Author: Jennifer Lane

I hope this A to Z Challenge ends soon because I’m running out of ideas!

Today’s letter “R” is for Recruit, or rather my short story Swim Recruit.

The NCAA allows five paid visits to universities as a prospective student-athlete, and I find the process rather fascinating. The university attempts to woo the recruit while the recruit attempts to show off her academic and athletic prowess.

A recruiting trip might be one of the first times away from home for the high school senior. Though I was a teetotaler throughout high school, I got drunk for the first time on my swimming recruiting visit to Yale. 😉

This short story was part of an anthology benefiting breast cancer research, but now it’s a sweet YA single available for free at Omnific Publishing or for $.99 on Amazon.

Not long after Abby Donahue’s family falls apart, she escapes on an airplane to Chicago for a recruiting trip. A talented high-school swimmer, Abby hopes to score both a college scholarship and some distance from her parents’ recent divorce. But is this university for her?

Her first encounter with freshman swimmer Reese McGowan makes her nervous. He’s a tall backstroker with a mess of blond hair, glittering aquamarine eyes, and a suspension from the team for badmouthing the school to another recruit. As Abby unravels the mystery underlying Reese’s disdain, she begins to unlock her own hidden emotions about her father. Together Abby and Reese battle bullies on the team and inner demons, learning that flipper feet and fighting for family can actually be a good thing.

Here’s another “R” for you–my review of Room by Emma Donoghue. Haunting story!

Thanks for stopping by.

1) As I quietly tiptoe into today’s Challenge letter “Q” (quintessentially the most challenging letter of all), I quickly realize I’ll have to strike up some creativity!

2) As I tiptoe into today’s Challenge letter “Q” (the most challenging letter of all), I realize I’ll have to strike up some creativity!

Which style is better? I contend #2 is better for a concise, smooth read. There’s no need to use “quietly”–that’s the only way one can tiptoe. And the other q adverbs are superfluous.

But when I first started writing, my style was much closer to #1. I bled adverbs like a stuck pig (and I used a lot of clichés too, but that’s for another post.)

Jen: Hi, I’m Jen, and I’m an adverb abuser.

All: Hi, Jen!

Jen: It all started when I didn’t appreciate the intelligence of my readers. I mistakenly thought I had to spell out every action, every feeling.

All: What a mistake…

Want to join the support group? 😉

And we move forward with the A to Z Blogging Challenge today with good ole letter P, which of course is for PSYCHOLOGY!

If you scroll down the right side of my blog, you will find the “Psycho Author Series” in which I write about psychological disorders you can use to help your characterization.

It starts off HERE with a post about Narcissistic Personality Disorder, one of my favorites (and most difficult to treat!) I created a character in my newly released Young Adult Sports Romance Streamline based on this diagnosis. If you’ve read this story, can you guess the character?

What psychological diagnosis would you like to learn more about?

Have you heard of Omnific? It’s a small press publisher that’s released my first three novels, and I’ve been quite pleased to work with the wonderful individuals involved.

When I was querying agents for With Good Behavior (and getting nowhere), I happened upon Omnific and found a great fit for my romance novels. I’ve learned so much about publishing and marketing from these feisty ladies.

The publisher is Elizabeth Harper, Ph.D.–a psychologist like me. I’m lucky she gave my writing a chance! Here she is with some of her staff at the Romantic Times convention:

Jessica, CJ, and Lisa have whipped my manuscripts into shape with their keen editing skills, and Micha has been a whiz at marketing.

At the convention, I was also stoked to meet fellow Omnific author and A to Z Blogger Nicki Elson (check out her Disney tips HERE).

Since Omnific’s first releases launched on 2-14-10, they haven’t looked back. Check out Omnific’s site for writing tips and compelling romance!

Today’s the cover reveal for Lisa Sanchez‘s naughty and naked novel Faythe Reclaimed!

Running through a strange forest with a bloodthirsty demon hot on her heels wasn’t Taylor’s idea of a rockin’ evening. Then again, neither was soaring backward through time and space. Time travel chafed and left a rank, nasty aftertaste. So, when she finds herself floundering amidst a sea of Commandment-loving holy rollers who fling accusations of witchcraft and bedevilment like hotcakes in a diner, finding her way home jumps to the top of her to do list. Too bad she can’t remember who she is or where she came from. And if that wasn’t bad enough, Taylor realizes she’s fallen for Gabriel, the mysterious Latin warlock who came to her rescue.

Lisa’swebsite: www.lisasanchezromanceauthor.com
Publisher website: http://www.tulipenoirepress.com/

That’s a beautiful, steamy cover. I’ve read the first two novels in the Hanaford Park series–Eve of Samhain and Pleasures Untold–and look forward to this third paranormal romance tale!

As the author of almost 50 books, Bob Mayer rakes in quite the healthy salary. He shared some sound marketing strategies at the Romantic Times Convention, which I in turn want to share with you. I’ll also include some of my favorite quotes from Bob.

“The best platform and promotion is a great product. The second best is more product.” (With that many books out, Bob has definitely embraced “more”.)

1. Platform. Find your niche as an author. My tagline is “Romantic Suspense Featuring Healing and Redemption.” What’s yours?

“You can’t do everything, but be consistent.” Bob focuses most on his blog and Twitter instead of spreading himself too thin across multiple social media sites. He keeps an extensive spreadsheet with all the dates for guest posts, tweeting, and bumping his Kindleboards threads as often as allowed (every 7 days). (I admit I’ve never even visited Kindleboards so I need to get on it IF that’s something I can do consistently).

2. Product. Write what you’re passionate about. Write what you like to read. The best thing you can do is keep writing and learning.

“What’s the difference between aggressive and obnoxious? Aggressive is when you have a good product, and obnoxious is when you have a bad product.”

3. Promotion

Bob’s keys to promotion:

1. Have good content

2. Link to something recognizable (Bob discussed how the TV show Lost seemed eerily similar to the plot of one of his published novels, so he tied into Lost when marketing that novel).

3. Balance promotion with networking and supporting others. (I find this so important. I don’t want to engage in authors who furiously promote without building some sort of relationship with me.)

* MBTI Are you familiar with the Myers Briggs Type indicator? I’m either an ENFJ or an INFJ depending on the day, and Bob said that the INFJ type is most descriptive of writers. We’re introverted and want to take care of others’ feelings. The problem that causes when it comes to marketing? The code for a promoter or marketer is the exact opposite: ESTP.

We need to step out of our comfort zone to network and communicate our passion.

“Thinking your publisher will market your book is like thinking your OB-GYN will raise your kid”.

I’m attending my first writers’ conference! *clicks heels* The Romantic Times Convention in Chicago has been a lot of fun so far, and I want to share some tidbits with you.

In the “Kiss Me, Kill Me: Writing Action Scenes for Romance” seminar, writers Larissa Ione and others advised making the reasons for the fight personal. No one cares about an action scene unless there are high stakes for the hero and heroine.

There were married couples on the panel and they said they’d choreograph the action scenes together in real life, to increase authenticity. Sounds like I need to get me an author hubs to do this. 😉

Next was my favorite seminar, on Romantic Suspense. Here’s a great author, Cindy Gerard, with Roxanne Rustand to her left:

I can’t wait to read the next book in Cindy’s Black Ops Inc. series. These authors recommended the macfreedom program to shut off the internet while writing. (I need this!)

Finally the Young Adult panel was a hoot. Stephanie Perkins, author of Anna and the French Kiss, is just as cute as her stories. Check out her red hair!

She and others advised not to write for the market, but to write what you’re passionate about. They also had a “Hunger Games” battle to argue if first person or third person POV was better. There was no clear winner, and the moderator Sarah Rees Brennan had to forgo killing off the losing authors. 😉

Stay tuned for my “M” post when I share marketing tips from Bob Mayer!

Jonathan Kellerman is a psychologist/author (or psycho author like myself) and I have enjoyed his Alex Delaware series. His character Alex is a child psychologist who consults on murder cases.

When the Bough Breaks is book #1 of a whopping 27 so far in the series. I stopped reading somewhere after #10 because the murder mystery thing was getting a bit gruesome for me, but I like how Mr. Kellerman weaves his psychological knowledge into stories.

In Chicago for the Romantic Times convention, I was talking to my brother-in-law about novelists who capitalize on their professional expertise. He’s a fan of Michael Crichton and John Grisham, scientist and attorney, respectively. Wasn’t it cool how Mr. Crichton used his knowledge about DNA to write Jurassic Park?

What professional expertise sparks your interest when reading novels?

For today’s A to Z Challenge post, let’s talk about names.

First names. My parents named me Jennifer (a popular name in the early 1970’s) and I’m lucky that I like my name. It’s easy to spell and provides instant familiarity with all the Jennifers I meet. Jen is an easy nickname (I’m not a Jenny though!) There are some downsides to the popularity of my name–another student in my small college class had my exact same name and constantly got all my emails. Same thing with the large medical system where I work.

How do you like your first name? Why did your parents choose it?

Middle Names. My middle name is Elaine, and this name is fine with me too because it reminds me of the wonderful character from Seinfeld. (I hope I dance better than her!)

Do you have a middle name(s)? How do you like it?

Last Names/Changing Your Name. Psst! “Lane” isn’t my surname. One cool thing about being an author is choosing a pseudonym I liked for my last name. (It would be strange to have the name Jennifer Elaine Lane ha ha).
I’ve never married but if I had, I’m not sure I would’ve taken my husband’s name. I’ve worked hard to develop a solid professional reputation and my dad had three daughters, so I think I would’ve kept our family name. And what if I married Mr. Snugglywump?

Have you ever thought about changing your name?

I’m headed to the Romantic Times Convention tomorrow in Chicago, yay! I hope I can keep up with the challenge while I’m gone. Thanks for dropping by.

I’m not discussing Instant Messaging today. Instead, I’m talking about the Individual Medley, a race in competitive swimming. The heroine of my YA swimming-romance-murder-mystery Streamline–Audrey Rose–specializes in the I.M.

The individual medley features all four strokes in the following order: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle.

This race is fun to watch because there are often lead changes. Rarely is one swimmer awesome at all four strokes (even Michael Phelps has an “off” stroke of breaststroke but “off” for him would be very “on” for most of us!) The I.M. does tend to favor breaststrokers though because that stroke comes at a pivotal part of the race.

Training I.M. is fun because there’s so much variety. Getting tired of butterfly? (My answer is always a resounding yes! My friend Joe calls my butterfly the “ugly”.) Flip over to backstroke. Backstroke shredding your legs? Time for breaststroke. And then bring it all home on the freestyle.

I.M. transitions require great technique and finesse. Here’s a short video showing two swimmers demonstrate the turns from fly to back, back to breast, and breast to free.

Now you’ll have some more knowledge for the swimming events in the Olympics this August.