Win a summer full of romance

The Summer of Love romance book giveaway is ongoing. Go to http://summeroflovebooks.com  to enter and win, and while you’re there, check out the author’s blog. A new one is posted regularly. The blogs come from authors of the books being given away.  PLUS most of these authors offer a way to get a second chance entry into the contest. Here’s an excerpt of this weeks’ blog:

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My Idea of Romance   Apr11

My husband, Jed, likes to take credit for the steamy scenes in my books. He tells people those are the only pages that are not fictitious, and then the corners of his mouth edge up into a grin.  –   Rena Koontz  (Author of THIEF OF THE HEART)

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cj Sez: By the way, Rena reveals that hubby has expertise as a federal agent and lawman, and that must make for authentic crime scenes in her novels, in addition to the authentic “steamy scenes.”  (Love, love, love authenticity.)

 

You know how, after filling a three-ring binder with rejections (as one writer I know did), we writers worry if our writing will ever be “good enough” to get published? Feelings of inadequacy can often overwhelm any confidence of competency and send us running for a big spoon and the nearest half-gallon of chocolate ice cream for comfort.  

But think about this: Bona fide professionals, those people we consider successful, do not, cannot rest on their laurels. Okay, that’s a cliché, but truly, professionals continually work to improve and perfect their skills. Every time Donald Maass, famed literary agent and author of WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL, leads a workshop on writing, I’d venture to guess he’s included something new since his last workshop. I know he keeps producing how-to books that incorporate new slants on writing. He’s a professional who keeps learning. Pro golfers take lessons to tweak their skills; powerhouse baseball hitters have trainers as do Olympic runners, swimmers, and skaters. 

 

The lesson is clear. The way for writers to improve their craft (and gain writing confidence) is to practice; i.e., they must read in their chosen genre(s), write, and network, and those tasks never cease.
 

I know I learn something new most every day, some tidbit that I can incorporate into a work-in-progress or add to my growing list of hints. I wish you the same success.

Okay, you-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same . . . and remember to check out the Summer of Love book giveaway.

cj
 

PS: The 'toon is one someone dropped onto my Facebook page a while back.

https://www.facebook.com/CjPettersonAuthor

DEADLY STAR (Publisher: Crimson Romance)  

    http://bit.ly/19QDQq3   (B&N.com)
    http://amzn.to/1LRRwC9  (Amazon.com)