Share the Journey

Hot Carolina Nights Series Coming in 2015

November 22, 2014 by ReeseRyan

This morning I’ve been dancing around my kitchen with unbridled happiness, as if no-one is watching. Though my husband is, in fact, watching me and probably debating whether to call an ambulance. But I can barely contain the joy of finally making a decision about where my fiction-writing career is going next.

Thanks to a marathon session with a writing coach who helped me identify and move past some of the fears that were holding me back, I was able to settle on the series with which I’ll launch my venture into the world of indie publishing. And thanks to the amazing readers who took the time to share their opinions and ideas for a title, and said husband whose vote confirmed my final choice, my small town, contemporary romance series has a name: Hot Carolina Nights.

I’d already created titles for each of the books planned in the series. However, a serendipitous idea prompted me to spend yesterday morning renaming several of the books so that the story titles would all fit thematically with the series title. I also spent some time creating a relationship web to establish relationships between characters in each book and throughout the series.

So, yeah, I’m beyond happy. Thrilled, in fact. I hope you, dear reader, will be just as happy with the final results.

On that note, I’ll leave you with a live performance “Blue Rondo à la Turk,,” a classic jazz piece by the amazing Dave Brubeck Quartet (one of the songs I was dancing to this morning). This piece shares that same feeling of unrestrained joy (and unusual timing) that was on display in my kitchen this morning. 😉

Enjoy your weekend!

Wild Horse photo courtesy of Adnan Islam.

Name My Next Contemporary Romance Series #Giveaway

November 18, 2014 by ReeseRyan

Today I’m over on Hot M.A.M.A. Land celebrating our Hot Holiday #Giveaway Days. During each one of our posts, between now and December 19th, commenters will be entered in that day’s giveaway and into the two grand prize giveaways of a $50 gift card and a handbag.

In today’s post, I’m asking readers for help naming a new contemporary romance series I’m writing that will be set in a small, but growing, town in North Carolina. Hop over to my post on Hot M.A.M.A. Land and tell me in the comments which of the possible series names you prefer (or share your idea). Then you’ll be entered in today’s giveaway and the grand prize giveaway. If I choose your series name, I’m offering an additional bonus that will make you one of the first to read the first book in the series.

Good luck!

Taming the Monkey Mind and Hot M.A.M.A. Land Debut

October 7, 2014 by ReeseRyan

Hey Gang!

Today I’m making the rounds in cyberspace. I’m over at the Contemporary Romance Cafe talking about my struggle with a ridiculous case of monkey mind and the steps I’m taking to get my next manuscript finished.

I’m also over at Hot M.A.M.A. Land, where I’m now an official member of the group, with my debut post about why I wanted to be a part of the Hot Multicultural Authors of the Mid Atlantic. Later today, we’ll be celebrating in grand style at the Hot M.A.M.A. Land welcoming party on Facebook. Be sure to pop in for your chance to win prizes.

Ballons. Courtesy of Nicole Hanusek. Some rights reserved.

Note to self: Publication is a journey, not a destination

August 5, 2014 by ReeseRyan

This month over on the Contemporary Romance Cafe the topic is: the road to publication.

I turned that thought over and over in my head and I just couldn’t come up with anything. Sure, I have my basic story of how I came to be published, but it didn’t feel like it even began to scratch the surface of the real story.

Publishing has changed dramatically in the past few years. While stories of the road to publication fit the old model of publishing, they only tell the partial story of what it’s like getting published and then staying relevant in the digital age where e-books rule supreme and publishers are consuming each other faster than Ms. Pac-Man gobbled up those darned power pellets.

While many authors are still going the traditional publishing route, there are other treks available. Small publisher. Digital-first publishers. Indie publishing.

Best of all, we aren’t obligated to take one trek or the other. Many authors have found great success going the hybrid route, whether it begins with trad publishers or as indie publishers. All of this is empowering for both authors and readers.

Yet, my basic “road to publication” story didn’t cover any of those exciting nuances.

Then, this morning, it hit me. Like happiness, publication isn’t a destination, it’s a journey.

Signing that first contract, seeing our first book in print (or online), that’s only the first step. Like reaching the first check-in point on a long-distance trek. There are many, many more peaks and valleys ahead and the geography is constantly changing.

I invite you to hop over to the Contemporary Romance Cafe where I share my journey of publication. I’d love to hear yours.

PS: The cover on display is from my first foreign language edition, Una stagione eccitante, recently released in Italy.

Ciao!

Diverse Families and the Shades of Romance

June 12, 2014 by ReeseRyan

Today the Swirl Awards hosts the 2nd Annual Loving Day Blog Hop. This online event joins various other celebrations across the United States which commemorate the U.S Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Loving v. Virginia, which struck down anti-miscegenation laws in the United States.

That landmark decision removed legal barriers that prohibited marriage between couples of different races. However, many of the societal deterrents remained firmly in place.

It is no longer uncommon to see diverse families in our communities. In fact, the majority of us would hardly give a second thought to seeing a woman walking down the street with a baby of another ethnicity in her arms. Yet, for those of us living outside of that experience, it is easy to forget that not everyone in the world is as an opened-minded and accepting as we are.

Then an innocent Cheerios commercial features a diverse family with a Caucasian mother and an African-American father and suddenly all hell breaks loose.

Such moments remind us of the importance of commemorating decisions like Loving v. Virginia and that for all the ~~delusions~~ talk of a post-racial society, the world really isn’t made of sunshine and rainbows and we’ve got a lot of work to do, as a society, still.

In the Today Show segment above, one of the observations made is that interracial families are rarely portrayed on television, especially in advertising. As our nation becomes increasingly diverse, such a glaring absence of multicultural families in advertising and other media is decreasingly reflective of who we are as a society.

Art often reflects society. However, it also has the power to shape it. Diversity in art, such as movies, television shows and multicultural books isn’t just entertaining. It can also subtly shift our mindset. There is no shortage of multicultural art available, including multicultural and interracial romances penned by many of the authors taking part in the Loving Day Blog Hop. However, unless we raise the profile of diverse books and movies, few mainstream readers will ever see them. One of the many reasons #WeNeedDiverseBooks.

But that’s a post for another day. 😉

The LOVING DAY BLOG HOP, which celebrates the many shades of romance, kicks off at 9:00 am EST today and features posts by participating authors on a variety of topics surrounding interracial love/marriage, and of course the Lovings. They’ve also graciously donated free books, gift cards and swag to help us celebrate. So be sure to visit the next author along the stop.

Here at the Reese Ryan Diaries, I’m giving away digital copies of the two books in my Bad Boys Gone Good series: Love Me Not and Making the First Move. The stories feature heroines Jamie Charles and Melanie Gordon, both members of the diverse, non-traditional Gordon family.

To participate and enter to win great prizes during the Loving Day Blog Hop:

Leave a comment on this post to enter for a chance to win digital copies of both books in my Bad Boys Gone Good series: Love Me Not and Making the First Move.

Enter the Giveaway: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/74d7d71/

Go back to Loving Day Hop Master List

Go to the next stop on the hop and visit with Sydney Arrison.

Moments of nostalgia, Godzilla music players and Record Store Day

April 18, 2014 by ReeseRyan

Remember record players? If not, just wait a few years and you’ll probably have the same nostalgic feelings about compact discs. 😉

Today, in The View from Here I revisit nostalgic moments from my childhood and the excitement I felt when I walked the four blocks from my house to the local record store.

My love for stories in both written and musical form hasn’t diminished with time.

In some ways, both passions seem stronger.

When my husband was gifted a vintage style stereo system–a sort of Godzilla of music players–I began a quest for vinyl records which led me to discover that tomorrow, April 19, 2014, is Record Store Day. I’m more than a little excited about this discovery. We plan to spend some time thumbing through stacks of records on wax revisiting fond memories from the past and hopefully returning home with a few new treasures.

Check out my post The View from Here: Moments of Nostalgia and tell me what makes you nostalgic about the past.

And don’t forget to enter for your chance to stock up on books or music with a $20 Amazon/B&N/iTunes Gift Card plus a $10 Starbucks Gift Card.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

“Logan Hardware Vinyl Shop” by Michael Choi. Some rights reserved.

Recap: Life on the Other Side of 40, the Romantic Comedy Drought and the How I Met Your Mother Finale

April 4, 2014 by ReeseRyan

The past couple of months have been insanely busy. Though I haven’t posted frequently here on the Reese Ryan Diaries, I’ve been pretty active around the ‘net. This week:

Here at RRD I reminisced over my favorite How I Met Your Mother episodes.

In light of the volatile reactions to the show’s ending, I shared my take on the How I Met Your Mother Finale and the Promise of Happy Endings over at the Contemporary Romance Café.

Jana Richards, a fellow member of the Contemporary Romance Café wrote a brilliant post on how to write successful romantic comedies. That prompted my plea: Someone revive the romantic comedy, PLEASE! over on the Sulia Romance Novels Channel.

Today I’m over at All Things Girl, where it all started for me, talking about The View from Here (or life on the other side of 40).

Got a minute to pop over to one of the above stops to say hello? I’d love to see you! In the meantime, happy reading.

By the way, if you haven’t already registered for my VIP mailing list, you can do so by clicking on the hot pink bar on your left, or by popping your email address into the form on the top right sidebar. The next newsletter will go out next week and this month and next there will be exciting announcements and prizes. I want you to be the first to know.

Smooches!

3 Reasons to Write the Premise BEFORE You Write Your Novel

November 20, 2013 by ReeseRyan

As writers, we get so absorbed with the storyline and characters, writing, and a myriad of creative reasons not to write that we forget about the business side of being a writer.

We lose sight of the fact that once we’re done with writing, editing, revising (rinse and repeat), we’ll need to talk about the book. In a way that’s interesting, intelligent and concise.

Cue the deer in the headlights footage.

It’s embarrassing when someone asks, “What’s your book about?” and you stand there staring at them like a deer caught in the headlights. It can be absolutely disastrous if it happens when you’re on the elevator at a writing conference and your dream agent is the one asking.

I’ve been there before.

Not on the elevator with my dream agent. But let’s just say my deer-in-the-headlights face has gotten pretty damned good thanks to some hard core practice.

What I have since discovered is that writing the premise of your story first is the key to never having this happen to you again. Today I’m over at Contemporary Romance Writers–the blog for my RWA online Contemporary Romance Writers Chapter enumerating the this and two other reasons why it pays to write the premise before you write your book.

Listen to the little diddy above (because it will seriously make you happy for at least the next three hours) then I’d love it if you popped over to the Contemporary Romance Writers blog to chat about whether you write your premise first and when your last deer-in-the-headlights experience occurred.

5 Ways Introverts Can Succeed Without Forcing Themselves to Become Extroverts

November 15, 2013 by ReeseRyan

You probably won’t find this shocking, but I’m a bona fide introvert.

Susan Cain, author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking

Many writers are. The quiet, solitary nature of writing appeals to introverts.

I have often referred to myself as an introvert masquerading as an extrovert. The feeling that, as an introvert, I must conform to a more extroverted personality in order to succeed, is a belief that many introverts hold.

Yet, it simply isn’t true.

As introverts, we have strengths which we can leverage. We need to recognize this and stop feeling guilty and apologetic about our natural temperament.

Recently, I’ve seen some pretty awesome info online about introverts. There was this enlightening, thoughtful post that dispels ten myths about introverts. For instance, we don’t dislike people and don’t always want to be alone. However, we draw our energy from within and need some quiet downtime to recharge our batteries. When we’re not allowed that–or are made to feel guilty about it–we can turn into a Ms. Cranky Pants of a magnitude you never, ever want to witness.

Trust me on that.

On the other hand, give us a little fair warning about a social event and some time to recharge before and after the event, and we can be the life of the party. You won’t be able to shut me us up.

Then there was this awesomesauce post on Buzz Feed about 27 Problems Only Introverts understand, which is hilarious, mostly because it’s also quite true.

Today I finally got a chance to watch a video by the funny, insightful and always inspiring, Marie Forleo, over on MarieTV. Networking for Introverts with Susan Cain. I love Marie’s videos! She shares information, encouragement and resources that help entrepreneurs make money and live a life they love. The advice and observations she shares are usually applicable to creative professionals, too.

Susan Cain is the author of the award-winning book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking. This video discussion between Susan and Marie highlights five fantastic tips to help introverts cope in a world where they seldom feel appreciated. Not to mention the comfort that comes from knowing you aren’t alone (or an anti-social freak). The video is lengthy at a little over 20 minutes. However, it’s well worth it for introverts and the people who love them, but who don’t always get them.

Are you an introvert or an extrovert? What challenges have you faced either being an introvert or in dealing with people who are? I’d love to hear your stories in the comments below.

Photo of Susan Cain courtesy of the American Library Association. Some rights reserved.