Tag: IWSG

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WHEN IT HOLDS YOU by @NickiElson3D #Romance #Review #IWSG

Jennifer Lane

Happy Insecure Writers Support Group, hosted by Alex Cavanaugh! Join us HERE.


November’s Question: What’s your favorite aspect of being a writer?

For me, it’s the warm, supportive author community. I’m blessed writing has brought me closer to quality people like my critique partner, Nicki Elson. Which leads me to…

Today I celebrate fellow IWSG author Nicki Elson’s new release: WHEN IT HOLDS YOU!

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WHEN IT HOLDS YOU has been selected as a TOP PICK at The Romance Reviews!

“Nicki Elson has become my MUST read new contemporary romance author! The sex is hot, but the emphasis is on emotions in this book. They really are made for each other.”
~The Romance Reviews
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WHEN IT HOLDS YOU


Virtual. That’s where she was supposed to stay—only in my online gaming life. I never intended to meet up with her in person. And I certainly hadn’t counted on her being who she is.

Cliff Walsh has dozens of hot, smart, and willing paramours in his video games. Who needs to look further? The twenty-eight year old attorney is done getting his heart smashed by real-life women who fit his perfect-mate checklist. From now on, he vows to keep his romances digital-only…until a certain redheaded gamer twists all his preconceptions and touches a place in his heart he didn’t know existed.

I always thought I knew what love would look like, but sometimes you don’t recognize it until the moment when it holds you. ~Cliff

WHEN IT HOLDS YOU is a stand-alone novel in The It Series family.

Other titles in the series:
WHEN IT HOOKS YOU, a Top Pick at The Romance Reviews
WHEN IT HITS YOU, coming January 2017

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Here’s my 5 star review:

When It Holds YouWhen It Holds You by Nicki Elson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Cliff Can Hold Me Anytime

Attorney Cliff Walsh is cute, funny, and smart. He’s also tired of women yanking his chain. Chain-Yankers such as tantalizing Trish (the heroine of When It Hooks You) lure him in but end up with other men. Cliff has no choice but to turn to the voluptuous virtual women found in video games.

One such woman, PlanetClaire, intrigues him. In the computer world, she has fiery red hair and alluring curves. Cliff and Claire partner together on screen to battle villains and solve riddles.

The riddles in this story are quite fun! For example, a serpent hisses, “All you have to do is correctly answer a riddle. For only the clever are allowed inssside” then proceeds:

It’s what you want above all things.
Some fulfill it with vows and rings.
For some it’s not an easy fit.
Some are content to sleep with it.

Hmm, what could “it” be? They say working together to achieve a common goal can forge a tight bond, and Cliff and Claire have a virtual blast together. They decide to take their chemistry offline and meet at a gaming convention. When Claire reveals her identity, MY JAW DROPPED!

Claire has some major self-esteem issues that stand in the way. But Cliff has many talents, including snuggling.

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Too bad he can’t make it all better for Claire. I love that this book is from a male perspective. Cliff won my heart and I wanted to hug him when his romance woes continue.

Karen said, “I’ve seriously had to stop myself from offering you concealer stick to hide those dark shadows under your eyes. What did she do to you?”

“Nothing that hasn’t been done before.” He tapped the edge of the file he held onto his desk, eager for the conversation to end.

Aww. I’ll snuggle with you, Cliff. The characters feel real and the resolution of the story well-paced. And the humor of the series continues with comments like “That shit’s mine now” when Claire describes Cliff to Trish.

The It Series is fantastic! I encourage you to check out all three books: When it Hits You (coming in 2017), When it Hooks You, and When it Holds You (October, 2016).

View all my reviews

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Nicki Elson writes spicy fiction with a sweet and dreamy center. She does other stuff, too…like obsess over Survivor and The Bachelor (and she’s not ashamed to admit it).

Writing fiction wasn’t something Nicki set out to do; it just sort of happened when she realized writing reports was by far her favorite part of her investment consulting position. She traded stock allocation and diversification for story arcs and dialogue and now weaves creative writing into her life with her family in the Chicago suburbs.



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#IWSG The Countdown to Publication: When is Your Story Ready?

Jennifer Lane

Welcome to October’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group, hosted by Alex Cavanaugh. Join us HERE. 


This month’s question:

When do you know your story is ready?

My answer is simple: WHEN MY EDITOR FINISHES! 

I’ve worked with the same bomdiggity editor–Jessica Royer Ocken–for all seven of my novels, and I absolutely trust her ability to polish the manuscript. Then my amazing book designer, Coreen Montagna, swoops in to make it pretty. 

I’m lucky I met Jessica and Coreen, along with my astute critique partner, Nicki Elson, through my publisher. Now that I self-publish, I feel so grateful for the team that readies my story for publication.

I manage to publish one book a year, and 2016’s book launch (Spiked) happened October 1st. Once your story is ready to be published, how do you market your novel? I’ll share a couple of strategies I’ve tried.

Facebook Party. My zesty marketing assistant Mitsy Princell convinced me to host an all-day Facebook release party with over twenty author takeovers. Twelve hours later, with eyes glazed over and butt-cheek imprints on my sofa, I emerged scathed from the experience. But I so appreciate all the support from my fellow insecure writers! And the readers are way awesome, too.

Blogs and Goodreads. I hired a company (Raven Publicity) to run a cover reveal and ARC distribution to bloggers. Seems like book blogs are not as involved as in the past, but Create Space shares some tips for working with book bloggers. I’m gifting review copies at Goodreads’ New Adult Book Club and hosting two Goodreads giveaways. 

Ads. Last year I landed a Book Bub ad that was successful, but this year’s Riffle ad didn’t seem to help sales.

Giveaways. I’m also hosting a $25 Amazon gift card giveaway (feel free to enter HERE.)

What marketing strategies work best for you?

Happy writing!


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#IWSG Finding Time to Write in a Busy Day

Jennifer Lane

Welcome to September’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. Join us at Alex Cavanaugh’s BLOG.

This month’s question…

How do you find time to write in your busy day?

My answer?

I don’t. I don’t write on the weekdays because my psychologist job takes too much out of me. Today I trained a new employee followed by seven straight psychotherapy clients, and combined with a workout, I barely have the energy to write a blog post, much less a book chapter!

But the weekends are another matter. I try to write a 4,000-word chapter each weekend. Therefore it takes me about 8 months to complete a novel. Some weekends I devote to other fun and enriching activities like travel.

Since I finished my latest novel SPIKED (Blocked #3) in late July, I’ve been chilling on the weekends. It’s been low-key but also a tad boring. I’m jonesing to start writing a new project soon.

If you’d like to share a release post for Spiked on 10-1-16, please email me at jenniferlanebooks at gmail and I’ll send you the html. 

Happy writing! May we all eke out more time for our craft.

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#IWSG First to Last Piece of #Writing

Jennifer Lane

Welcome to the Insecure Writers Support Group, August edition. Alex Cavanaugh leads the band of fledgling, fun writers. Join us HERE.


And now for the two-part IWSG question of the month!
What was your very first piece of writing as an aspiring writer?

I never anticipated becoming a writer. But when my psychologist career took a downturn in 2007, I got hooked on the TV show Prison Break. The dark themes and conspiracy theories of the show echoed my own gloom at the time, I guess. I stumbled across a section on the Fox discussion board: Fan Fiction. “What’s this?” I thought. I read some stories and shook my head. “What LOSERS are writing stories about TV characters?”

Fast forward a couple of months and I started writing my own fan fiction! The first piece was laughable in its inept writing. I was lucky for kind TV fans who encouraged me. I decided to write a Prison Break story about what I knew: swimming. My writing style was bloated, but some readers gave me positive feedback about the plot and characterization.

Years later, I reworked the story with my publisher. We cut over 70,000 words and published the story as my third novel: Streamline. It’s a military murder mystery centering around my favorite sport of swimming.


(I can’t BELIEVE my beloved TV show returns in 2017, yaaayyyyy!)
 
I just finished writing my seventh novel, SPIKED (Blocked #3). I believe my writing has become tighter, and I can’t wait for Spiked to launch on 10-1-16. Once again this story features swimming, so I’ve come full circle. We shared the cover reveal two days ago.

Happy writing to all!

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#IWSG: Ramping Up for Release

Jennifer Lane

Welcome to July’s Insecure Writers Support Group, started by Alex J Cavanaugh. Join us HERE.

Happy summer in the northern hemisphere! How’s your summer going? I love swimming laps in my outdoor pool…


…and I can’t wait to watch swimming and other sports in the Olympics.

I don’t love a day job extra project that involves writing long papers with an August deadline. Fiction writing is WAY more fun!

I’m ramping up to release my next novel on 10/1/16: New Adult Sports Romance SPIKED (Blocked #3). Spiked features the awesome sport of swimming.

We plan a cover reveal and review tour as well as a Facebook party. I hope to put the first two novels on sale, too. Any other marketing strategies you recommend?

If you’d like to help host the cover reveal for Spiked on 8/1/16, sign ups are HERE. 

(Warning: this cover contains another shirtless man. But my character’s personality is much more important than his abs, I swear!)


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#IWSG Pinterinspiration #Pinterest #Writing #Inspiration

Jennifer Lane

Happy May, writers. Time to discuss our hopes and fears. Join us at Alex Cavanaugh’s blog. The amazing co-hosts for the May 4 posting of the IWSG will be Stephen Tremp, Fundy Blue, MJ Fifield, Loni Townsend, Bish Denham, Susan Gourley, and Stephanie Faris!


We writers find inspiration in the strangest places. For me, Pinterest is top on my list. I’m addicted to Pinterest, I must admit.

I like to create a Pinterest board when writing to collect images and websites that relate to the story.

For my work in progress SPIKED (Blocked #3), I’ve pinned these images:

1) Volleyball T-shirts (the heroine from Blocked has quite a collection)




2) Bad pickup lines (How Mateo gets Jessica to laugh)




What inspires YOUR writing? What’s the worst pickup line you’ve heard?

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#IWSG The Best Negative Reviews

Jennifer Lane

Welcome to April’s Insecure Writers’ Support Group. Hop over the Alex Cavanaugh’s blog to join us!

Recently a reader friend asked, “How do I write an honest, helpful, negative review?”

Let’s discuss negative reviews. I don’t want to censor reader opinions, but merely state how I can learn best from reviews. I definitely know how frustrating and disappointing the reading experience can be. It has also become so clear to me that no author can please every reader.

As an author, I appreciate negative reviews that 1) offer specific constructive criticism, 2) make me laugh, and/or 3) acknowledge how personal preferences affect reactions.

I suggest getting specific about what’s not working for the reader. The tightness of the writing? Grammar? Pacing of the plot? Realism of characterization? Chemistry between the characters? Too many characters? Implausibility of plot?

Here are some reviews that have taught me to write better:

“There was head hopping in the third person omniscient perspective. Sometimes the same paragraph had perspectives from two different characters.”
(Thank you to two authors for sharing this wisdom about my debut novel With Good Behavior.)

“Grant is a wuss.” (This made me LOL)

“Grant cries too much.” (These reviews informed my characterization of beta men–I don’t want to make them too weak.)

“It was too depressing and covered too many issues.” (I’ve tried to lighten up later books with more humor.)

“It just didn’t work for me because…” (I like when reviewers state how their personal preferences affect the reviews, acknowledging that others might enjoy it but it just didn’t fit for them.)



Some negative reviews are not as helpful:

“This is YA, not NA.” (I get frustrated with this critique of Blocked because the age of the characters is indeed New Adult. Though it’s also my fault for choosing a sexy cover then not delivering the horizontal refreshment.)

Reviews that spoiler the reader or attack the author as a person are also not my cup of tea.




How about YOU? Which negative reviews are the most helpful?
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#IWSG Writing Research

Jennifer Lane


Holla, writers! Good to see you for the Insecure Writers Support Group started by Alex J Cavanaugh.


Join us HERE to share insecurities, worries, tips, and celebrations.

Let’s talk research. How do you research unfamiliar topics to increase the authenticity of your writing?

My WIP Spiked (Blocked #3) has two main characters:

* Mateo is a music performance major with diabetes

* Jessica is an art major on the varsity swim team

I have part lungs, part gills after swimming all my life, so I’m good with that aspect of the story. But I know very little about the intricacies of music, art, and diabetes.

Thank goodness for Professor Google. For this story, I’ve consulted the inter webs for ideas about college curriculums, acoustic guitars, and the Secret Service. Of course there’s a lot of crap on the internet, but I try to verify information with two or three sites.

Human capital is awesome for research, too. Lovely reader Nelly Guajardo guides me with the diabetes aspects and my kickbutt crit partner Nicki Elson helps me as well.

How do you research?

Happy writing!

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#IWSG Balancing Writing with the Day Job

Jennifer Lane


Happy February Insecure Writer’s Support Group!


IWSG is the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh. Join us HERE.

How’s your writing? I’ve been making good progress on book three in my college sports romance series Blocked. Too bad I came to a standstill due to a psychology conference I’ve attended the past few days.

Check out the gorgeous Montana mountains where I’ve learned more about psychology and interacted with lovely colleagues. 


I’m itching to get back to my writing when I return home to Ohio, though I have so many emails and messages to plow through that it may take a while.

Do you have any tips for writing while traveling? Or for balancing writing with your day job?

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#IWSG: Extrovert Writer Seeks Social Interaction

Jennifer Lane


Time for the first 2016 Insecure Writers Support Group, the brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh. Join us HERE. Because it’s a party every month!

Are you extroverted? Introverted? Somewhere in between?

Extroversion = an outgoing personality style involving thinking out loud, excelling at small talk, and drawing energy from social interaction

Introversion = an internal personality style involving deep, creative thinking and recharging by spending time alone or in small groups


We often stereotype writers as introverts–off alone typing their stories. But not all writers are solitary souls. Read about the benefits of both styles for writers HERE.

I’m more extroverted according to this brief, free version of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator. (Check out your personality styles HERE.) I talk to people all day long in my day job as a psychologist. I never intended to become a solitary writer…until I found the social world of fan fiction.

In 2007 I was struggling in my psychologist job and came across the TV show Prison Break. The dark themes and conspiracies mirrored the darkness in my career at the time. I binge watched season one, then found a fan forum as I searched for season two episodes I’d missed. One section on the forum was for fan fiction. “What the hell’s fan fiction?” I thought. “What losers are writing stories about the TV characters?”

You guessed it–soon I joined the ranks of losers and started writing my own fan fiction. My early writing sucked, but readers were so encouraging. Every time I posted a chapter online, readers would comment and cheerlead.

Fast forward 9 years and I’ve published six novels. Without fan fiction, writing and publishing can be a lonely venture for this extrovert. Thank goodness for:

1) my critique partner Nicki Elson. I send her one chapter at a time, just like my fan fiction days

2) the wonderful writers I’ve met through Insecure Writers Support Group

3) the amazing readers I’ve met in person and online

Another social writing outlet is writing challenges where writers see how many words they can complete in an allotted time. One Facebook Author Sprint group I’ve joined is HERE.

What about you? If you’re an introvert, how do you handle social media marketing and book signings? If you’re an extrovert, how do you find more social outlets? Or are you more of a flexible ambivert?