A contest

I'm going to be offline for about a week. While we're away I'm running a contest, so if you call by just say hello in the comments section of this message, and you'll be in the draw to win a copy of the RED HOT EROTICA anthology. We'll pick a winner at random when we return. Good luck!




That's it, we're out of here. (I packed light, honest!)

DOUBLE DARE is now shipping!

The official publication date for DOUBLE DARE is October 3rd, but it’s already shipping from several online sources so I guess it has happened - Double Dare is out! My first erotic romance novel! I couldn't be happier.

Here's the blurb and an excerpt:

This is the daring debut of a cutting-edge voice in contemporary erotic fiction. Her short stories have seduced readers in more than 30 international anthologies. This, her first novel, is twice as hot. She is Abby Douglas, an investment advisor who has enticed many men. No commitments, no regrets, no games. Then she meets a dangerously sexy stranger in the elevator of her office building - and suddenly she's submitting to the kind of raw fantasies no respectable businesswoman should ever consider. He is club owner Zac Bordino, stunned to find such a receptive partner between floors. But Abby's also the brains behind his company's investments, and she doesn't even know it. Now Zac isn't sure what to tell Abby first - his growing feelings for her, or their secret connection. Either way, from London to Paris, it's business and pleasure for the both of them.

Excerpt:

Outside, the evening was still warm, balmy, the sky darkening into a drape of dense, blue-black velvet. Zac led her to a taxi rank a few minutes walk away, but she barely noticed the time or the distance. She was aware most of all of his presence, his arm around her shoulders and the promise of passion in his eyes.

He gave the driver an address then turned to her, quickly leaning into her for a deep, lingering kiss. Her body trembled beneath his hands, desire an urgent need that unsettled her every fiber. Drawing back, he stared at her, his face in shadow, his mood inscrutable.

“Is it far?”

“No. Not in this traffic.”

She chuckled, low. It was so true of London, a city that lived and breathed with the movement of people as sure as the turn of the tides. Behind him the city lights blurred into one another. A streak of orange, green, blue light, it was too bright, too peopled. She wanted more darkness, the gloom of intimacy — a private arena in which to discover him. Stroking the soft, black leather of his jeans, she felt the firm outline of his thigh beneath. She wanted to see him naked. Through his shirt, his chest was leanly muscled, strong. She breathed his scent, a musky fragrance that said: "I am passion."

He slid his hand against the curve of her abdomen, otherwise as still as a bird of prey watching its target. The lights flickered on his face, revealing the intensity in his expression. With one arm around her back and his hand stroking her stomach, she was captured, but not unwillingly. She barely broke from the spell when they reached their destination.

His apartment was one of several in a beautiful converted mansion-house on the river near Kew. The opposite side of London to where she lived, it was closer to the river and overlooked it. When he led her inside and flicked lights on, she was startled to find it decorated in rich dense colors, starkly juxtaposed to one another, emphasizing the sparse furnishings of the place.

“It’s a bit bare,” he explained. “I’ve just started, it’s an ongoing project...as and when I have time.”

The fact that his home wasn’t properly furnished yet made her smile. So like a man. The reception room held only two sets of bookshelves and a striking dining table and chairs. Stacks of newspapers and books teetered up against the bookshelves, which were empty. It was a true bachelor pad.

“Such lovely rooms,” she murmured. Space was such a premium in London, this felt luxurious. She was surprised. She hadn’t thought about what to expect, but for an arts entrepreneur it kind of fitted the bill. He’d add to it as the business established itself, she supposed.

“It’s a Mackintosh design, isn’t it?” She nodded at the tall, thrusting line of the chairs, the dramatic oval of the head rests.

“Yes, Mackintosh,” he replied. “Do you like it?” His voice was so deep and resonant; every word touched her inside.

“Oh yes, I love his work. The Arts and Crafts movement is fascinating.” She felt her gaze drawn back up to him. He was still the most attractive thing in the room. Her eyes rose across his face and each bone carved itself into her memory.

He nodded and smiled at her.

“Are you a collector?”

“No.” He smiled. “But I know what I like when I see it...and then I do my best to have it.” His eyes swept over her, confirming the inference of his words as he moved closer.

“Oh?” she responded. The tension between them hummed in her ears, speeding along her veins. She felt as if they were moving in a slow dance, inexorably closer and closer.

His fingers stroked her cheek, sliding higher and into her hair. He was brooding, passionate. “You’re an objet d’arte, and I intend to have you.”

Her heart thudded violently. She hooked one finger over his belt. “I’m glad to hear it.”

He lowered his head and brushed his mouth over hers, slowly, subtly, making her lips tremble.

She was wired. Anticipation had built beyond anything she’d experienced before; he was throwing coal on a fire already pumping out way too much heat.

“This time,” he murmured, moving his mouth to her ear, “I want to savor you. I want to take my time with you, enjoy you.” His lips smiled the gentle smile of a classical statue, the secret held in their line.

She had to fight for her breath. The atmosphere between them was charged. A tremor ran through her body, a tremor of expectation and arousal. The flame of desire was reflected in his eyes. Turning her around in his arms, one arm locked across her torso, the other hand on her opposite hip. He held her tight against him, making her remember how it had been the night before, how he’d bent her over and made her watch.

She moved her hips inside his, her eyes closing as she absorbed his total contact. His grip tightened. Lowering his head, he kissed her neck, her shoulder.

“Do you own a bed?” she murmured.

He chuckled, his breath warm against her skin. “Oh, yes.” He moved, freeing her and then resting his arm around her shoulders, drawing her alongside him as he led her from the room.

She had to make a concentrated effort to walk slowly. Her panties were damp between her thighs, her pulse racing, her nipples chaffing against the fabric of her dress.
He led her down the hallway and through a doorway. The bedroom was lit by a tall elegant lamp and housed a large bed with a wrought iron headboard formed into a frenzy of art nouveau swirls. The surface was covered in a black velvet comforter, like a void that invited her to disappear into it.

She turned to him and saw the dark energy simmering in his eyes. “It’s beautiful.”

He gestured at the bed, one corner of his mouth lifted. “It will be, with you on it.”

And with you over me. He looked so good; she could barely wait to have him inside her. Stepping out of her shoes she walked over to the bed, sat down then laid back, her arms moving across the surface.

He shook his head as he looked down at her. “The bed fades into significance. The real beauty is here.” Leaning over her, he stirred the satin across her abdomen, lightly moving it with his fingertips, watching her face.

“It’s a Roland Mouret dress,” she murmured, barely able to speak as darts of sensation shot out from the material moving under his fingers.

He smiled, gazing into the black pool of satin. “Very admirable, but I suspect the beauty that I am referring to lies beneath the dress.”

She sank back into the bed covers, inviting him closer with a pleading glance. “I hope I don’t disappoint.”

Slowly, he began to push the material up from around her legs, exposing her body, caressing her skin with the waves of satin before caressing it with his eyes and then his hands. As his fingers passed over her, from shin to thigh, hipbone to breast, they seemed to draw the breath from her body. She swallowed, reminded herself to breathe. When the material gathered on her breasts she slipped it over her head and then lay back again, her hands moving restlessly in the abandoned pool of black satin above her head.

Staring down at her naked body on the bed, it was as if he had touched her, the heat in his expression was extreme. “You look like a beautiful sacrifice waiting to be offered, waiting to be tasted.”

Her sex clenched, over and again. “Please don’t make me wait any longer,” she begged.



And now you don't have to :-) DOUBLE DARE is available from Amazon, Amazon UK , WHSmiths UK and Barnes and Noble online.

Wednesday is writer’s day no 5: getting an agent

I decided to post a little bit about getting an agent because the single most common piece of advice I saw on the subject was to check out the Writer's Guide. Now, this is a very useful reference book, but to be honest if you are using it as a starting point it’s a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack. It’s huge. You can spend hours marking up agents who mention the sort of writing you might be doing.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t check it out, it’s a truly valuable resource for anyone in publishing, and I guarantee you’ll refer to it many times. It’s especially useful for when you see an agent mentioned, you can look them up and get their contacts. But there is another way to go about finding the right agent for you. Check out some authors who are writing the sort of books you want to publish i.e. in the genre/sub genre, and try to find out who their agents are. When you do so, you may begin to see a pattern; several of them are with the same agent. This is what happened when I was looking at agents. I went to Roberta Brown because I knew she had an interest in publishing women’s erotic fiction, reflected in who her clients are.

That’s one way of hotwiring system, as it were. But you might be asking yourself if you even need an agent. With many publishers, you don’t. With New York publishers, by and large you do, although some authors go right through the whole process without using an agent. There are ways to do this, get an organisation like the British Society of Authors or a legal representative to read over the contract and explain it to you, just to be sure what you’re signing away. You also need to be the sort person who can deal with negotiations yourself. Having an agent makes that side of it a lot easier for me. I knew it would, and that was my primary reason for getting an agent.

There is also the question of whether an agent will help you get your work in front of a publisher quicker than if you are trying to do that yourself. I didn’t have an agent when Berkley signed me, but I wanted to have one before I signed anything and it worked out really well. I can see, however, that having an agent does move things along quicker, in most cases, but it also depends on what background you’ve built up (i.e. who you have previously been published by) and what openings a publisher might have at the time. (i.e. if they are actively looking for what you write, things will move a hell of a lot quicker -- a lot to do with luck in this business!)

In the longer term, I found there are many benefits of having an agent, things I hadn’t really thought about. Your agent becomes someone you can turn to for all manner of advice; someone who really understands the business, knows you and what you can do, and can talk you through things. I have found that truly invaluable, and I’m really glad I went the route of getting an agent. Roberta is also helping me to be more confident, to chat about new ideas, and my dreams for the longer term as well as the short-term. There is a real feeling of validation that comes with having an agent, and that’s important in this business, where there are so many unknowns.

OK folks, my next Wednesday writing slot will be in a couple of weeks time, when I’ll post some thoughts about the dreaded synopsis.

They're coming to take me away, haha

I’m seriously in need of a break. Luckily, I’ve got one coming up. Last night I was editing a few pages I’d written during the day, and I closed down without saving. Hit “no,” by accident. First time I’ve done that in ages. I nearly had a breakdown; this was the last straw. I’ve had too much on lately, stressing about loved ones who are ill, and other stuff behind the scenes. Things have been going incredibly slowly with my WiP, mostly because it’s the biggest, most complex book I’ve ever written, with murder, mayhem, magic, lust, war, romance, gay rights, you name it, and it’s a an ancient world fantasy setting. Can we say mega world building? Gah. So, after I got over the hair-tearing incident following the loss of the edits, I announced “to hell with it all, we're going away in 3 days, and I’m leaving you behind.” (Pointing at the laptop with a stern expression.) And that’s when I realised it’s been too long. LOL

Far too long. 16 months ago we had 4 days in Wales. 12 months before that a week in the Med. I didn’t take the laptop to Wales, but I did take it to the Med. Actually, Mark had already told me (in no uncertain terms) there would be no laptop on this holiday, but this was my surrender. Yes, folks, it’s been that crazy. I’ve got something like a dozen publications coming out over the next year to show for it, but…it’s time. We’ve had a couple of nights away for gigs and stuff, but I think next weeks sojourn in the south is well overdue. I reckon I’ll just sit in the hotel and stare at the walls, cup of tea in one hand, glass of wine in the other. LOL That would be good, although I hope I get beyond that and have some fun. Heh, you know it. ;-)

I'll be talking about getting an agent later today, in the Wednesday writing slot.

It's getting hot in here

Cover of She's on Top: Erotic Stories of Female Dominance and Male Submission, edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel (companion volume to He's on Top, both coming out from Cleis Press in February 2007)

You like? I love it (big smile!) And, yes, I do have a short story in this one, "The Inner Vixen." I did say it had been a busy summer!

Speaking of getting hot in here, those of us who went to The Cult gig on Saturday are still cooling off and drying out. Man, that place was so packed (it’s a large venue, too,) it was like steam bath. The condensation was running off the 60-foot high ceiling, and the floors were slippy-slidey wet by the end of the gig. It was fog bound outside, so I think that contributed to it, but mostly it was the band LOL A fabulous gig. The Cult haven't played over here for 4 years so we gave them a great welcome home, and we let them know we missed them. A lot.

New Publication: CAUGHT LOOKING

CAUGHT LOOKING -- Erotic Tales of Voyeurs and Exhibitionists is now available. My very naughty story "Room with a View," is included in this collection, a Cleis Press anthology edited by Alison Tyler and Rachel Kramer Bussel.

"For the dedicated voyeur, exhibitionist, or anyone who can’t resist peeping when they know they shouldn’t, Caught Looking offers scintillating fantasies by top writers in the genre. These stories — from Stan Thomas’ celebration of voyeurism “My Finest Hour,” to Saskia Walker’s sexy peep-show “Room with a View” — take the reader inside a world where people get to show off, watch, and feel the vicarious thrill of sex times two, their erotic power multiplied by the eyes of another."

Available from Amazon.com and Amazon UK.

A big CONGRATULATIONS also goes out to Rachel Kramer Bussel, who has just got a 2 book deal with Bantam Dell for her forthcoming erotic novels EVERYTHING BUT and EYE CANDY. Rachel is a very talented short story writer, editor and columnist (a woman of many talents!) and her novels are going to be very special indeed.

Romance and the Real Life Hero

I’m blogging over at the BETWEEN THE COVERS blog today, chatting about DOUBLE DARE and my Real Life Hero. Hehehe. I may suffer for this. LOL Click on the banner to find out more.

New review

Bailey Stewart has reviewed DOUBLE DARE on her Isn't it Romantic blog. Here's a snippet of what she has to say!

Sizzling isn’t the right word to describe this erotic romance, but it’s the closest I can think of. This is the kind of erotic romance that I love – one man, one woman exploring the depths of sensuality while falling in love. Saskia Walker has captured the heart of human emotions in a way that few authors can and this book was a joy to read. READ MORE

Sex and Coffee

Sex and Coffee, now there's a good way to start the day! Some readers of this blog may remember me posting this excerpt from a story in progress. It became a short erotic story called THE DEVIL YOU KNOW. I just got word that the story will be included in this new Pretty Things Press anthology called SEX AND COFFEE, due out next spring, so you can find out what exactly happened between Leonie and Mike then.

More from me later.

Gone gigging

Me happy! ;-)

Friday smile

Have a great weekend!

Wednesday is all-about-writing day no 4: maintaining balance

Okay, once again this is based around my experience, and the experience of writers I know. The subject is keeping balance in your life when you are a writer. If anyone has suggestions, please stick them in the comments!

If you hang out on chat groups for writers you might see this little phrase bandied about a lot: “the SDJ.” It stands for sucky day job, for writers who write as a second career. For many writers, a full time writing career is the ideal, and if you read my Wednesday post last week you know that’s what I worked towards over the course of many years. Some writers (true superheroes,) can juggle a regular career, family, home, and a busy writing schedule. Not me, alas. I could manage shorts and disjointed bits of novel writing in spare time, but to really get to grips with the craft and the longer stories I needed more hours, so it was a matter of whittling down the SDJ hours just enough so we could survive financially, and I could make that transition. Many of my writer pals also want to write full time, and are working towards that as well.

On the other hand, writing is an all-consuming task, and the more hours we devote to it, the more consumed we may become. Oh yes, it’s lovely to be consumed by our fantasy worlds, in one sense, but while we fly with our imagination we really need to keep one foot nailed to the floor. (I’m badly misquoting Clive Barker there, I think, anyone know the correct quote please say.) That’s because the threads we weave together in our stories come from real life. Our creative sources are all around us, whether we even realise it or not. Writers are people-watchers and magpies, collecting little shiny things here and there, making a new story with the odd image or phrase, emotion, or sensation that inspires us.

It’s a matter of keeping balance in our lives, and for someone like me that is as simple as getting away from the PC, even if it’s just a short drive or shopping trip. Sometimes I realise I’ve been focused on writing (and the business of writing, all that comes with the online writer's life,) for hours and even days at a time. Apart from the risk of RSI, it can really disconnect me with the things I love – my social life, my friends, booking gig tickets, planning holidays and nights out, fresh air, hanging out washing (no really LOL) but you get the picture. The life that inspires me.

There's a fabulous little book that addresses the subject of creative writing through interviews with many big name authors. My CP gave it to me as a gift and I return to if often because it's full of gems. It's called Writers Dreaming by Naomi Epel, and the main theme is the correlation between dreams, imagination and writing. Heaps of valuable stuff in there. I used to read a chapter a day in my lunch break at my SDJ, and I still dip into it now. It's inspirational and I highly recommend it. Here are a couple of quotes from the book on the subject of the writer’s life:

Clive Barker: I spend most of my day in some kind of dream state. That is to say, I get up from my bed, I shower, drink my coffee and go to my desk, which is literally ten yards from my bed. I then start, on a normal day, a process which will maybe take me eight or ten hours, writing about something that my inner eye is seeing.

Isabel Allende: When I begin a book, very rapidly I get into the story and it becomes the real world for me. That is, when I'm driving the car, I'm not looking at the landscape, I'm in the landscape of the book….I'm a social person but when I'm writing I'm not. It's a very schizophrenic life. I want to be with my husband and when I'm writing I'm even closer because he's the only person who shares this strange state of mind. So that although I operate in a normal state and I can feed my grandson and buy the groceries, my mind is detached. Everything that happens to me that I can use in the story becomes interesting. And everything that I cannot use in the story is eliminated automatically. My mind becomes very selective.

I can almost hear the writers out there saying: “yes, that’s it, that's how it is for me, too.” And it is, it’s great, it’s the state we might need to be in to create real, fleshed out stories that engage readers on that kind of level.

Isabel Allende also talks about how she writes. She spends months writing, and then months living a more normal life again, while another book gestates. Not so good, you think? Well, it’s one way of dealing with it. For me, it’s about making a big effort to lead as much of a normal life as possible. Because of my wonky leg, that only adds to the problem. When I worked out of the house full time, I used to spend every night and weekend writing. I had to balance my social life even then. But like Isabel Allende, I’m a social person and I need that. I’m off to a gig this weekend, so that proves I’m not completely lost to it as yet. ;-)

For me writing can sprawl across the entire day, as can the business of writing, all the other stuff that has to be done. The people I admire most are the writing mums out there. I hear about writers who can do 9 to 5 writing, like a regular job. Oh, how I dream of that, and being able to switch off at the end of the workday. LOL I wonder how common that is. Nora Roberts can treat it like a normal job, so it must be good. ;-) If you have tips on how to achieve it, please share. Even now, as a full time writer, I often feel as if I’m stealing time from other things, maybe it's a hangover from when I was actually stealing precious moments for my dreams, maybe it's because there’s so much I want to do, but it’s hard to balance. And, no, I don’t have any formula to conclude this post with. I do believe that knowing a problem is half the battle to solving it, so I'm just saying, watch out for the writing monster that eats all your time and your social skills. ;-)

With apologies for this going up late, blogger wasn’t playing along and I've had to give up on uploading the image I wanted to include until later, sigh.

THE STRANGELING, cover

With art work by the wonderful New Orleans based artist, Linda Joyce Franks. This may or may not be the final version, but, either way, it's gorgeous! The novel is due out in January, and is now available for advance order on Amazon and Amazon UK. My first fantasy novel into print! I started out writing fantasy, and although I branched out into other genres, I totally relish writing fantasy with erotic and romance elements. This one is full of pagan sexmagick. Yum. :)

One woman alone holds the power to undo the hundred-year-old curse of an invincible army of dead men who wait to prey upon the living. Maerose, a beautiful, resilient maiden must drive back the evil spirits by mating with a man of faith on the dark night of Samhain at the very gates of the underworld. Her dormant magic can only be unleashed by willing submission to her predestined lover . . . but a mad man aligned with the demonic forces of the underworld threatens to possess her in his place.

Interview

Fellow Berkley author, Nalini Singh, has done a fun interview with me which is over at her blog right now. Click HERE to drop by, and feel free to ask me a question. Nalini is the author of SLAVE TO SENSATION, and a fellow blogger at Between the Covers.

Sales, and rejections

Over the past few weeks, I’ve sold 5 short stories. It's been a very busy summer! I’ll post more details and lots of sexy covers soon. In the same period of time, I’ve had 3 short stories rejected. Let me just point out that I always expect rejects; every time I get an acceptance it’s a wonderful surprise to me. I wouldn’t normally even post about this subject, except that it highlights something rather peculiar about me…

The 5 sales have been to US editors/publishers. The 3 rejects have been from UK editors/publishers. Now, it’s interesting, because it seems to be a trend with me. So why do I fit better into the US market? I’m not sure, tbh. I can only guess it’s because of my upbringing. Although I’m British, I grew up all over the world, and lived a lot of places where American culture was the dominant one. Maybe that’s part of it. I also spent several teenage summers in the States, with relatives, at an age when I was absorbing trends and ideas like a sponge.

I feel like I have a good idea what is "universal" in appeal, because I've lived in different countries, and I'm a people watcher. When I was younger (and more pretentious LOL) I used to call myself a citizen of the world. It’s oddly true, though. Not many places ever felt like home to me, until I put my roots down where I am now.

Anyway, I’m very happy indeed to be published in the States, and it’s not that I always expect sales, far from it. But I do feel kind of odd that I can’t get it right in my own country. LOL

SPECIAL CONTEST FOR U.S. READERS

When DOUBLE DARE comes out, it will be on shelves in the US a loooong time before it makes it over here to the UK. For a bit of fun, and to prove to me that it's actually real, I'm looking for readers to take a photo of the book if they spy it on their regular trip around the bookstore. If you can email me a photo of the book on the shelves and let me know where in the world it was taken, I'll reward you by reserving you a free copy of the KINK anthology hot off the presses in February!

KINK features the erotic novella, WATCH ME, by red-hot Canadian author Sasha White, as well as my story, SEX, LIES, AND BONDAGE TAPE. I'll reserve five prize copies of KINK for this contest, first come first served. I'll post the pictures and names here on the blog as they come in. I have also posted this message on my newsletter for readers there to join in. I'll let you know when the book is out, and once I've had five pictures to saskiawalker@gmail.com, I'll send out a message saying the contest is closed. Deal? :-)

Double Dare in my hand!

Whoop! Fed Ex just delivered DOUBLE DARE into my hand. I’m really holding it, and it really is happening. LOL Yes, I did get all emotional. I can’t believe how gorgeous it looks. Berkley have put it together beautifully. A lot of thought and hard work has gone into it. The look and feel of the book is superb, and I’m thrilled to bits with it. I wish I could hug my lovely editor, and my agent too, but they’ve had to put with my virtual gushing instead.

I feel kind of stunned. It was a long time coming, but it’s finally here. I can still remember the very first bit of this book I wrote, (and when and where I was at the time, a long while ago, now.) It was part of a scene towards the end of the book, when Abby, the heroine, arrives in Paris to meet her secret, mystery lover, Zac, for the weekend. She’s alone in his hotel room, waiting for him to arrive. She desires him constantly. She can feel his presence all around her, and realises she is falling in love with him, even though she hardly knows him, and wonders who he really is... I’m so glad these two characters made it to print, and I hope the readers will enjoy their story as much as I did. Fingers crossed! (Yes, still very nervous! :) I'll post an excerpt and other bits and pieces soon.

Writing

I had a major breakthrough with my current WiP this weekend. Which – conversely – means the word count has gone down. LOL It happens. As I learn more I know when to get my axe out. I’d been struggling with a big scene, a major turning point. I knew how the scene would look and what would happen, but the words wouldn’t roll for some reason. It was resisting me, so I wrote around it, which wasn't the right thing to do on this occasion. Then late on Saturday when I had closed everything up, it came to me, words tumbling out, demanding to be put down. On went the laptop, and an hour later I’d drafted the scene. Yesterday I worked on it some more and decided that everything that came after had to go, so I’m back to the halfway point with my novel, but much happier and ready to move on now. I'd hoped to complete this book in September, but I'll need October too. It's the most complex thing I've written to date, so it's not surprising. Always something new to experience, being a writer, and that's part of what I love about it.

Then late last night, while having a surf, I noticed that Barnes and Noble is shipping DOUBLE DARE in 2-3 days GULP! It’s happening...my first novel is almost out.

The things we go through to communicate with the world

As of this afternoon I have an Amazon connect profile. For anyone who doesn't know, this is so that authors can post messages on the amazon site for their readers. What an absolute palaver the process is! I still have to get my novels verified as mine, so the messages appear where they are supposed to, but I’d got all the way through the rest of the process and then tried to hook up with my author pals, only to find the system told me I had to buy something before I could make friends. Not suprisingly, manic laughter followed. Like...buying friends? I knew there had to be a catch. And because I’d started a new account for this, I didn’t have any purchases registered. If I order something from Amazon it doesn’t come through Amazon UK, so I have to pay shipping from America for books I can get here. Madness! I'll buckle, but right now I'm playing the grump with it. Luckily my good pal Wendy came to my rescue and befriended me. She'd already been through the whole damn palaver herself.

Next up I’ll be getting myself a MySpace profile to network out there, but that might have to wait a while because writing seems to be sinking to the bottom of the pile of things to be done around here, and it’s not supposed to be that way. Right now, though, I’m off to watch THE CORPSE BRIDE and drink this large glass of cider with my name on it. Have a great weekend!

Google

I've blogged before about the fact I enjoy the oddities (and horrors) google alerts can throw up. This latest intrigued me. Where in the world is Hennepin library, I wonder, and why do they want FIVE copies of my book? Not that I'm complaining, of course, oh NO...I'm just fascinated. In the UK libraries have trouble getting the OK to order one copy of books they want, let alone five. Anybody know where Hennepin is, or shall I go google it? :)

Wednesday is all-about-writing day, no 3: "don’t give up the day job"

Yes folks, this is the grim one. If you’re an aspiring writer and you’ve been reading articles and information around the Internet, you are likely to have seen the phrase: “don’t give up the day job.” I used to hate it, every time I saw it, it made me pout. Talk about a rude awakening. How dare they shatter my dream? Well, here I am, repeating those nasty old words. Reason is because I think you have to be practical, know the realities of making writing a career, and plan for it.

When I first heard the phrase I figured it meant don’t assume that you will ever get published and earn money at this job. Boo hiss. Well, yes. That is the first level of meaning. When I sold a few short stories and felt positive about my longer story writing, I thought about it again. I was still getting rejections, as well as acceptances -- I still do, luckily there are more acceptances now. I realised the second level of meaning: just because I had sold one thing didn’t mean I had cracked it. I might never sell again, I might not be able to pull off a whole novella or novel. I had to find editors who liked my work; I had to watch out for when they put calls out. In other words, I didn’t know when the next payment, however small, was coming.

You might be lucky and get a three-book NY deal right away, but that still doesn’t mean cash in hand. Level three of the meaning is the real clincher, something I never even considered. You might have heard other authors saying you’ll have to live on your advance for a long time. Let’s break that down a bit more. You sell a book to a big publisher. Hooray! Thing is, you don’t get the advance right away, and when you do get it might be split up into chunks, one on signing the contract, one for delivery of edited version, and one on publication. Publishing schedules run a year to three years ahead in many cases. You might not even see the third part of your advance for a couple of years down the line, let alone anything else. For my own part, I work on the basis that the advance is all I have. Royalties are an unknown quantity, but in an ideal world we hope we sell truckloads and get a bit extra as well as the advance. From what I’ve heard, it can be another year before you see any of those royalties, after publication of your book. So, if we go back to the day when you were signed, this is potentially three years later.

There are ways around it, of course. Small presses tend to turn things around quicker. If you get published with an e-publisher things move much faster and e- publishers pay regularly, so you've got a baseline monthly wage coming in there, and the more books you publish, the more significant that is. Your overall aim is to get more contracts all the time, so that while you’re at the various stages of collecting bits of money on sale No 1, you start to get bits of money on sale No 2, and so on.

Hunt down every publishing opportunity, make your writing work for you, and create a snowball effect with your earnings. It’s a bloody hard job, but I am proof it can be done, if you work at it. My lovely man’s faith in me was crucial. When the time was right, I whittled my day job hours down to gain more writing time, but we’ve taken some big sacrifices to make it happen. We used to go on three holidays a year. We haven’t been on a proper holiday for over two years. That’s just one example of how we changed our lifestyle. It has been worth it, but there were absolutely no guarantees I could pull it off when we started out... Scary! Over on my tips for aspiring writers page, I say that if you enjoy the basic act of creative writing you will always have that to carry you through the hard times. You have to love writing, first and foremost. It always comes back to the writing. Be realistic, it's a slow business, that’s the bottom line, folks. Next week I’m going to talk about being a writer-hermit, and keeping the balance in your life.

Good old BBC

Reporting topical world news with a stiff upper lip, or something, as ever.

Yummy things

I’m treating you to a picture of the gorgeous Danielle Dax. This is because I finished up a short fantasy story yesterday that was inspired by her wolfgirl character in The Company of Wolves. (Although it’s not a wolfgirl in my story, it’s just the image of the feral woman she played that stuck with me...) I wrote the story a couple of years back, but it didn’t quite work. I finally polished it off yesterday and I'm happy with it now.

Things are ticking over here, after a period of unrest. On top of things all arriving at once, and having to chase things that should have been done already, I’ve been worried about an immediate member of my family who is ill. Luckily things seem to be levelling off a bit, and I’m coping better. So, I’m multi tasking again. Working on UNVEILING THE SORCERESS, whilst also putting down a rough partial for a novella that begs to be written next, now called SWEET-TALKING THE OPPOSITION.

This past week, I’ve been spoiled by two of my editors who have grown to be treasured pals over the time I've worked with them. The ever-lovely Alison Tyler sent me my author copies of NAUGHTY STORIES Vol 4, and stuffed the package with belated birthday treats. I felt so pampered, really treated! Then, today, I received another gift from an editor who has also become a dear friend, Marilyn Jaye Lewis. She sent me a copy of her latest anthology, ZOWIE! IT’S YAOI! I can’t wait to get stuck into reading this one at the weekend. I’ll report back when I’ve thoroughly indulged myself on western girls writing about hot boys' love. Yum!

Why erotic fiction?

I’m blogging over at the BETWEEN THE COVERS blog today, chatting about why I write erotic fiction. Click on the banner to find out more.

Weekend, what weekend?

It was beautifully sunny here today, a late summer reprieve, and I spent all day hunched over doing my taxes. Groan. I hate that job so much. I’m not good with figures, but I'm stubborn and independent, and I want to do it for myself. I did an IR course, proved I could do it, and now I just curse my way through the wretched process every year LOL I rarely get in bad moods, but there’s nothing like the taxes to make me grumpy and foul-mouthed. Still, it’s done now, and my reward is a rather LARGE glass of red wine. I have to say it has been one of those weeks. Real Life took over, and let's just say I’m looking forward to a smoother week ahead. Here’s to it. ;-)

Sex toy hazards - no joke!

This link via sex guru Violet Blue. Check out this Greenpeace statement on the dangerous toxins in sex toys.

New publication: THE HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOOK OF EROTICA

THE HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOOK OF EROTICA is now shipping from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk Edited by Alison Tyler, this anthology includes my new short story, "Party Girl on the Loose."

And speaking of Alison Tyler, if you enjoy erotica and you're not reading her blog, you should be! Alison is writing her erotic memoirs HERE. I feel sure we will see this published as a book, but it's fascinating reading the instalments as they go up. Go back a few weeks or click HERE, to find the start.... It's riveting.

And speaking of birthdays, :) I never did catch The Notorious Bettie Page at our local arthouse cinema, because a stack of things came in at once, so if you were wondering where my promised review was, I'll be doing it for the DVD release in a few weeks time instead.

Wednesday is all-about-writing day, no 2: option clauses

A few thoughts about option clauses and -- as ever -- this is not a comprehensive analysis, just some thoughts to keep in mind, based on my experience. The first thing that must be said is that if you are signed by a large publishing house the best thing to do is get yourself an agent, or a legal representative who will look at the contract for you. In the UK you can join The Society of Authors and as part of the membership fee they will look at contracts for you, drawing your attention to things you should be aware of, in lay speak. A very good deal. Click HERE to find out more. In the US, some of my colleagues have had entertainment lawyers go over their contracts for them, rather than get an agent, another way to deal with it

I’m really talking about small press publications here, the sort where an agent isn’t necessary, or financially viable. This is for those contracts that you can deal with yourself, but need to be sure what you are doing. It is confusing when you get all that paperwork, and it all looks so official, but it’s important to keep in mind that parts of it may be negotiable. The good news is that they are taking an option on your next work, which means they want to see more (well done you!) and also that they have to look at it! ;) As a newly signed author that’s great, knowing that there’s a set time for them to get back to you on another idea, and you’ll soon know if you have a second publication to build upon. Many smaller houses have a standard contract, and it’s up to you to negotiate, if that’s what you want to do. I’m talking about the option clause because in my experience newly signed authors are concerned about that one more than anything else. It is daunting. You want to sell this novel/novella, but what if you want to sub elsewhere as well? Will you be able to do so? What exactly are you signing away?

More often than not, option clauses state they want to look at the “next” novel or novella. So, you’re not signing away every other story you write forevermore, what they are asking for is first lookie at your next proposal. If you write them a second proposal and they take that too, (well done you, again!) and you then want to sub elsewhere, you can always renegotiate at the time of the second contract, if you choose to.

It’s also important to step back from your own perspective when thinking about option clauses. Be canny, and take a look at it from the publisher’s point of view. If they are taking options on everyone who is signed for the line you’ve just been signed for, how many books do you think those writers could produce together? Then take a look at the line itself. How many slots are there, i.e. how many are they publishing per year? Are they planning to expand? If the line has, say, 18 slots a year, and there are that many authors already writing for the line, they aren’t going to be able to buy 3 manuscripts off everyone, are they? They’ll select the best of, and that might mean 3 books from Author A, and none off Author B, if Author A is the one who is selling like hotcakes. That’s the reality, we have to face it. Your job is to make sure you’re Author A. ;) But do the sums, it’s important to be realistic about slots. If you can write more than one sub a year, and want to do that, you probably need to be writing for elsewhere as well. Your first publisher may well buy more, but the crucial thing is to make the option clause work for you, so that you can sub elsewhere if you need to.

How do you negotiate? If it’s an option clause for the next novella, for example, you could negotiate to have it be a specific length – say, 25 to 35 K, if that's the average length they publish. This means that you can write shorter or longer novellas in between, but you’re keeping the option open with the company you’ve just signed with. That’s a common way for authors to deal with option clauses. Another way to negotiate is to do it by genre – if you sign an option for the "next erotic novel,” you can still write sweet romance, crime, mystery or fantasy, for a different publisher. That might work for you. It’s important and good courtesy to you let your first publisher know you are planning to sub elsewhere, and you never know, they might be just about to start a fantasy/mystery/crime line and want to sign that option from you as well ;) Another way to negotiate options is to do it under different pseudonyms, although I believe that is less common. The bottom line is: don’t be afraid to negotiate. As I mentioned, small press companies often use a basic contract that can be tweaked. If and when you do get an agent, these are the sorts of things you need to consider then, too, so that the agent knows how best to negotiate for you, to get you the best possible deal.

Next Wednesday I’m going to talk about that bit of advice new writers hate to hear “don't give up your day job,” and the sort of payment timetable you’re looking at as a newly signed author. I may have to tell a joke at the end of that one, to keep your spirits up. LOL If anyone out there wants to throw in their own experience/thoughts about option clauses, or anything else I waffle on about here, please do comment. Any and all info welcome!

Quick post

Happy Labor Day to my American pals!

Thing are moving forward again with the writing, after the various interruptions, so that’s great news. I’ll have my head down for the rest of the week to play catch up.

I’ve had a new advance review for DOUBLE DARE. Katie at Euro Reviews has given it a top score. The news put a big smile on my face! Katie had some wonderful things to say, click HERE if you would like to read the review.

Have a great week, folks.

Naughty reading

Fancy something naughty to read on line this week? I have several short erotic stories on my website, and you can find a couple elsewhere on the Internet. Follow the links, adults only!

Free reads at my web site
Trying it for Size
A Worthy Challenge

Let me know which ones you like. Feedback always welcome. :)

Funny

Need a smile? Check out this post at Bailey's blog. I guarantee it'll brighten your day. I'm still laughing. Not that it's the sort of thing I'd ever recommend doing, ahem. ;)

Rabbit, headlights, dazzled

I can't believe it's September, but then I can’t believe a lot of things right about now. Yesterday, I heard from my publicist at Penguin that copies of DOUBLE DARE have arrived in her office. I wasn’t expecting it to be this soon, and the news affected me really oddly. I felt like singing and dancing and bursting out crying all at once. LOL All day long, I was stunned, trying to picture all those copies of my book… ready to be shipped all over the world. Many of my pals who stop by here have several or even twenty or even sixty novels out, and they’re probably smiling at me knowingly – either that or laughing loudly at my naivety. Oh, it's just been such a long climb, keeping going towards my dream at some very difficult times in my life, I really never thought I'd see the day. TBH, up until yesterday, it never seemed real, but knowing someone had it in their hand...

I’m actually finding it hard to reengage with my current WiP, with all the stuff going on re the DOUBLE DARE publication. (So much mail!) It's happening, but slower than I need it to, so I’m hoping I snap out of it very soon. Authors deal with this all the time, and I’ve got to get used to it, can’t afford to wallow in being dazed LOL but it’s the first time, so..

In other news, Sasha White has a great blog over at Between the Covers, all about sexual fantasies. Why not click on the banner, drop by and add your comments?