Be careful what company you keep

Today marks my 500th blog post. (Yay!) In honor of that accomplishment, I wanted to offer what I felt like was good (and easy to follow) advice.

I just read a friend's post on Facebook about meeting with their author group. They said how this was a great thing for them and I was a bit envious. Ha. Ha. There are literally NO writer/author groups in my area (to my knowledge) that are worth a crap. I know of two and I wouldn't recommend them to anyone.

In the beginning when you first get published, it's tempting to run out and join a writing group. I think everyone wants to find people who will support and encourage them. My advice? Don't do that.

I'm not saying there aren't good groups out there. Sure there are. They just aren't around me. We can only judge by our own experience and here is what I found in the two writer's groups I attempted to be a part of.

The first was at one of the Universities where I used to work. I joined this group because I had always had an interest in writing and knew that I would someday pursue writing as a career. I thought I could learn something.

In this group everyone would sit around and read their latest poetry or short story and then ask for feedback from the group. That was how it was supposed to go. What really happened? The leader of the group was full of himself and barely gave anyone else a chance to speak. He was rude and criticized everyone else's work when his own wasn't up to par. This was basically a chance to sit around and bitch and read emo poetry. It was a complete waste of time, but I kept up my membership for a little while. As soon as I became published, they disowned me. Everyone was jealous that I succeeded and reached the first of my career goals. They acted as if I and my accomplishment didn't exist. In the last publication they put out (at the University) they didn't even list me as a member. You would think they'd be proud of me, right? I never went back.

My second experience with a writer's group was in my hometown. I got a nice invitation in the mail asking me to attend their next meeting. I've known the librarian in town (where the meeting was held) since I was a kid. She is a sweet lady and was probably responsible for my invite.

What happened there? Another published author was in attendance and I accidentally stole her show. She was also from the same town, but had long since moved away. She writes more traditional romance. After the main part of her speech was over people started to ask questions. Since I had been introduced, a few of these questions were directed at me instead of her. Some of the others in the group seemed fascinated to find that not only did I not use an agent, but I had published more books in 3 years than this other author had in 10 years.

That was not my fault. I didn't ramble on. I politely answered and tried to turn things back over to her. Still, I was snubbed when I attempted to speak to her afterward. Bitch. She acted like she was above speaking to anyone except the lady who had invited her.

Afterward, I went to dinner with the group while she disappeared. She was also "too good" to eat with us. I thought things went well as everyone seemed to enjoy asking me questions. But guess what? I was never invited back. Despite the fact that I have published even more novels now and gotten a few awards.

I suppose my point is, you don't have to belong to a group if you don't want to. Don't let yourself feel pressured. You've got enough to do without worrying about going to meetings, right? If being a part of a group feels right and is helpful to you, then go for it. But if it isn't, don't stress over it. Also, just because a group of people claim to be a writer's group, doesn't mean they give a damn about you and your writing.

So, what do I do for support? I have a few friends who are writers. I talk to and confide in them. I trust their opinions. I have an editor and writing partner who works with me on all my books, especially my indie titles. She is a great person and a close friend. She can look me right in the face and tell me something sounds stupid without hurting my feelings. Why? Because she isn't a bitch and I know she has my best interest at heart. It also helps that she doesn't try to read me any emo poetry.

Amazon, stress, and low sales

Many of you may have heard of Amazon blocking erotica (and erotic romance) from it's "All Category Search." After learning of this, I changed the categories on almost all of my books. The result? I've experienced an extreme drop in sales!

So, I went back today and changed them all to their original categories. If Amazon chooses to label these books as "adult" and exclude them from general searches, so be it. I was reaching more of my intended audience when the books were in the proper category. Even though my stories are "romance," putting them in that category (that is overcrowded already) made them disappear. 

Hopefully, sales will improve after these changes go into effect. 

I've also been stressing (and trying desperately not to) about the fact that I no longer have any sales to speak of on any other sites. Amazon has become the ONLY place that I make any money. Has anyone else experienced this? I make a little bit on Barnes & Noble, but my sales have never been high there. I make almost nothing on Smashwords; that hasn't changed. And most months I make nothing at all on All Romance Ebooks. I used to earn nearly as much there each month as I did on Amazon. That really bothers me, because I don't understand the change. I have no way of finding any data to know why this drastic change happened. Is no one shopping there? Are all authors noticing a decline in sales? Or do I just suck?

All I know to do is move forward. I've even considered pulling my books from other sites to enroll them in the Kindle Select Program once more. However, KDP had no real benefit that I found, other than being able to run specials on your books, like giving them away for free. I never noticed that this increased sales in the slightest. So, that idea may be worthless. Plus, I'd have to go to the trouble of pulling my books from other sites. Bleh. I don't know what to do.

I fully believe in the Law of Attraction. I believe that you get what you expect to get. I also believe that if you focus on negative things, you will attract more negative things into your life. Therefore, I'm going to post this blog and focus on something that makes me feel great, like my next book. 

I'm going to do something that makes me smile, focus on that, and try not to worry about how I'm going to pay my bills. 

Amazon may consider your books porn

It seems there is always something or someone trying to persecute those who write or enjoy reading (or both) erotic romance.

Lately, all the buzz is about Amazon and their new search "feature." Apparently, when you do an "All Department Search" erotica is being filtered out.

Right off the bat I can tell you that is a terrifying prospect to me. It's also offensive to be thrown into the category of porn. My books have sexual content. So do a lot of movies, games, and TV shows. They aren't considered porn, and my books shouldn't be either. I've read several horror writers who include sex in their books. They aren't being excluded from searches. Why? Maybe it has something to do with the category of erotica?

Now I mentioned this was terrifying to me. That's because I do this for a living. I have no other job. I write. I use my income from royalties to pay my bills. I also earn the majority of my income from Amazon sales. You see where I'm going with this? It's scary.

I wonder if this will blow over. Will writers like myself continue to be able to make a living? I sure as hell hope so. It's pretty well known that erotica was a driving force for Kindle sales. At long last, people could read romance novels without anyone seeing the cover and judging them for it. Surely, Amazon realizes this?

I know several people, men and women, who were thrilled to be able to read a BDSM novel without anyone knowing. One of my friends sat at the dentist office reading as he called it, "straight-up kink" and no one knew. THIS is what sold the kindle. Sexual content. Period.

And now, after all that, WE are getting filtered? My books are not porn! There are many novels in other genres who have just as much sex in them as my books do. Is it because my stories have a happy ending that I'm getting the shaft? (Yes, the pun is totally intended.)

Besides being scary, treating erotica writers this way is just plain bad business. We make Amazon a lot of money.

Back in the day, books used to only be filtered (or excluded from searches) if there was nudity on the cover. For that reason, none of my covers have naked people. I thought I had this Amazon thing figured out.

As I was composing this blog post, I read another post that answered a question I really wanted to know. You can no longer put your book in both "Erotica" and "Romance" categories. Additionally, the category "Erotic Romance" puts your book in erotica.

Seriously? I'm going to Amazon right now to change my categories. I don't think that's an option if your books are already considered "ADULT". Once a work is considered "erotic," it stays that way. Naturally, huge traditionally published books like 50 Shades get the option to change their category. But not the little guys.

I searched for my books on Amazon in the "All Department Search" and only one was excluded, Diary of an Incubus. Yes, it has been slapped with the ugly ADULT label.

While I figure out what to do about that, I'm going to pause blogging and go change the categories of my other books. Hey, Amazon didn't bother to tell us they were doing this filter crap. Why should I play nice? I need to make a living here.

*after changing categories*

Okay, now ALL my books are in different categories besides Erotica. Here's what I did with mine.

Necromancer - Horror, Romance Paranormal

Wicked City - Romance, Fantasy

Eden - Paranormal, Fantasy

Bitten - Romance paranormal, horror

The Eternal Kiss - Paranormal, short stories

The Dread Moon - Paranormal, Horror

Object of My Affection - Paranormal, Horror

Red - Paranormal, horror

Frank and The Werewolf Tamer - Fantasy, Romance paranormal

I hope this works. My fear is that changing the categories will actually make my books harder to find. But if the filer might have been preventing them being found ... hell, I don't know.

I changed the category of Diary of an Incubus to Romance, Paranormal. If it's being filtered for the cover, then screw Amazon. I've seen a lot worse.

I would like to say that this will blow over and everything will be okay. But the truth is I don't know what will happen. I'm trying to stay positive. Maybe changing these categories will help MORE readers find me.

Whatever happens, I will survive, and so will you.

Yes, there can be meaning in a vampire menage novel

A few days ago I re-released Necromancer. This story was originally published in 2008. Since then, I've added over 8,000 words of new content as well as a revised ending.

I know a lot of people will read the title of this post and think, "Yeah, right." It's sad how many folks are too narrow minded to realize that just because a story has erotic content doesn't mean that it lacks meaning or a real story. I doubt anyone would say that Game of Thrones lacks a plot. I also doubt anyone would say it doesn't have a lot of sexual content. Now, plot-wise, my stories are nothing like Game of Thrones. However, on the surface they are very much alike. They both have a great story mixed with graphic violence and sexual content.

No matter how many times I explain this, there will be some jerk out there who calls my work "smut" or "porn." Worse yet, "mommy porn." I can think of few descriptions I find more offensive than "mommy porn." It sounds like something a child molester would watch or read. Ugh! Are people simply frightened of the word erotic? It sounds so much better. I also want to slap people who say I write smut. Smut is the crap they print in raunchy magazines. Smut has no plot, no emotion, just hardcore sex. I DO NOT write smut. Okay, I'm getting off topic a bit. Ha. Ha.

To me, anyone who uses one of the above mentioned terms to describe erotic romance is displaying their ignorance.

Necromancer in particular has a lot of "me" in the book. So, I'm sure you can imagine that I find the book very meaningful. I'm going to share some details here that when I first published this book I kept to myself. LOL

Real life can inspire all sorts of things in books. Just because this story is full of supernatural stuff doesn't mean there is no "real life" in it.

Okay, now for the details.

1. Jane Masters has the job from Hell that I endured for nearly 4 years.

2. Every single character mentioned at the university where she works is REAL. Names have been changed to protect the guilty.

3. The horrible boss at the beginning of the story was MY horrible boss. The letters he writes to Jane were directly copied from the notes he left on my desk. I REALLY endured this asshole. I'm so proud of myself for telling him to shove it up his ass rather than brutally murdering him.

4. The security guard Jane is involved with was a friend of mine. I wasn't involved with him the way Jane is, but I saw who he really was. It wasn't pretty.

5. Michael Jameson is based on one of my best friends, Stacey.

6. Lastly, and the most meaningful of all to me, her dog Sam is based on my dog Sam. When I wrote this story Sam had just become a part of our lives. As I re-release it now, he passed away 2 months ago. Some days I can think of him and smile. Other days, I still feel devastated. Necromancer is dedicated to Sam.

Trust me when I say that writing this book was therapy. And surprisingly, so was reading and editing it again.

Hopefully, you are now intrigued to know that all the drama is real and figure out how the vampires play into it all. LOL

Here are the details on Necromancer.

Jane Masters has no idea she's a necromancer. Luis and Henri are the vampires responsible for the power mingled in her blood. Though her love life improves dramatically after meeting them, Jane faces a more urgent situation than dating a vampire or two. As Luis and Henri reveal the details of her past life and the source of her power, they learn there's a killer on the loose and Jane is next on the list. As for her newly discovered past with the vampires, her heart remembers them. But will she survive to love them this time?

Warning: This book contains graphic violence, graphic language, and graphic sex, as well as two smoking hot vampires.

Purchase your copy here

All kinds of stuff

I had a hard time trying to give this post a title. So, I decided it's about "all kinds of stuff." LOL Here's what I've been up to lately. I'll start with the good and work my way to the disgusting. Yes, I've witnessed something very disgusting.

First off, I've made a further commitment to getting into better shape. I want to look great and be in good health. One of the easiest things for me to do is walk/jog every day. I've been doing this first thing in the morning. I hate getting up early, but that's what works best for me and my metabolism. I roll out of bed, get dressed and start walking. This month my goal is to walk 60 miles. So far I've walked 14 this first week.

I finally finished the erotic horror novel that I was working on so diligently. Yes, it has a name, but I'm keeping that between me and a few close friends until I'm ready to release the book. I've worked on this novel off and on, between other projects, for the past 2 years and I am very glad to be finished. I enjoyed every moment. This story is more graphic in every way than anything I've ever written. For that reason, I am releasing it under the name. T.K. Hardin. It will be listed as "Tracey H. Kitts writing as T.K. Hardin." I want to give people a clue that it's very different, but still written by me. This one is not for the faint of heart.

I'm also getting ready to re-release another of my backlist titles, Necromancer. I'm adding in a bit more content and editing one last time before working on the cover. It should be ready to go in the next week.

Now, for the disgusting thing I mentioned. As some of you may know, I love horror movies. I have a huge collection of cheesy old horror films. I can't really explain this except that it's something I enjoy. I wouldn't say that I "enjoyed" the original Evil Dead films, but they weren't entirely unentertaining. I did; however, LOVE Army of Darkness. It is for this reason that I was stupid enough to go see the new Evil Dead movie.

Having received bad reviews myself, I thought long and hard about whether or not I should say anything about this film. Then I realized that if I was making as much money as these guys, it would soften the blow. LOL

Let me put this into perspective. I liked The Collection and watched every Hellraiser (except the last one), but Evil Dead was offensive to me. Yeah.

I knew this movie was going to be over the top gory and still I wasn't prepared. I wanted to throw up. The violence is revolting on a level that I can't accurately explain. But, that wasn't the deal breaker for me. The characters (though acted well) are so incredibly stupid that it ruins the film. They do things that no person with a fully functioning brain would EVER do. Making one bad decision, okay. We've all done that. But over and over again? Give me a break. It was unbelievable.

Plus, I must tell the one thing that, had I known about it, would have made me skip the movie. They brought a dog into the story just to kill him. There was no dog in the original Evil Dead movies. They added one so they could bash his brains out with a hammer. He did not die immediately, but suffered. Having recently lost my dog to an accident, I REALLY couldn't handle this. I would have been upset even if Sam was healthy and waiting for me at home. But he wasn't and that just made it so much worse.

Do not see this film unless you have some way to erase your mind afterward. Trust me, that is what it will make you want to do. I was so disturbed that I never want to watch a Sam Rami film again and he was one of my favorite directors. I've also crossed Bruce Campbell off my list of actors whose work I enjoy. Forget them both.

It may sound extreme, but sometimes something is so horrible that you just can't forget it and you never again want anything to do with the people who created it. Not that we hung out or anything, but you get what I mean.

Harley Quinn Hat DIY

Those of you who know me, know that I am a life-long Batman fan. My nickname has been Joker since I was a small child for various reasons that have nothing to do with me being insane. LOL Really, it's my sense of humor and love of purple and green ... and possibly my creepy laugh.

Anyway, for a few years now I've wanted to do a great Harley Quinn costume. Much of what I could find online was very generic, like bodysuits that do not look good on most people. Or people put together their own outfits and didn't give instructions as to how they managed this. Some did and those were helpful, but I didn't find many. While I continue to perfect my own costume I realized that the next accessory I needed was a great hat.

So, I started looking for Harley Hats. Do you know that as far as I can find, no one manufactures them? I thought that was weird. I found a few (overpriced) on Ebay and thought, "I could do this myself."

I started looking for patterns and found that no one was willing to share a pattern for a Harley hat. BUT, I did find a few blogs talking about how to make a jester hat. I modified that a little and made my own hat.

It turned out so well, I decided to make one for my dog Roscoe too. LOL A good little minion should always match his evil mistress.

First, here's what you'll need. 

Red and black fabric. You can use something soft like fleece or something that will stand up better. It depends on if you want your hat to be floppy or stiff. Ha. Ha. It's up to you. My hat is made out of a stiffer wool. Yeah, I know that's not the technical name, but I can't think of it. I got a half yard of each color because I plan to make a pillow eventually too. You should have plenty left over.

Pom poms or jingle bells. You can get these at most craft stores or even at Walmart. I chose to use pom poms because I didn't want to jingle all the time.

Sewing machine is optional. It would be easier if you have one. I don't. It took me 6 hours to stitch my hat by hand and about an hour to do Roscoe's. The only reason it took me so long on my hat is because I had no idea what I was doing.

Black and red thread.

Okay, first you need to make your pattern. This is really easy. Measure around your head just above the eyebrows. My measurements was 56 cm. But, I wanted the hat to be loose, so I used 58 cm. as my measurement.

My hat is 52 cm. up the long/pointy side and 30 cm. down the short side. If you shorten the short side or lengthen the long side, you will get more of an extreme point. Likewise if you don't want your hat to be as "pointy" (Ha. Ha.) then you can shorten both of these measurements.

So, here is what I figured. 58 cm (circumference of my head) divided by 4 (because you need 4 panels). That equals 14.5 cm. That means that the base of my pattern needs to be 14.5 cm.

I measured this out on some "Happy Birthday" tissue paper and cut out my pattern.

Next, you need to cut 4 pieces of material using the pattern as your guide. You can either pin it to the fabric, or use a pen to trace it lightly. This will not show on the final product because your seam will be about 1 cm.

You need 2 black and 2 red. Make sure their slant all faces the same direction. (Wow. That sounds vaguely obscene.)

Take a black and a red piece and put their short sides together. Fold them in half and sew them together, but don't sew the "points." I hope that makes sense. I'm trying to be as clear as I can, but I'm no seamstress. 

Once you've done this, open them out and finger press the seam open. Repeat this for the other pair. 

Place the two pairs "right" sides together. This means the hat will look like it's inside out. Sorry if I over explain, but I need things simple. Now, you might find it easier to pin the hat together while you stitch. That's what I did. With the "right" sides together, start stitching sides (outside edges) together. Be sure to have a red side facing a black side so that the hat turns out with the correct "Harley" look. You may need to trim off excess fabric at the tips when you stitch them. Mine weren't perfectly matched. LOL The pic just above this paragraph shows the hat after both sides have been stitched together, but before I turned it right side out.

Next, lay your hat flat (still wrong side out) and trim off about 10-15 cm from the bottom, depending on how wide you want your brim.

Slide this band/brim over the bottom of the hat, aligning the cut edges. The wrong side of the hat (seams out) should be facing the right side of the brand/brim. Make sure your colors alternate. Now that all the seams match up at the bottom, stitch.

Turn the hat right side out. I used a pen to poke out the points of the hat as much as possible. Now, flip the brim up to the right side and tuck the very top (rough edge) under about 1 cm or more if you want a thinner brim. Pin it in place, matching the seams and stitch the top near the folded edge. 

All that's left to do is sew some pom poms or jingle bells to the tips and start getting your freak on with The Joker. HAHAHA!!

For Roscoe's hat, I measured his head and his ears and basically followed the same steps. I just used smaller pom poms and put straps on the sides, alternating colors. This pic gives a side angle of his little "points." They are custom fitted to his little ears, but because I was laughing, trying to hold a little dog, and take this pic at the same time, his ears slipped out. LOL

Have fun!

Luck O' The Irish Brownies

Since St. Patrick's Day isn't far away, I thought I would share an awesome and "lucky" recipe. Why is it lucky? Well, because it's chocolate. That's the same reason it's awesome. LOL

Now, without further ado, here is the recipe.

Luck O' The Irish Brownies

4 (1 ounce) squares of unsweetened chocolate

1 cup margarine, softened

2 cups white sugar

3 eggs

2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

4 cups confectioner's sugar

2 tablespoons mile (as needed) You can also use lactose free milk, like I do.

1 1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract

6 drops green food coloring (or more if you want a darker green)

1 1/3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

6 tablespoons butter

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.

2. Melt the unsweetened chocolate in a cup or small bowl in the microwave. Stir frequently until chocolate is smooth. Allow it to cool slightly. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the margarine and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Stir in the flour just until blended. Pour the batter into the prepared dish and spread evenly.

3. Bake until the surface appears dry and the sides are beginning to pull away from the edges of the pan. (20-25 minutes). The brownies may look more like cake and jiggle slightly in the center, that's okay. Remove  from the oven and cool in the pan. You can place the pan on a wire rack, or onto a stove eye. (Turned off, of course.)

4. To make the middle layer, beat 1/2 cup of butter with confectioner's sugar in a large bowl using an electric mixer. Add milk as needed to get a spreadable consistency. Stir in the peppermint extract and green food coloring. Spread this over the cooled pan of brownies. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

5. In a microwave-safe bowl, heat chocolate chips with the butter until melted. Stir every 20 seconds until the chocolate is smooth. Stir in vanilla, then pour over the chilled brownies and quickly spread to cover the surface. Cool again until firm. (About 10-15 minutes) Then, cut into squares and serve.

How awesome and easy is that?