Sunday Musings: Be a Muse author

Morning,

I can’t promise anything. I can’t even tell you when you’ll have your final answer.

But…

…we do have an automatic email reply set up…silly robot will only answer one email per person per day

…we do read every manuscript

…we do offer feedback on why…decline is such a negative word…why we’re not partnering with you is how we look at it.

…MuseItUp is a team between you, the house, your editors, your cover artist, and your fellow Musers.

…frankly, Lea and I (Chris) are too stubborn to ever give up

We do tweak our requirements and timings, but if you think MuseItUp is your future home, come on over…

…Oh, one thing, I’m sorry but the one type of manuscript we can’t read are those which are already at home with another publisher. Trust me, I’ve reviewed a few authors I would love to have at Muse, but I respect their current publishing homes way too much.

You’ll find our requirements here:

Write For MuseItUp

Dear reader, thank you again for joining us and we’d love to hear from you. Keep smiling and have a fun week. Never stop believing. See you next Sunday…nothing better than being cozy in bed with some Musings.

If you have a question or comment you’d like us to muse upon, do not hesitate to contact me Christine Steeves-Speakman  at MuseChrisChat@gmail.com

Meet Paranormal Romance Author, Jenn Windrow

We'd like to welcome paranormal romance author, Jenn Windrow, to our hotseat today!
Jenn's newest release, PIERCED BY VENOM, released on Valentine's Day, book 2 from her series, A Redeeming Cupid Novel.

Who are some of your favorite authors?

  

Darynda Jones, Karen Marie Moning, A.G. Howard, Jaye Wells, Brinda Berry, Anne Bishop, Gena Showalter, Lewis Carol, Kim Harrison, Kelly Armstrong, Marrisa Meyer, Jeanninne Frost, J.R. Ward, and my latest obsession… Caroline Kepnes. 

What motivated you to become a writer and at what age?

I’ve always played with stories in my head, sometimes I even got brave enough to put a few on paper, but it wasn’t until both of kids went to school that I realized I might actually want to share those stories for a living. I guess it took a long time for me to decide what I wanted to do when I grew up. Now I have notebooks full of ideas, just waiting for me to have enough time to write them all.           

What 3 words describe you as a person?

Quiet, shy, introverted.     

What 3 words describe you as a writer?

  

Sex, snark, supernatural sizzle.       

When not writing, how do you spend your time? Hobbies?

  

Spending time with my family, either at movies or out to eat, or just hanging. And when the kids go to bed, I curl up and READ. Seriously look at my list of favorite authors, I read anything I can.      

Do you remember the first story you ever read, and the impact it had on you?

  

Bunnicula. I think it set the tone for my love of vampires, cause who doesn’t love a vampire bunny. We actually named our pet rabbit Bunnicula after that book.           

Describe your desk.

  

I am surrounded by pictures of my family and books and things that make me smile. I face a window where I have a humming bird feeder to watch and usually I have two cats sitting somewhere on the desk with me, making sure that I am writing and not surfing the internet.        

Who is the main character?

  

Gia Adler 

What’s her story?

  

Gia has chased Chris her whole life, wanted him to be the man who whisked her off her stiletto’s. Once she finally gets him she sees nothing but positive things in her future. Their marriage is everything she has ever wanted and he’s the man she always hoped for.

But secrets and lies creep up and take Gia on a journey that she doesn’t expect. Moving her out of her comfort zone of high society and dropping her into a Tijuana Drug tunnel with a man who has scared her both mentally and physically.

Gia must find a way to save herself from her past in order to have the future she always hoped for.   

Where/when does the story take place?

  

A Tijuana drug tunnel just outside of San Diego, contemporary setting           

How did the story come to you?

  

After writing Struck By Eros, I started to look into the other tragic Greek myths, this one was the next one that I was interested in twisting.  Coming up with the characters and having to match it to the myth, but give the story a happy ever after was fun, but challenging.        

Who is your target audience?

  

Woman between the age of 18 - 40. For the Paranormal romance reader who enjoys a strong female lead, humour, a contemporary setting, rich, well developed characters, and a Happily-ever-after. Readers of Darynda Jones and Jennifer Cruise will enjoy the writing and fresh story.              

What makes your book different from other similar ones?

  

Pierced By Venom is a modern day retelling of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. The Greek mythology background set sis apart from the normal Paranormal Romances on the market.             

What do your fans mean to you?

  

I love my fans. Well, I will when I actually have some that I am not related too.         

Where do you get the inspirations for your book(s)?

  

I guess I like to ask myself “what if” and see where that line of thought takes me.

  

Any advice for new writers just beginning this trek down the wonderful world of publishing?

  

Don’t. Ever. Give. Up. No matter how many rejections letters you get, how many give you bad critiques, keep going because with enough hard work it will happen for you.   

She’ll willingly travel the highway to hell 

to bring back the man she loves. 

 

For Jenn Windrow's complete novel listing and information, please go HERE.

Interview with J.J. Stanley

Today we are thrilled to be interviewing 

Erotic M/M Romance author, J.J. Stanley.

Who are some of your favorite authors?

 

Anne Rice.

Matthew Reilly.

What motivated you to become a writer and at what age?

 

I have always had a huge imagination, since I was little. I loved to play in the yard, in my own little worlds.

My writing started, not long after I turned 13, when the family got its first computer.

I didn’t start writing full time, until 2008, when we moved out to a farm… and there was nothing else to do, because I was a stay at home mum.

What 3 words describe you as a person?

 

Quiet.

Imaginative.

Quirky.

What 3 words describe you as a writer?

 

Emotional.

Vibrant.

Dark.

When not writing, how do you spend your time? Hobbies?

 

Watching movies, playing video games, gardening… and I have 3 kids… they’re classed as a hobby… right?

Do you remember the first story you ever read, and the impact it had on you?

 

I read Dragon Riders of Pern. By Anne McCaffery.

That book was the one that propelled me into wanting to be a writer. I can’t remember many before that.

I did love the Trixie Belden series, but Dragon Riders was the one which lit my imagination and sent me on a literary journey.

Describe your desk.

 

Basic.

Sits in the lounge room. I do get distracted easily…

I have my laptop, keyboard, monitor and whatever I am drinking at the time.

Who is the main character?

 

Troy Atkins

What’s his story?

 

Troy is a troubled young man. He is still not 100% comfortable with his sexuality. But he is trying to find his way and getting his heart broken along the journey.

Where/when does the story take place?

 

Houston, Texas.

How did the story come to you?

 

My husband has a gay brother and gay cousin. I know there is a lot of call for the homo-erotica style—thought I’d give it a try and hope for the best.

Who is your target audience?

 

I didn’t start out with an audience in mind… but as I have written, I have found a lot of women love the genre—so them?

What makes your book different from other similar ones?

 

I think combining sexuality, with an elite sport might set it apart from the rest… but it is a bit of a quagmire of books out there. I’d be happy just to hold my head above it.

What do your fans mean to you?

 

A lot. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to keep going. I love the idea that random strangers love my works and are willing to use their hard earned money to get what I put so much time into.

Where do you get the inspirations for your book(s)?

 

Movies and video games. (Not this book though)

I love to sit and watch a movie and pick little parts, or sometimes characters and put them into different situations in my head. 9/10 ideas come from either a movie, or a video game.

Any advice for new writers just beginning this trek down the wonderful world of publishing?

 

Stick at it.

Don’t send off the first piece you’ve written—from experience, you will be told to revise, unless it’s a masterpiece…

And edit!! Don’t send off your raw manuscript. It’s always better to have a break. Sit back for a month or two, then go back through it. You’ll find things that don’t sound right, or huge spelling mistakes.

If you see them, sure as anything—so will the publisher.

For more information on J.J. Stanley's series, please go HERE.