Saturday, August 26, 2017

Excerpt: "Eating Life" by Beth Burnett

Beth Burnett's book "Eating Life" is now available in ebook and print!


A hitchhiker wearing a massive backpack caught her eye. From the back, it looked as if the person’s tiny frame couldn’t support the weight of the luggage. Dakota barked out the window, making the person jump. Casey gave a half wave as she passed, getting a raised hand in return. In her rearview mirror, she watched the hiker stumble and nearly fall. She slowed down, looking at Dakota.
“This is how it happens in horror movies, isn’t it? A lonely woman traveling down a deserted mountain road stops for a hitchhiker and gets garroted for her trouble.”
She glanced in the mirror again. “On the other hand, that person looks as if she couldn’t lift one of my bags of crap, let alone take me in a fair fight.”
She stopped the car, put it into reverse, and crept backward along the road. When she reached the hiker, she stopped and tried to quickly gather up the detritus of the road from the passenger seat. She shoved maps into the glove box and hastily wiped muffin crumbs from the upholstery. The hiker opened the door and looked in.
“Hey,” he said.
“You’re male.”
“I am.” Pausing, he smiled. “The next thing out of my mouth was going to be that I’m not a rapist or a serial killer, but I imagine rapists and serial killers would say the same thing.”
Casey laughed. “Well, I have to admit that having a killer dog who would rip the head of anyone who tried to hurt me does give me a certain feeling of security.”
Dakota chose that moment to shake his head, spraying them both with drool. He returned to his window, panting.
“Killer, eh?”
Casey half shrugged. “Come on.”
The man settled in, crushing his backpack down between his feet.
“You could put that in the back, but anything in it will get stepped on.”
The guy shrugged. “There’s nothing breakable.” Rearranging, he stowed the bag in the back and buckled in.
Casey looked at him sideways as she drove off again. “So where are you going?”
“Northern California. How about you?”
“I was on my way to San Francisco when I made a stopover in Sedona. Now I’m thinking of heading to San Diego.”
“What’s in San Diego?”
“Beautiful weather.”
“San Francisco has beautiful weather.”
Casey laughed. “Winter is coming. San Francisco weather will not be as beautiful as San Diego in November.”
“We’ll have to agree to disagree. I love San Francisco in the fall.”
“What’s your name?”
“Ben Stagg.”
“I can probably take you as far as Bullhead City. There’s a diner there where it might be easier to find a ride than on the side of the road.”
“If you’re going through as far as Barstow, I could make that work.”
“Let’s get to Bullhead City and discuss it there,” Casey said.
Ben nodded. He fished a granola bar out of his bag and offered it to Casey. They drove in silence for a while, munching on the bars.
Casey glanced at him from time to time. He looked innocuous, slender and short enough that she had mistaken him for a woman from the back. She grinned. “I wonder if I would have stopped if I’d been sure you were a man.”
Ben shrugged. “I think you stopped because I stumbled. You felt bad for me carrying all my possessions on my back.”
“Are those all your possessions?”
“Everything I have left.”
“I thought I was a minimalist because everything I own fits in my car.”
He shook his head. “I don’t even have a car.”
“Lucky for you, I sold my banjo at the last stop. Otherwise, you’d have to ride in the back with Dakota.”
 They paused for a minute, listening to the sound of Dakota snoring in the back seat. Ben looked around. “I think he’s drooling on my bag.”
“I did warn you.”
“It’s not the worst thing it’s been through, I’m sure.”
“Grab the map and make sure I’m heading toward Forty. It’s been a while since I’ve been this way.”
Ben waved his hand. “You’re making directly for it from here. There’s one turn farther up the road, but there’s a sign.”
“You know this area.”
He nodded. “My wife was from Flagstaff. For a long time, we lived in Northern California. We used to drive this route to see her parents.”
Casey looked at him. A man with a wife didn’t generally hitchhike alone through the back roads of Arizona. “What happened to her?”
He shook his head and looked out the window. Casey turned on the radio and scanned through the stations looking for something interesting. “Forget it,” Ben said. “All of the radio stations suck here.”
She nodded at his comment and pushed in a CD.
“Hey.” Ben perked. “Tribe 8. I saw them in concert about a million years ago.”
Casey laughed. “You did? You don’t look like the typical audience.”
“Excuse me? Lesbian punk is the best.”
“Let me guess. You’re a lesbian on the inside.”
“Not all straight men say that stupid shit. I just happened to be in the punk scene in the eighties. I was hardcore back then.”
Casey grinned, looking at him again. His bright blue eyes, tanned and slightly creased face, and dark hair with flecks of grey spoke more of a soccer dad than a punker. “What happened?”
He smiled. “I’m so punk, I don’t have to look punk to be punk.”
Throwing her head back, Casey laughed loud enough to elicit a grunt from Dakota. “My apologies. Another lesson in not judging a book by its cover.”
“To be fair, I changed a lot as I grew up. Became a family man. Shaved the Mohawk, got a job. You know, the same old story.”
“Not my story. I started running as a teenager and I haven’t stopped yet.”
“Never?” Ben asked.
“Once. Moved in with a woman for a few years.” Casey frowned.
“She nearly ruined me.”

“And you’ve been on the road ever since,” Ben said. “Lone woman, wild and free.”
“Not alone. I have Dakota.”
“Haven’t met the right woman to make you want to stop for good,” Ben said.
“Don’t believe I have to give up my freedom because of the right woman.”
“I used to think that. Until I met Jeannie. She was the light of my life.”
Casey turned the music down. “Want to talk about her?”
Ben stared out the window at the brilliant Arizona sunshine. “Whenever I think about telling the story, I want it to be terrible weather.”
“I know, right? We always feel the weather should match our moods. When I’m feeling bleak, I imagine I should be trudging through six feet of snow in a dark and dreary Midwestern winter.”
He chuckled. “It’s not a long story.”
“We have at least three hours. Make it as long as you want.”
“First, let me ask you something?”
“Okay,” Casey said. “I don’t promise to answer.”
“Fair enough,” Ben said. “Have you ever loved someone so much that it felt as if she eclipsed everything and everyone else in your life?” 

Summary on Amazon:
Carefree and irrepressible, Casey Wilde has spent her life running. Running from love, running from responsibility, and running from commitment. Megan Woodson, Casey’s best friend, has spent her life building security with a long-term partner and a well-paying, highly respected position in the best ad agency in Memphis. Ben Stagg is a man who has lost everything, including the desire to live. And Brilliant Wilson is a photographer who can’t quite figure out why she keeps dating women who don’t love her. Faced with painful and pressing decisions, the group is forced to confront their own life choices.
When their worlds collide and everything starts to fall apart, these friends must learn that the only important decision is the one to follow their hearts.

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Win SIGNED Books!!

I was approached by two authors to be part of a contest that readers/fans can win dozens of SIGNED books. Click to Enter
I sent a signed copy of Love's Autograph to be given away.
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Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Eating Life with Beth Burnett


I'm kicking-off August by featuring author Beth Burnett.
Last year I met Beth at the Golden Crown Literary Society (GCLS) Conference in D.C. I then became a student at the GCLS Writing Academy where she's the director. Today, she humbly agreed to be interviewed for this blog. I hope that you find her to be as witty and entertaining as I do.


Tell us a little about yourself?
I've written twenty thousand bios in my life and this question still makes me go all wild-eyed and yell, "I like turtles!" Seriously, I think I'm pretty out there on social media so most people probably already know the standard stuff. If there's something most people don't know it's that I'm actually rather serious and introverted, despite my boisterousness in crowds. 
Beth's Blog
Beth on Amazon
Beth on Goodreads

How did you get to be so witty, funny, and good looking?
I was born this way. It's my blessing and my curse. I'm actually quite humble, but it's hard to stay humble when you're this awesome.  

Tell us about your upcoming book and where can we buy it? 
Eating Life is my current book. It's available for purchase August 15th. Order from a local woman owned bookstore! (My two favorites are People Called Women in Toledo, Ohio and Laurel Bookstore in Oakland, California. Both will order it if they don't have it. And they ship. And of course, you can buy it in the regular big online retailer places. And from Sapphire Books website.)
http://peoplecalledwomen.com/
http://www.laurelbookstore.com/

Fill in the blank:
This book will make you want to stop working shitty jobs and start living with wild abandon.

(I need to read this book!)

What is your favorite scene?
I love a scene between Casey (my main character) and Ben Stagg when she finds him hitchhiking and gets his backstory. The two of them have a natural, platonic chemistry that made all of the scenes with the two of them incredibly easy to write. 

What was your inspiration for this book?
I spent so many years on the road, travelling from one place to another, never really living anywhere. It was liberating and wild and I knew some day, after I settled down, I would write a character who was homeless by choice.



Million dollar question, what are you working on next? 
I hope it becomes a million dollar project. I have one completed manuscript that is with a beta reader as we speak about two soulmates who fall in love but can't be together. I'm working on a hetero romance about two women who are betrayed by their boyfriends and decide to write bad porn books about them to get even. I'm about halfway through a self-help book based on the online women's empowerment classes I teach. And I just started outlining a book in which the antagonist from Eating Life becomes the protagonist. And my alter-ego, Olivia Craft, tries to put out an erotica short story on Amazon every other month or so. (Olivia's work keeps me supplied with hummus and Birkenstocks, so I have to schedule time for her.)



If you were sitting at a stop light next to a new writer, what writing, publishing wisdom would you bestow upon him/her before the light turned green?
I'd scream, "Just sit down and write" and then drive off, leaving them speechless and terrified.

Any website or resources that have been helpful to you as a writer?
I'm kind of a luddite - I still like paper books. I have Stephen King's On Writing, and the Natalie Goldberg books. Chuck Wendig's Kick-ass Writer is excellent, too. The biggest boost to my writing skills comes from running the writing academy. Even when I'm not teaching, I sit in on the classes, and they are incredible. I feel my writing has improved so much since starting with the academy.

What is the toughest criticism given to you as an author?
Long ago, I was talking to the incredibly talented Linda Kay Silva and she said, "Stop saying you want to be a writer. You obviously don't want to be a writer or you'd be writing." It was hard but she was so right. I sat down that day and started writing. My first novel, Man Enough, came directly from that conversation. 

What has been the best compliment?
I love when people acknowledge my work (and I'm a Scorpio), so all compliments are welcome! One of my favorites was when Catherine Wilson, author of the When Women were Warriors series, listened to my reading, and then ran to the vendor table shouting, "I need to get that book!" 

Anything you would like to say to your readers and fans?
Lesbian fiction is still relevant - perhaps even more so in today's political climate. Keep reading and I'll keep writing. 

What is the biggest surprise that you experienced after becoming a writer?
That it isn't just writing. I knew nothing about marketing (still don't know much) and the amount of marketing an author has to do is overwhelming. I somehow thought that as long as I wrote good books, people would just miraculously know about them and buy them. 

Anything else you'd like to share?
I'm not wearing pants.



Any questions you'd like to pose to me?
What are you wearing?
    Shirt & Tie AND Pants

    And when is your next book coming out?
    Love Coupons --Sept 1st (fingers-crossed)






On August 15th RUN don't walk to get Beth Burnett's next book Eating Life.

http://www.laurelbookstore.com/

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

When Picturing 'Em Naked Fails: Crushing an Author's Reading


Public speaking is the number one fear of Americans. I grew-up hearing people say "Picture them Naked." Hey- it seemed to work for characters on television. It's not so much working for me, it just seems too distracting. If you throw in the mix, reading a lesbian romance things get heated fast. Picturing them naked or in their underwear, would cause me to worry that an orgy would break-out.

So, if this de-clothing tactic does not work for you, what would? Marketing & publishing experts agree that author readings are an integral part of a book's success. How do we help bashful, fearful authors succeed at author readings?

1. Getting Over the Fear of Speaking in Public: This is much easier said (pun intended) than done. Some writers by nature are introverts. He/she wants the story or novel to speak for itself. If your fear is more like a phobia, seek counseling. You might want to seek counseling or a coach even if you don't think it's a fear. Once that hard work is done, practice, practice, practice. Start off small: speak more in a staff meeting, give a toast at a dinner party with friends, start a podcast, find other speech engagements.

2. Prepare Your Own Work:

  • Write Something Worthy to Read.
  • Pick an exciting passage that doesn't give the whole story away.
  • Go through the passage and trim out the unnecessary information.
3. Practice Reading Out Loud:
  • Time yourself to stay within the time frame.
  • Record yourself.
  • Read to a pet.
  • Read to a friend, family member or partner.
4. Prepare an introduction to your reading.
  • Setting.
  • Characters.
  • What's happening in this scene.
  • A short, short bio of yourself and where they can buy the book. If you're doing signings after, make sure to mention that.
5. Prepare yourself for questions if that's part of the reading.
6. Become familiar with the atmosphere.
  • Who comes to the readings?
  • Is there a moderator?
  • Place you will be reading?
7. Day of the Reading Preparation.
  • Plan what to wear. Wear something comfortable.
  • Practice some mindfulness, positive thinking and other grounding techniques.
  • Mind what you drink or eat. Don't want to be too full or too starving or having to go to the restroom in the middle of your reading.
  • Stretch or move around before reading to get your blood flowing.
  • Sing to your favorite song to get your vocal chords going.
8. Have someone take a picture of you while you're reading and sitting with other authors about to read. Put in on your blog, website, or other social media site. (Use the picture to send to your ex-girlfriend with the text, I just read a passage about how awful a person you are to a room full of people.)

9. Reward Yourself!
  • Go to a movie, dinner, plan small party with friends.
  • Get a massage, buy yourself a new toy/equipment.
  • Go on a small trip.
10. Do it Again!! (Plan your next reading.)


Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Short Story Success




A few weeks ago, I had a short story accepted for an anthology. Hurray! It's the first time that an entity like a publisher has chosen to display my writing. This is on top of being thrilled every time I have a reader contact me about liking my book. My favorite is when the reader says that they couldn't stop reading and stayed up all night. Okay, I went on a tangent. Like I said, my short story was accepted.

I'm excited about this because of these reasons:
1. My first formal acceptance.
2. Short Stories are extremely hard to write. It requires constructing a memorable story and great characters in a small space.
3. It's an anthology that's going to get released at the GCLS Con in Chicago!!

One of my favorite writers is Kurt Vonnegut. He was amazing at short stories. He used to make a living purely on short stories and consumed a multitude of them in his childhood and adolescence. Check-out his short stories. The audio books with his narration is incredible.  I'll never be as great as him and respect the art of short story writing.

Once my debut short story is published, I'll share the link on my blog!

Update: Another one of my short stories just got picked up by Sapphire Books!