Uncategorized

#IWSG First to Last Piece of #Writing

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!

Uncategorized

Cover Reveal SPIKED (Blocked #3) by @JenLaneBooks #NA #Sports #Romance

✯✯SPIKED by Jennifer Lane✯✯

Cover Reveal
The cover for book 3 in Jennifer Lane´s Blocked Series!

jennifer lane spiked cover

Spiked Blurb

They say
University is the time
To find yourself
But I don’t need to find myself
Just want to find you

After watching his older siblings find their love matches at Highbanks University, Mateo Ramirez feels unlikely to follow in their footsteps. What girl would want him? Unlike his brother and sister, he battles diabetes and chooses music over sports. But at least he can write songs about his life—and the girl who caught his eye when their parents ran against each other for US President.

Hey, chica! Come conmigo
And baby, why don’t we go
Down under the bridge to the water
With you it can only get hotter

Jessica Monroe is a talented swimmer who dreams of representing Team USA at the Olympics. When she earns an athletic scholarship to Highbanks, she’s excited to attend the same school as the cute boy she met two years ago: Mateo. Too bad he’s not around when a teammate spikes her drink. Jessica may never trust men again.

Trust
Is a hard-to-earn thing
Just
Try to keep listening
Swallow
Down all of the unjust
Hollow
My chest, my heart will bust

College years are the time to shake off the past and find your future. But will that future find Mateo and Jessica together? Dive in and immerse yourself in the eagerly anticipated conclusion to Jennifer Lane’s Blocked trilogy.

Pre-Order your copy today: https://goo.gl/CTKw7g

Join the Online Release Party: https://www.facebook.com/events/823926984404510/
jennifer lane banner
Check out the Blocked series on Amazon and catch up before Spiked releases!
Also FREE with Kindle Unlimited

Pre-Order Spiked today on Amazon US: https://goo.gl/CTKw7g


Blocked:

Aced:

 


Jennifer Lane on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JenLaneBooks/

Cover Reveal Hosted by Raven Publicity:

 

Uncategorized

#IWSG: Ramping Up for Release

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!)


Uncategorized

Blurb Blast! SPIKED (Blocked #3) Has a Blurb #NA #Sports #Romance

If you want authors to shudder with fear and revulsion, ask them to write a BLURB.


What’s a blurb? It’s a brief summary of a story. The best blurbs hook the reader without giving away too much.

We writers are a verbose bunch and it’s tough for us to pack our narrative into a pithy punch. This is where critique partners and editors come in handy!

What characterizes your favorite blurbs? I’ve been drawn to starting with a sentence or two from the first person point of view. However, I wrote the blurbs for my first two books in the Blocked series in the third person, and wanted to stay consistent for book three.

I found a compromise for SPIKED (Blocked #3) by adding song lyrics to the blurb to capture the first person perspective of the hero Mateo, who’s a singer / songwriter.


SPIKED (Blocked #3)


They say
University is the time
To find yourself
But I don’t need to find myself
Just want to find you 

After watching his older siblings find their love matches at Highbanks University, Mateo Ramirez feels unlikely to follow in their footsteps. What girl would want him? Unlike his brother and sister, he battles diabetes and chooses music over sports. But at least he can write songs about his life—and the girl who caught his eye when their parents ran against each other for US President.

Hey, chica! Come conmigo
And baby, why don’t we go
Down under the bridge to the water
With you it can only get hotter 

Jessica Monroe is a talented swimmer who dreams of representing Team USA at the Olympics. When she earns an athletic scholarship to Highbanks, she’s excited to attend the same school as the cute boy she met two years ago: Mateo. Too bad he’s not around when a teammate spikes her drink. Jessica may never trust men again.

Trust
Is a hard-to-earn thing
Just
Try to keep listening

Swallow
Down all of the unjust
Hollow
My chest, my heart will bust 

College years are the time to shake off the past and find your future. But will that future find Mateo and Jessica together? Dive in and immerse yourself in the eagerly anticipated conclusion to Jennifer Lane’s Blocked trilogy.

~ * ~

Add to Goodreads HERE

What do you think?

Now I need to find a stock image of a Mexican-American guitar-playing shirtless hottie for the cover. But FIRST I need to finish writing the novel. 🙂

Uncategorized

#IWSG Pinterinspiration #Pinterest #Writing #Inspiration

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?

Uncategorized

#Charity #Anthology LOVE UNRESTRICTED #GlassCity #SizzlingPR

Love Unrestricted Anthology

E cover anthology

Love Unrestricted Anthology

Published by: Glass City Author Event

  • If There’s a Chance by Sidonia Rose
  • Swim Recruit by Jennifer Lane
  • Intoxicated by You by Michelle Iannarelli
  • Leaving Eva by Jennifer Sivec
  • Damaged by J. L. Perry
  • Never to Keep by Aimie Gray
Human Trafficking is a major issue not only in the US, but all over the world. The Glass City Author Event has come together to raise money for a local Non-Profit Organization. RISE: Recovering Individuals From Sexual Exploitation is a social service program located in Toledo, Ohio. RISE Provides comprehensive services to Victims of domestic sex trafficking and prostitution.

Amazon USAmazon UK

Glass City Author Event WebsiteGlass City Author Event Tickets

Glass City Author Event Social Media: FacebookFacebook GroupTwitter


If There’s a Chance by Sidonia Rose

Most families have rules. The Pierce family not only has rules they also have prank rules. Every rule was created because of a prank that happened. Ever wonder what really happened? The third rule says ‘If there’s a chance of an ER visit, find something else.’ That seems simple enough but why was it created?

Swim Recruit by Jennifer Lane
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.
Intoxicated by You by Michelle Iannarelli

Tall, dark and strong, that is how Liam drinks his coffee, how Emily likes her men…. All Dr. Emily Kelly was looking for was a latte…instead, she fell for Liam…literally. Detective Liam St. Paul isn’t looking for love, he is a one night stand kind of guy…until he looked into Emily’s eyes. When Emily’s life is in danger…Liam vows to protect her. Will Emily and Liam find a way to leave their pasts behind them and move forward together? Or will their pasts tear them apart?

Leaving Eva by Jennifer Sivec
There is a secret pain lurking within us all, waiting to consume us if we allow it.
On the outside, Brynn Michael seems to be living the perfect life. She’s a successful businesswoman married to a handsome and devoted husband. But nobody, not even her husband and childhood sweetheart, Adam, knows the true depth of Brynn’s horror. Abandoned as a child on the side of the road by her young drug-addicted mother, then later abused by her adoptive father, Brynn has spent her life hiding both the physical and emotional scars.
As she tries desperately to heal from her broken childhood and find the courage to begin a family with Adam, an unexpected visitor from her past seeks her out and exposes her to an unexpected history of violence and murder.
Damaged by J. L. Perry
Jacinta’s story takes place seven years after the day Brooke and Logan Cavanagh saved her from the violent clutches of her father. Her mother has now remarried and Jacinta has a new step-brother, Connor, whom she is adores.
Never to Keep by Aimie Gray
Strangers meet in a hotel bar. For a few stolen hours they pretend all is right in their worlds.

Madison Miller is broken. Nearly everyone she’s loved throughout her life has left her. Now, she’s desperate to feel something other than the pain of her most recent loss, even if it’s only for one night. Sawyer Ramsay is jaded. After witnessing his younger brother marry a woman no one can stand and years of watching his older brother’s disastrous experiences with women, the last thing he wants is a relationship. Almost a year later, fate will have the strangers crossing paths once more. Can this strong, caring woman with a complicated life convince this disillusioned man to believe in love? Will passion and desire turn into something strong enough to surmount all of life’s obstacles, or will the fear of heartache and overwhelming responsibility force Madison to accept Sawyer was never to keep?

Uncategorized

#IWSG Writing Research


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!

Uncategorized

Twelve Days of New Adult #Giveaway

Thanks to Val from Stuck in Books for hosting the Twelve Days of New Adult Giveaway Hop!


I’m a huge fan of New Adult, both as a reader and an author. The timing of this giveaway coincides with the release of my third New Adult book: college sports romance ACED (Blocked #2).


Check out the many giveaways on my blog and Facebook page for the release.

But I have a special giveaway for this hop: one ebook of each of my New Adult sport romances: Blocked, Aced (Blocked #2), and Streamline (NA swimming romance).


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hop over to these New Adult Lovers!

Uncategorized

Power Pose Your Way to #Confident #Writing #IWSG


It’s July already and the rain won’t stop in Ohio, waah. How can I train for swimming in a triathlon relay when thunder closes my outdoor pool? Time for July’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group, the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh. Join us HERE.


Last week I delivered a presentation to swim campers about ways to build their confidence. I mentioned the technique “fake it till you make it”. In other words, if you don’t feel confident, sometimes acting confident on the outside can boost confidence on the inside. Head up, shoulders back, add a smile or serene facial expression, and you’re good to go.

Then I heard about a TED talk by social psychologist Amy Cuddy that takes confident body language a step further. According to Dr. Cuddy, our nonverbals affect how others see us. But can nonverbals affect how we see ourselves?




Since I know you’re busy and may not have time to watch the 21 minute video (it’s worth it if you do have the time), I’ll summarize her research.

Holding “power poses” for just two minutes can significantly increase testosterone (feelings of power) and decrease cortisol (feelings of stress).

What are power poses? Here’s one:

Here are two more:

Are you mired in insecurity when writing? Knees knocking before pitching to a publisher? Try a power pose for two minutes and you’ll feel more assertive, confident, and optimistic!

Uncategorized

Twelve Days of #NA New Adult #Giveaway Hop


Happy December and thanks to Valerie from Stuck in Books for hosting!


I love New Adult romance so much I’ve written two of them:


Blocked is a New Adult sports romance.

College freshman Lucia Ramirez has a secret crush on Dane Monroe. He’s a tall drink of water — blond, brash, and one hell of a volleyball player. ¡Híjole! Lucia hopes her volleyball scholarship to his school will make him notice her.

Too bad what’s noticeable is Dane’s obvious hatred for Lucia. Her family’s politics contradict everything he stands for. And politics are front and center in both their families. Dane’s mother is about to face Lucia’s father in the race for US President.

When Secret Service throws them together, Dane can’t deny his frustrating attraction to Lucia’s athletic curves and sweet faith in the world. Amid the intense pressure of college athletics and presidential politics, can opposites not just attract, but overcome overwhelming odds to be together? Or do their differences block their match from the start?


Blocked is available HERE for $2.99

Streamline is available HERE for $2.99

But you can win them both on the Rafflecopter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Make sure to stop by participating blogs to win stuff: