FAST! What significant things happened to you in
this last year? Any big changes? New beginnings?
Kristin Wallace is the USA Today Best
Selling Author of inspirational and contemporary romance, and women’s fiction
filled with “Love, Laughter and a Leap of Faith”. She is the author of two best
selling series, Shellwater Key Tales (sweet contemporary romance) and Covington
Falls Chronicles (inspirational romance). Her tenth published novel released
April 24th, Last Stop At Paradise, Book 3 in the Shellwater Key
Tales.
