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Colorful characters. Sinfully sweet romance.

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The Writing Life

Say It With a T-Shirt

September 12, 2016 by ReeseRyan

Suck It Up Buttercup T-Shirt

I’m in an awesome writers group that posts writing challenges each month. Members share how much they intend to write during the week, 2-week or 1-month period to follow and how they plan to reward themselves.

I’d like to make my reward something yummy (like an entire pineapple upside down cake), but that won’t help my other cause, which is getting healthier by working out daily courtesy of DailyBurn.com.  So this time I opted to go with something I’ve always wanted but hadn’t gotten around to getting: graphic T-shirts.

Why haven’t I purchased them before? One: for a long time it was rare to find one that wasn’t designed for anyone whose shape was more eraser than pencil. Second: When you did find one, the price was more than this penny pincher frugal person was willing to pay.

Enter the age of do-it-yourself T-shirt websites. 

Now you can find T-shirts for everyone that support any cause or share just about any sentiment. It’s also super easy to make your own. I created a to-buy list of graphic tees I wanted and I’m rewarding myself with one or two whenever I hit a new goal or deadline. When I turned in Book #2 of my upcoming Pleasure Cove series with Harlequin Kimani Romance, I bought myself the following two graphic tees:

SUCK IT UP BUTTERCUP

Fell in love with this shirt the instant I saw it. It’s perfect for those moments when:

  • I don’t feel like working out.
  • I’m working out but I feel like I can’t do one more squat/pushup/crunch/plank move, etc.
  • I should be writing or revising, but I’m not (like now)
  • I am procrastinating about doing what I need to do, preferring to do just about anything else (seriously…like now)

I chose purple because…Prince…and the purple and green are a throw back to Lou Ferrigno’s Incredible Hulk with those crazy purple pants and his you-done-made-me-mad-now green skin. Makes me feel slightly invincible and like I could do a split in heels while playing a guitar. I’m just sayin’.

A LITTLE HOOD, A LITTLE HIPPIE

A Little Hood, A Little Hippie

Anyone who knows me well knows that though I grew up in the hood, I have always been very much a hippie. So, as noted in the conversation with my husband (see below), it would be more accurate to say a little hood, a lot hippie. And as if I didn’t love this shirt enough for the graphic, the fabric is so soft. I could live in this thing. I’m thinking of belting it and wearing it as a dress. Just kidding! (Or am I?)

Anyhoo…my husband, whose obsession with Aldo shoes is one of the many reasons I lovingly refer to him as GQ Jones, and I had the following conversation this morning:

GQ Jones: Can we change that to A Little Hood, A Lot Hippie? *smirks*

Me: You do know this refers to a flower child, philosophical hippie, not someone with a lot of hips?

GQ Jones: You do know I’m not the only one who is going to be confused about that.

Me: *shrugs* Either way, A Little Hood, A Lot Hippie still applies. If someone makes that shirt, I’ll definitely buy it.

Okay, time for me to get back to work so I can earn my next graphic tee.

How do you reward yourself for a job well done? Or are you more of the just-shut-up-and-do-it type who doesn’t worry about rewarding yourself? (If so, I wanna be you, but I’m totally okay with the fact that I never will be.)

Happy Reading!

Reese Ryan. Colorful characters. Sinfully sweet romance.

Filed Under: Share the Journey, The Writing Life, Wearing, What I'm... Tagged With: graphic t-shirts, Harlequin Kimani Romance, multicultural romance, Pleasure Cove, plus size fashions, Reese Ryan

Tangling with Timelines

September 9, 2016 by ReeseRyan

During my recent Labor Day Weekend #readergiveaway I asked readers to share how they spent their summer and invited them to pose questions about my new Pleasure Cove series. I enjoyed connecting with my VIP Readers and hearing about their road trips, reading challenges and time spent with children or grandchildren.

Timeline: Minutes courtesy of Bertalan Szuros. Some rights reserved.

Readers posed lots of fun questions, which I’ll be answering during brief vlogs here on Mindful Banter. VIP Reader Mary Goodman asked: What is the best part about writing a series? I’m working on the proposal for Book #3 of my Pleasure Cove series, so today seemed like an appropriate time to answer that question. Under two deadlines and looking more than a little scrappy today, I’ll skip the video (for your sake and mine) and answer the question in today’s blog post.

The best part about writing a series is that the world I’ve built is familiar to me and so are many of the characters. Most of the action in the Pleasure Cove series takes place…you guessed it…in my fictional beach town Pleasure Cove, North Carolina. I know the landscape of the town: the best seafood restaurant, the dive jazz club, the coffee shop and the newly refurbished concert hall. The series revolves around a few key families. Those characters are as familiar as old friends and gotta-love-em relatives. I know a lot about these characters before I begin drafting their stories. Sometimes, even before I realize that they’ll ever have a story of their own.

What drives me crazy when writing a series can be summed up in one word: timeline.

Timeline photo courtesy of Luigi Mengato. Some rights reserved.

Keeping the timeline straight over the course of several books in a series (and related series) can be challenging–particularly if you don’t establish the timeline right from the start. I’m one of those dreaded procrastinators who drags my feet when it comes to doing things I don’t particularly enjoy. I often find myself revisiting the timeline when I’m forced to–like today. So, as I fiddle with another timeline app, I’ve come to the conclusion that I should probably purchase one.

So my questions to you are: As a reader, what timeline issues drive you crazy in a story? To writers, what method do you use to keep track of the timeline of your story or series?

Happy reading!

Reese Ryan. Colorful characters. Sinfully sweet romance.

Timeline: Minutes courtesy of Bertalan Szuros. Some rights reserved.
Timeline photo courtesy of Luigi Mengato. Some rights reserved.

Filed Under: All Posts, Reader Q&A, The Writing Life, What I'm..., Working On Tagged With: Harlequin Kimani Romance, Pleasure Cove, Q&A, Reader questions

Breaking News from Reese Ryan: A New Publishing Deal

March 11, 2016 by ReeseRyan

The Playing with Bad Boys series has a new name and a new publisher.

A new publishing deal requires a celebratory mug of tea.
Celebratory mug of tea, anyone?

First, let me apologize for being missing in action the past few months. This year has been full of health challenges and there are plans for surgery ahead, but there was some really exciting news, too.

Along the way to indie publish my planned Playing with Bad Boys series, I got an offer for a traditional publishing deal I just couldn’t refuse. So the series is getting a new name which I shared exclusively with my VIP Readers earlier today.

Hop on over to Hot M.A.M.A. Land to get details on why I’ve been Secret Squirrel the past few months , how this unexpected publishing deal came to be and when you can expect to see the first book in the series at your local bookstore.

But before you go, I’m inviting you to a fun reader event I’ll be participating in this fall.

Kianna Alexander’s Fall into Romance Reader Event at Disney World

FallIntoRomanceKianna

Don’t miss an exciting reader event hosted by a fellow Hot M.A.M.A. and Kimani Romance author. Kianna Alexander’s Fall Into Romance reader event is going to be a ton of fun. Join me, Kianna, Cheris Hodges, Piper Huguley, Deborah Fletcher Mello, Farrah Rochon, K.M. Jackson, Te’ Russ, Synithia Williams, Lena Hart, Kaia Danielle and Siera London for fun in sunny Florida as we celebrate romance written by and about women of color.

Join us October 20-24th at the DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Hotel Orlando in Lake Buena Vista for a great reader event celebrating diversity in romance. Plus, there will be plenty of time to get your Disney on. Learn more about this event by visiting the Kianna Alexander Fall into Romance Facebook page. Reserve your spot at the event here.

We’re going to Disney World, y’all! Woo hoo!

Reese Ryan. Colorful characters. Sinfully sweet romance.

Secret Squirrel Over and Out

Filed Under: Doing, Hot M.A.M.A.Land, News, Playing by the Rules -- Book 1, Playing with Desire -- Book 1, Pleasure Cove, Publishing Industry, Share the Journey, The Writing Life, What I'm... Tagged With: Cheris Hodges, Deborah Fletcher Mello, Farrah Rochon, K.M. Jackson, Kaia Danielle, Kianna Alexander, Kimani Romance, Lena Hart, Piper Huguley, Playing by the Rules, Playing with Bad Boys, Pleasure Cove, publishing deal, Reese Ryan, Siera London, Synithia Williams, Te' Russ

Taking on a 30-day Journaling Challenge

September 29, 2015 by ReeseRyan

 

 

SMASHBook 30 Day Challenge

Over the past few months I’ve been adding small challenges to my daily routine. Getting the newsletter out to my VIP Readers at least once per month. Blogging here at least once per week. Daily yoga. Each challenge has gone well. Though, in the words of Missy Elliot, Nobody’s Perfect.

I don’t always execute my challenges perfectly. Still, taking them on has helped me up my game. I may not do yoga every day, but I’m doing it at least every other day. A marked improvement from the slug status I held before.

Recently I added walking three times a week to my list. Due the the unusual week of rain we’re having here in North Carolina, that one is off to a rocky start. But I expect to hit the trail again soon. In the meantime, I’m adding a challenge I’ve been wanting to introduce to my routine for several years…daily journaling.

Today is the perfect day to start living your dreams journal
My journal for this 30-day challenge and beyond.

I’ve been wanting to do this for awhile, and I’ve started and stopped several times over the years. However, I’m ready to give it a serious try again. And why not? We’re a mere two days from entering the final quarter of 2015. This is the time of year I begin looking to the year ahead, setting goals and establishing a plan of action. Keeping a journal will help me do just that and keep track of how well I am implementing those plans.

One goal I have for this final quarter and for the year ahead is to be a more prolific writer who doesn’t make readers wait so long for the next book. (Bad author!) I’ll begin tackling that goal with the release of my serial novella in November. However, I plan to sustain that goal for at least the next two years. I believe that having a plan to write something daily, even if it’s just a small journal entry, will help me do just that.

So I’m going to approach this as I initially approached the yoga. With a 30-day journaling challenge. Something that feels doable and not so intimidating. For an added push, I’m going to join Lisa Sonora’s #30DayJournal challenge. However, I also found some fun prompts on Pinterest that range from fun and relaxed to serious and introspective. A couple of those are pictured above and below.

 

SeriousJournalChallenge

What about you? Do you journal now? Have you kept a journal in the past? Let me know in the comments. And if you’ve been meaning to get back to journaling (or to try it for the first time), I’d love to have your company on the journey.

Namaste,

Reese Ryan. Colorful characters. Sinfully sweet romance.

Filed Under: Doing, Share the Journey, The Writing Life Tagged With: #30DayJournal, 30 day journal challenge, Journal, journaling, Reese Ryan

Novella Update: Full Steam Ahead

September 19, 2015 by ReeseRyan

Woman Doing Yoga --- Image by © Royalty-Free/Corbis

Keeping today’s post sweet and simple. The novella is coming along nicely, thanks in large part to the fact that I planned most of the scenes out in advance.

Note to self: ALWAYS PLOT THE STORY OUT IN ADVANCE.

The encouragement and camaraderie of my local Romance Writers of America chapter has also been a huge part of my constant productivity this month. Incorporating yoga into my routine several times a week has also been quite helpful. I especially enjoy the energizing morning sequences. I just discovered a new one today, posted below.

Now the question is, will this story end up anywhere close to the 20,000 words I’d planned originally, or will it be closer to 40,000 words? We’ll see. But I’m betting on 30-40K at this point.

I can’t wait to reveal the cover and book title to my VIP Readers next month. 🙂

Meanwhile, I’ll keep chugging along on this story while the plot and scenes for Book #2 in the series begin to materialize. My goal is to finish writing the first draft of the novella by October 1st. So there will be lots of energizing morning yoga routines in my future.

Namaste,

Reese Ryan. Colorful characters. Sinfully sweet romance.

Filed Under: Books, Pleasure Cove, Share the Journey, The Writing Life, Yoga Tagged With: novella, Playing with Bad Boys series, Reese Ryan, yoga

Friday Check-in: Character Naming Contest

September 11, 2015 by ReeseRyan

Writer. Photo courtesy of Dave Morrison Photography

Just peeking my head out of my writing cave to wish everyone a fantastic Friday and give you a glimpse of how my Playing with Bad Boys prequel novella is coming. After nearly two weeks of plotting the story, I began writing the story this past Saturday. I love these two characters and the heroine’s wild child cousin. I’m sure we’ll be seeing her again.

The heroine of the story has a small dog, but I haven’t quite settled on a breed and name. That’s where my awesome VIP Readers come in. I’m having a character naming contest to decide the dog’s breed and the name. The call went out in my VIP Reader Newsletter last week and I received some wonderful suggestions. It’s not too late to enter your suggestions. If you are a VIP Reader,  you may do so in the comments below. The choice of breeds is as follows:

  • Jack Russell Terrier
  • Yorkshire Terrier
  • Shih Tzu

In the comments, choose your suggested breed and a name for the dog. If I pick your selection, I’ll thank you in the Acknowledgements section of the novella when it’s published in February. 🙂

Have a great weekend!

Reese Ryan. Colorful characters. Sinfully sweet romance.

Writer. Photo courtesy of Dave Morrison Photography.

Filed Under: Pleasure Cove, Share the Journey, The Writing Life Tagged With: Character naming contest, Playing with Bad Boys, Reese Ryan

Author News: New Serial Novella Coming to You Soon

September 4, 2015 by ReeseRyan

Coming Soon photo courtesy of Dennis Skley.

Happy Friday!

For those of us in the U.S., we’ve spent the day rushing to get last minute tasks finished in anticipation of the long, Labor Day Weekend holiday ahead. For me it’s been a busy week, including finally getting the novella I told you about last week plotted. Tomorrow, before I indulge in the usual Labor Day Weekend festivities (i.e. eating) I will begin writing my novella.

I am so excited about this story, which will be delivered to the inboxes of my VIP Readers beginning Friday, November 6th. Doing my happy dance, and it’s awesome.

Happy Dog Dance.

Seriously.

This story will be the prequel to my Playing with Bad Boys series and it features two characters whose story is an integral part of the history and outlook of the hero in the first book in the series, Playing It Safe, which will be released on my birthday, March 1, 2016. The serial story will be free to my VIP Readers and will run for twelve weeks, leading up to Valentine’s Day weekend, when the novella will go on sale and be available to everyone.

Wanna be the first to read the story for free? Be sure to join my VIP Readers list today.

I’ve got another surprise for my VIP Readers. Starting November 6th, they’ll have access to my VIP Lounge, where I’ll share exclusive goodies. Don’t miss out!

Have a safe and wonderful weekend!

Reese Ryan. Colorful characters. Sinfully sweet romance.

Filed Under: News, Pleasure Cove, The Writing Life Tagged With: novella, Playing with Bad Boys, Reese Ryan, serial novella, VIP Readers

Woosah (or How to Dodge Rocks and Keep it Moving)

August 7, 2015 by ReeseRyan

Hope you’re having a fantastic Friday. Mine got off to an interesting start that resulted in a cracked windshield when I failed to dodge the rock that came flying at me from across the highway. An unexpected development that could have easily ruined my day. Instead, I took a cue from Bad Boys II. (Isn’t that where everyone gets their life wisdom?) I woosahed and  chose to let it go. No need in allowing a random event to drag down the trajectory of my day when there were so many good things in store.

So, in the spirit of keeping it moving, I went on with my day. I used Rafflecopter random winner selection function to pick the winner in my Summer Reader #Giveaway. I honestly couldn’t be happier about the the name that popped up. Reader, Monica KL deserves this win. (See, sometimes random good things happen, too.) 🙂 I’m excited about creating a jewelry piece from my Sinfully Sweet Handmade shop, just for Monica.

Moments ago, I announced the winner and revealed the cover of Playing It Safe, the first book in the Playing with Bad Boys series, to my VIP Readers. If you’re not on my VIP Reader Mailing List, you can join by clicking the link. You’ll be among the first to hear about book and event news. Otherwise, stay tuned for the cover reveal here on my blog in the coming weeks.

Speaking of blogs, over on the Contemporary Romance Cafe my post Sex, Food and Rock N Roll takes a little walk down memory lane of the role food plays in my stories and the power of having characters share a meal. Here on the Reese Ryan Diaries, I started a series where we get to know authors of color who write in a variety of genres. Be sure to check them both out.

Now it’s time to put my head down and get back to work on Book #2 in the series.

Woosah!

Reese Ryan. Colorful characters. Sinfully sweet romance.

Photo courtesy of Grand Velas–Yoga and Pilates.

Filed Under: Get to Know Multicultural Authors, Giveaways, News, Share the Journey, The Writing Life Tagged With: Contemporary Romance Cafe, Hot M.A.M.A., Playing It Safe, Playing with Bad Boys, Reese Ryan, VIP Readers

Revisions, Revisions, Revisions

August 1, 2015 by ReeseRyan

Revisions. Photo courtesy of Nic McPhee.

I awoke this morning with the nagging feeling that I’d forgotten something, and alas, I had. My Friday post.

While I hate to have missed my Friday, I’m feeling pretty amazing about the reason I forgot my post yesterday. I was neck deep in revisions of Book 1 of my new series.

It felt good to not only be working on my series, but to be so excited about working on the book again. Thanks to some fabulous beta readers I received some fantastic feedback on the book. Reading their feedback again the other day got me excited to dive into the project again. While they identified several things they loved about the book, there were a couple of issues mentioned that had been nagging at the back of my head, too. One of which called for me to roll up my sleeves and make some serious changes. For a chronic procrastinator, that triggers one thing.

Procrastination.

A side-stepping meltdown in which I will work on any and everything (gardening, jewelry making, visiting with my next door neighbor, yoga, chatting on the phone with friends and helping my husband change the oil in the car) except the task at hand.

I’d like to say that all of this craziness is just part of my process. As if I’m Andy Warhol, F. Scott Fitzgerald or some other notably brilliant creative artist. However, my procrastination is simply rooted in fear and just another one of those bad habits that I need to let go of.

I’m working on it.

On letting go of that bad habit and…FINALLY…on revising my manuscript.

Yesterday morning, after yoga I took a little time to meditate and set my intentions for the day. One of which was knocking out the first fifty pages of revisions on my manuscript. The other was to submit a proposal to a traditional publisher I’ve been eyeing. (Another task I’d been procrastinating on out of fear.) I’m happy to say, I completed both projects yesterday.

Today I’ll continue revisions and focus on two other tasks:

  1. My local RWA Chapter’s Book-in-a-Week Challenge. No, I won’t actually be producing a book in a week. During BiaW we focus on making our work in progress our priority and write as much as we can each day during the challenge. Since my focus is revisions right now, I won’t be writing a lot, but I will be writing.
  2. Writing daily. This is something I’ve been avoiding for a long time, but for a stop-and-start person like me, I think it’s time I try adding writing every single day to my routine. Since today is August 1st, what better time to start than today?

But before I go back to work, I want to let you know that my journal/handmade jewelry giveaway ended. I’ll announce the winner in this month’s newsletter on Friday, August 7th. So stay tuned to find out if you’re the winner. If you’re not on the mailing list, be sure to join for the latest book and event news and your chance to get in on the next contest in the fall.

 

Reese Ryan. Colorful characters. Sinfully sweet romance.

Filed Under: All Posts, Giveaways, Share the Journey, The Writing Life Tagged With: bad habits, book-in-a-week, daily writing, procrastination, Reese Ryan, revisions, the writing process, writing

Why I’m the Poster Child for #WeNeedDiverseBooks / #WeNeedDiverseRomance

July 7, 2015 by ReeseRyan

Diversify Your Shelves by Kelly Garbato

I know what you’re thinking. I’m an author of color. Of course I’m pushing the #WeNeedDiverseBooks and #WeNeedDiverseRomance campaigns.

I admit that, like every other author of every color, I would love for my books to be widely read. But that’s not what makes me the poster child for either movement. It’s my #EpicFail as a POC (person of color) reader that illustrates why these movements are needed.

Today I’m over at the Contemporary Romance Cafe making my shamefaced confession about when it finally struck me that by not actively seeking out diverse literature, I’d effectively tuned out great books by POC authors.  I’d love to hear your experience. Pop over to the Cafe and let’s discuss Celebrating Diversity in Romance (or Why #WeNeedDiverseRomance).

Look forward to seeing you there!

Reese Ryan. Colorful characters. Sinfully sweet romance.

 

Diversify Your Shelves courtesy of Kelly Garbato.

Filed Under: #WeNeedDiverseBooks, #WeNeedDiverseRomance, All Posts, Books/Literature, Diversity, Pop Culture, Reading, Share the Journey, The Writing Life, What I'm... Tagged With: #WeNeedDiverseBooks, #WeNeedDiverseRomance, Contemporary Romance Cafe, Reese Ryan

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