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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.

In his sermon yesterday, the pastor asked us if we had an “Easter Heart”. In other words, is our heart strong and pumping, full of life? Has it loved? Has it broken? Has it resurrected?

The Easter heart made me think of my dear swimming friend Beth, who died in her sleep a few nights ago. She was only fifty years old, and one of the fittest people I’ve even known. Beth was a world-class swimmer, going 1:48 in the 200 yard Freestyle thirty years ago. That’s an excellent time even today! She often impressed me with her toughness, particularly when I witnessed her breaking the master’s world record in the 50 Freestyle.

Beth had a heart condition. Though her heart was full of life, love, and caring for those around her, her heart gave out. At this point I’m not sure if her heart problems led to her untimely death, but it seems likely.

Beth was a strong, independent woman. She would always pepper me with questions–she was truly interested in people–and seemed to know everyone on the pool deck. She held a demanding job as a video producer, involving travel and long hours, but somehow managed to progress toward her doctorate in Sports Humanities. We’d sometimes meet at the university library so she could work on her papers while I wrote my novel. She told me I made funny faces when I typed away at my laptop.

My face is now full of sorrow. Beth’s heart has been broken. But on Easter Sunday, her heart has been resurrected too. Swimmer, friend, curious mind, accomplished woman. Beth will always live on, in my heart.

Have you heard of the social networking site Goodreads.com? It’s like a Facebook for book lovers. As an author and reader, I love the site. Here’s my page.

Authors can list their works and interact with readers. It’s a bit dicey to respond to readers’ reviews, but I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to thank readers for their comments, and I’ve also liked to receive feedback that helps me improve as an author. I’ve learned not to respond to negative reviews (that’s an entirely different blog post!)

Readers can shelve books that they’ve read and want to read. My parents are in their seventies and sometimes start reading novels only to discover they’d already read them but forgotten. Goodreads is a great way to keep track of the books you’ve finished, and an excellent opportunity to hear about interesting books.

I’m so pleased I’ve learned about these novels on Goodreads from my over 2,000 friends there:

*The I-Team series by Pamela Clare…intelligent romantic suspense
*The Black Ops, Inc series by Cindy Gerard…hot & spicy romantic suspense
*The Black Dagger Brotherhood series by JR Ward…I’m not a huge fan of paranormal romance but I gave this a try when Goodreads friends urged me

Library Thing and Shelfari are other reader sites, but I feel most at home on Goodreads.

Do you use Goodreads? How do you like the site?