A Killer Voice!!

Today is the day I have had marked on my calendar since back in March when I first entered the KillerVoices pitch contest. In big red letters on today's date it says  - LIS KillerVoices winners announced.  I didn't have to wait for today to know I was one of the winners, but it is so amazing to see it there on the Harlequin blog in big print. -  Tammy Johnson’s Royal Rescue will publish in April 2015  -

Happy Dancing here again.

Participating in the KillerVoices pitch contest was an amazing experience for me. I learned what I could do when I pushed myself. I learned to trust myself and write from my heart and imagination. Most importantly, I learned to trust God with my writing.

I'm working through the revisions on Royal Rescue now and learning and growing every step of the way. It's going to be a fun journey and I'm excited about it.  I can't wait to share more.

So how about you? Anyone on any interesting learning journeys?

We have a Title!!

It's way past time for a blog post!! I have so many things going on and I want to be able to share and have it all documented somehow so I can read back years from now and remember how amazing it all was.

First off - it's still real!! I really did sell to Love Inspired Suspense through the KillerVoices contest!

I found out just this morning that the story previously known as - In the Wind - will be book when it grows up and it's name will be - Royal Rescue. I'm tickled pink. I love it. How about you? Getting a title was a fun process. I brainstormed a long list which I sent off to my wonderful editor. (I love saying that) From that list, the powers that be came up with Royal Rescue. It still makes me giddy.

It's been a while since I've talked about the story, so just as a refresher - Thea James (aka Dorthea Jamison, Princess of Portase) meets and eventually falls in love with bodyguard, Ronin Parrish. Of course they have a lot of bumps in the road (literally) along the way, but they definitely have their happily ever after.

Thea

I worked a lot today on writing a thirty word teaser for the story. I finally came up with one, but I like the slightly longer version better -

After the murder of her father, Princess Thea James was hidden away for her own safety. Years later, Ronin Parrish must bring her home at any cost, for her memories hold secrets that will free his father and see justice done.

I hope that gives it that suspenseful edge that makes people want to know more about what is going on.

Ronin

Over the last several days I've been busy working on coming up with title suggestions, sending in image suggestions to help with cover design. Thankfully, I had several ready on my story board on Pinterest. I've also been working on the revisions I need to do on the story that will make it ready to read.  I'm still loving Thea and Ronin. Part of me will be sad when I'm finished with my part of the book and start to work on the next story. (which has already been waking me up at terribly early hours of the morning with ideas)

One of the many things I love about Thea is her strength. She's been through a lot, but she hasn't let her circumstances define her, instead the hardships she's faced have made her more determined to stay strong. The best part of that strength is how it surprises the hero and catches him totally off-guard from the very beginning. I love doing that to heroes.

Ronin has faced his fair share of adversity as well. It's cost him to lose faith slightly, but after only a few days with Thea, it becomes apparent to him that he'd never totally turned his back on beliefs. That is one of the best things about characters falling in love - when the realize the little bits of themselves that they find in the other person. 

Thea and Ronin have that and I can't wait to see if other people notice it in them as well. I guess I will have to wait until April, but it will be here soon enough. 

Reality Check

Happy 4th of July everyone!! 

 It's been two days since I found out that I sold to Love Inspired Suspense. Still happy dancing - literally. Every now and then I get an email or a message from someone and I think, "Wow, this is really happening." I still get up and do a little happy dance around my chair. :) I have seriously been waiting for this day for such a long time. It still amazes me. I'm so very thankful.

Reality has slowly started to set in as well. I got the revision letter back from my editor and when I first start reading through it I'm smiling away and thinking, "I can do that, easy peasy." The more I read the less confident I get about it. Also the reality that people are really going to be reading this book someday sets in.  That thought makes me both happy and panicky at the same time. Actual, REAL people are going to be reading this.

Now the pressure of making it something that I can totally be proud of sets in. I guess in the back of my mind as I was writing it, I just wanted to make it something that an editor would like. I never really thought about the people I work with, friends and family or people I might bump into at the grocery store. People are going to read this!!! I'm both thrilled and frightened at the same time.

What if they don't like it? What if it's boring?

I'm looking at my revisions and faced with the reality that my dream has come true and now I have to make this book the best that I possibly can so it will be something I can be proud of.

The reality is amazing and frightening at the same time, but it's a reality that I've dreamed of for so long, there is no way I'm going to fail now.  I know there is so much more to this journey that I have yet to discover. I hope that you will hang out with me along the way and share pieces of yours as well!

That moment when everything changes!

You know that saying - Your life can change in an instant?  It's so true!

One moment I'm doing my normal boring thing - the next minute the phone rings and everything changes. I'm a Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense Author!!

My CALL actually started with a voice mail that I listened to in the bathroom of Pizza Hut, but it was still just as amazing as I'd always imagined it would be.

This is my call story:

I was working my summer job at Pizza Hut. I'd only been working a few days and felt like I'd just spent three hours running around like a chicken with my head cut off. The lunch rush was crazy that day. My feet were killing me and I was way past ready for a break. I asked if I could have one and grabbed my cell phone and went to the one place I thought it would be okay for me to check my phone and relax a few minutes... the bathroom. I know, TMI probably, but it's the truth and it's my call story. :)

I had two missed calls. One was an 800 number that I still haven't checked back on and the other was an area code I didn't recognize. I'd asked friends before what the New York area code was, but I couldn't remember. My heart still skipped a beat. I had two voice mails. That tiny flame of hope sputtered to life as I hit the button to check. My Killer Voice story had been with the editor only a few weeks, but they'd started making calls and I was hopeful it would happen for me too, some day. When I heard the voice at the other end I think I nearly fell over. All I remember hearing was, "This is Shana Asaro from Love Inspired books..." After that everything was a blur of tears of joy and just trying to figure out how to call her back. I presumed she had good news, which thinking back on it now, was probably jumping the gun just a little bit. But, I'd heard enough call stories before to know that editors didn't usually call you unless they actually were interested in buying your book.

I asked my manager if I could get away for a few minutes to make a phone call so I could at least call her back and set up a time to talk. I was told I could leave early and go home if I wanted. And boy, did I want. On the way home I called my daughter and through the tears I was still battling, managed to tell her that my editor from the Killer Voice pitch contest had called me and I was on my way home to call her back.

I made it home within minutes. I live in a small town, it doesn't take long. :) I had to explain to my teenage son that there was going to be crying for the next few minutes. He now tells me I didn't explain the why well enough and that he had no idea what was going on until later. Somehow I managed to get it all together enough to make the call back. I think I was able to speak in mostly complete sentences. I hope so anyway. I was so excited. The call was because she wanted to offer me a contract for my Killer Voice book!!! Most of what happened after that is a blur of happiness and thankfulness and every other good emotion you can imagine. We went over some of the details and talked a little about revisions and she asked if I wanted to write under my name. I was stumped on that one. For a very long time I hadn't imagined being anyone other than Tammy Johnson. After I divorced though, it seemed odd to have that be the name associated with every book I write for the rest of my life. I spent most of last night thinking about it, and I've decided to just keep my name. It is me after all.

After that it was a blur of calling my family. I called my daughter back and told her, and my sons and sister, mother, brother ... then friends and then I finally was able to make it to the internet and share with all my online friends as well. It's totally been an amazing experience and everything I had ever hoped it would be. It was a little odd to sit home last night and do nothing after all the excitement, but the down time was probably a good thing for me.

God really has blessed me with this sale. It's been a dream for such a long time and now I can barely believe it's happening. The night before the call I was feeling really discouraged and beginning to doubt a lot of the choices I'd made. I spent some time with God talking about how hard it was for me to keep hoping and believing and that I knew I should just stay strong but I didn't know if I had it in me to keep trying. I begged for a sign that I was on the right path at least. The next day, I got the call. How's that for a sign? I am blessed and so very thankful.

So that is my call story and now the rest of my writing career begins. I'm not sure where to start, but I hope to be here, sharing it with you every step of the way. 

A few things I learned while writing my Killer Voices book

Yes!! I finished writing my Killer Voices story and submitted it by the deadline.

I learned so many things while writing this story. Actually, I'm not sure learned is the right word. I knew some of them already, but I guess needed a big reminder. I doubt I can even begin to list everything in one blog post. I will probably mention some of the things in this post and then go back and expound a little more on some of them later. That's my plan anyway.

1) (And probably one of the most important) I can do it!! 
That one statement might really sum everything I learned up in just a few words. There were so many times while writing this story that I doubted I could do it. There were so many times I couldn't think of what I wanted to say or what I wanted to happen or even what words I'd use to describe it. Getting from page one to the end can be very intimidating. But I did it and now I know I can do it again.


2) You HAVE to listen to your characters. 
I can't speak for every writer out there, but this pretty much explains the reason I have any block I've ever had. It's not a block, it's my characters telling me I'm being stupid with them. For me to write anything that's halfway good, I have to really be in my characters mind. I have to know what they are thinking and how they would react. Sometimes it takes days of thinking about the character and knowing them. My favorite part of a story is when I get so deep into the characters that I get a thought and I know it's not really my thought, it's theirs. That might sound crazy to someone who isn't a writer, but to me it's amazing! I always jot those thoughts down as quick as I can because that's when the writing gets good! (for me anyway)

3) Procrastination is BAD!
When I first found out about this contest I KNEW I had to do it. It had deadlines. I need deadlines. I need to know that I have to have something done by a certain date. If I don't have that, I mess around and make excuses. Excuses are probably procrastinations best friend. I hope I'm done with that. Now  I know I can do it, but only if I quit procrastinating and making excuses. Even with the deadlines, I pushed my limits. When they announced who was going on to the final round of submitting a full, I barely had four chapters finished. I had the book plotted out and knew what I wanted to happen, but I had very little writing done. Did I turn in my best possible work? Probably not. Should I have taken more time and and given myself plenty of time to edit and polish in the end? Definitely! Will I ever do that again? I hope not. Procrastination is bad people, bad, bad, bad!!

4) Bad writing can be fixed!! 
 You hear it said so many times. I knew it even before I started writing. But I still don't think I'd given myself permission to write total crap. Writers are a strange lot. Even though we know we can fix things that are terrible, it's very hard to turn off that inner editor that is yelling in your ear while you write. It's so hard to keep going when you know the words you're putting down on paper are really pretty sucky. I had a lot of that. Hopefully I fixed the sucky out of most of it, but there was a lot. So many times I didn't even know what to write and just filled it in with blah, blah, blah - this has to happen but I don't know how right now. At least I had words. By the time I pushed my way painfully through the scene, I had a much better idea what I wanted or needed to put in place of the blah, blah, blahs.

Those are just a few of the things I learned. I know there was so much more that I'm not remembering right now. If it comes to me later, then I'll have another blog post. Writing is often a learning experience every time you do it.

Meanwhile - What are some things you have learned in your writing experiences? 

Keep the ball rolling...

So I saw a tweet that the editor who picked me was reading synopses today and I realized I forgot to mention... I got my synopsis sent in with a few hours to spare!!

I started out with 3 pages thinking how in the world am I going to make this a little longer and make sense and ended with 6 pages and needing to cut it down a little.  I hope it made sense.  I liked the hook I came up with for the opening paragraph. 

The murder of her father had sent Thea James on a journey of running and hiding.  The years away have made her strong and taught her the importance of faith, love and most of all family.  Now it’s time to go back to where it all began and bring the truth to light.  It’s time to go home.  The only catch is getting there alive.

Now I sit and wait to find out what the editor thought of it.  I'm a little worried about the premise of the story.  I have a man and a woman on the run together.  (The editor I'm working with likes hero and heroine on the run plots)  I even threw in a blizzard.  (She is fond of  storms and natural disasters too.)  All those things are good, but the story still has to make sense.  I had to have shown in my synopsis that the hero and heroine have conflict and a good reason to not just fall madly in love on the first or second page. 

I'm not sure if I did that.  Plus, I'm not sure about the whole princess plot line.  I about second guessed myself out of that one, then in the end decided to go with it after all.  It's what was calling to me I guess. 

Now I'm on a journey of trying to write the rest of the story.  I tried to make up a little outline of the story today and realized I really only had enough for about ten chapters.  I really need to have about fifteen.  I guess I'm going to have to get wordy. 

This is also my first attempt at writing suspense.  I have to say my hat is off to every romantic suspense author out there.  Keeping a balance of suspense and romance is very tricky.  When I first started writing the synopsis I was so totally focused on the suspense part of the story, I nearly forgot there had to be another part of the story that wasn't totally dependant on the suspense.

The heart of the story after all is a romance.  Romance... A man and woman who are fighting their conflicts to get together and live happily ever after in the end.  Put them in a ton of danger and have someone who is determined to kill them or do them serious bodily harm and you have an exciting story.  Not that I'm saying the suspense can just be tossed into the romance and have it work.  They all have to twist and turn together - like one big jigsaw that makes a beautiful picture in the end.

So... easier said than done?  I'm working on it.  We'll see what happens I guess.

First thing I have to do is get my first three chapters whipped into shape.  My hero and heroine have met.  They don't particularly like each other much yet, but need each other for the big story goal.  The heroine is about to have her life threatened the first time... but pancakes first I think.  Or maybe a hamburger and fries... She's hungry and is about to tell the hero why she hasn't eaten in a few days...

Now back to work.  I've got a life to threaten after all. 

Trust Yourself!!

After a long drive yesterday, and a lot of prayer, begging and pleading for a clear focus on which direction to go with this story - I've started to realize I really just need to trust myself and go with it.

Deep down I knew that anyone I could think up to ask for advice on my writing would tell me that very thing.  I just wasn't ready to believe it yet.  I'm not sure I'm ready to believe it now, but I am ready to write and the rest of it is going to work out.

I've spent so much of my writing life so far asking everyone else what they think of my story ideas, seeking approval or affirmation that what I'm doing makes sense or is something that someone besides me likes.  I think a lot of writers are that way, we want people to like what we do after all.  People won't buy the books if they don't.  But, if we are constantly trying to do what everyone else wants, somewhere along the way we lose our original spark of an idea that made the story ours.

That's my bit of depth for today. :) 

I have today to finish my synopsis and a lot of pages to catch up on with my writing.  Thankfully I have a lot of ideas in my head for scenes and a lot of notes jotted down in notebooks.  If I can just keep focused now, it will be all about finding the time to write and then the editing of the jumbled words after.  

Daytime burn

At least I have finally given myself permission to write pages of crap.  If you could see the way some of my writing starts out you would probably be shocked.  It's especially funny when I don't even know the characters names and I write scenes that say -  The heroine walks over there.  The hero does this.  The bad guy does that.  I have a lot of that written that I'll have to go back and fill in with prettier sounding stuff.  

That night

My drive yesterday did give me an idea for a future story.  People were burning fields all over yesterday and the sky was filled with smoke.  With writing suspense stories right now, my first thought was... what if they found a dead body after all the burning was done...? 

On the way home at night it was beautiful the way the night sky was lit up in reds and pinks.  You could see the sky glowing for miles and miles.  I took a few pictures but my photography skills don't really show how pretty it was.  

So today it's back to work.  I am going to get this synopsis done... a few run throughs this morning just to get all the facts in there and then polish it up this afternoon and make it sparkly.  

What is everyone else up to today?  Whatever it is - have an awesome day out there!  

Struggling...

I'm struggling with my writing.  This last week has been crazy in my head.  Trying to wrap my mind around the current story I'm working on is driving me nuts.  I have all these ideas in my head for scenes, but until I make up my mind for sure which direction I want to go, it's impossible to really make progress writing. 

I haven't shared yet, but last week I found out my first page was chosen to move on to the next round in the Killer Voices competition through Love Inspired Suspense at Harlequin.  My dream publisher.  The only dream I have ever had for my writing. 

Ever since I wrote my first word my dream has been to sell a book to Harlequin.  A few times I have been 'this' close, but I've always let life and my fear get in the way.  Every time I start to write again I tell myself I'm not going to let anything stop me this time.  Yet here I am struggling so much with this story.  Not because I don't have the ideas, but because I keep second guessing myself.  It has to be PERFECT.  If it's not perfect no one will ever buy it... no one will ever like it... or you.  That is my brain on writing. 


Basically, I have two ideas.  The idea I started with and another idea that I keep wondering if the editor would like better.  My first idea is about made up royalty.  I know the line does some royalty stories, so it could work, right?  That's the thought that keeps going through my head.  It could work... but what if they'd like something a little different.  Instead of a princess on the run, how about just a regular person.  A regular woman on the run might be a little easier to 'sell'... maybe a princess is not what they'd be looking for.  Maybe, maybe, maybe...

It all boils down to my brain trying to come up with the perfect idea that has the best chance of actually being loved by the editor.  Part of me already knows I just need to write the story that is in my head and trust that it will all work.  Easier said than done.  I want this so bad.  I want my dream. 

So... I have until Monday to write my synopsis for the next round.  I have a very rough draft of it, but some major struggle going on to finish it when I haven't convinced myself which story idea I'm going with... and which hero to put in that story. 

At least I've finally named the poor guy.  I think...

Wishing the best of luck to all the other writers who are also moving on to the next stage.  Good luck with all those synopses!  ( I looked up the plural. :) so hope that's right.)

Back to struggling...

This and That...

The LIS editors have been busy on Twitter this morning teasing all the KillerVoices entrants with the picking of their teams.  It's fueling the excitement to be sure.

 I'm not sure if I can handle a week of waiting and wondering if the page that I entered made the talented group that was picked.  I feel a little bit like I'm back in school and waiting on the sidelines, holding my breath, wondering if I'll again be the last one chosen.  Or in this case, not chosen at all.

For now though, I need to get to work and not get all caught up in being (or not being) chosen.  My synopsis needs a lot of work still and the story needs to be written... just in case. 

First step - synopsis.  Harlequin editor, Shana Asaro, has written up an amazing post entitled - How to Write a Killer Synopsis.  It's great reading.  I've been searching through all the material I have on hand as well for tips and advice. 

One of my favorite resources is my green binder notebook that I purchased years ago - Prescription For Plotting by Carolyn Greene.  I did a google search and couldn't find if this treasure is still available.  I love digging into it and slowly discovering the bare bones of my story. 

I've started second guessing my plot, which is not good when I'm suppose to be writing a synopsis.  I have this habit of starting my synopsis with one or two lines that tie the story up.  I've managed to come up with that.  Now I need to start in on introducing my Hero and Heroine. 

Does anyone else look up pictures to base characters on?  I've wasted too many days already trying to come up with what I want them to look like.  I am pretty sure I have my heroine.  Meet Thea...

Now I need to decide on my Hero.  The poor man doesn't even have a name yet.  He barely made an entrance on the first page, so I didn't have to name him.  I will have to settle on a name soon though.  Pretty sure X isn't going to work for much longer.

Once I dig a little deeper into this synopsis, I'll try to do a post on how I go about doing it. In the meanwhile... off to write!

A little Suspense

I've sent in my opening page for the amazing Killer Voices pitch contest.  I'm really excited to find out how it does.

I have to admit, I'm a little worried.  It's been a while since I've written anything that is totally new AND I've never written a suspense.  It's totally new territory for me.

I really feel that this is the direction I'm suppose to go though.  So many things through the last several years have brought me here.  Too many things to list in one blog post.

One thing that I will share... My birthday was a few weeks ago.  It was a milestone year for me.  I turned fifty.  Sounds unbelievable to say, but it's true.  Long story short, a lady I've only been working with for a few months, who barely knew me and knew absolutely knew nothing about my dreams of writing, got me a gift.  It was a Love Inspired Suspense book. 

It may seem like nothing to you, but to me it was another arrow along the way saying - keep going.  Don't give up.

So here I am again.  This time with the determination I will need to see it through and go all the way.  Maybe not as fast as I'd like, but eventually.  What's life without a little suspense after all? ;)

New Beginnings

Starting from scratch with my blog.  My previous - Talking With Tammy disappeared when I deleted the email address I had associated with it.  :( 

It will be nice to have a fresh start though and I really didn't lose a lot.  Maybe some interesting ramblings, but I'm sure to have more of those. 

I'm still not sure I like the colors, background and well... everything.  I wanted something a little more edgy or suspense looking this time around.  The last blog looked so soft.  Of course, it is always all about romance so maybe a little soft isn't a bad thing.  

I may switch things up again.  

So hang around, lets see what happens.