LUCINDA, DANGEROUSLY GIVEAWAY
Oct 6th, 2009 by Michelle Lauren
Today, I’m thrilled to announce my first Featured Author for October, the fabulous and prolific Sunny, author of the bestselling Monère , a.k.a. Mona Lisa series. Today, she is celebrating the release of LUCINDA, DANGEROUSLY (Oct. 6, Berkley), Book 2 in her fantastic Demon Princess series.
Sunny, welcome.
*UPDATE** Thanks to everyone who participated in today’s guest post. The response was phenomenal. Thanks also to Sunny for taking the time to answer everyone’s questions. Now for the prize winners!
Congratulations to… T. Hayes, Johanna, and Tameka. I’ve emailed you all privately to claim your prizes. Remember: You MUST claim your prize by 10/12 or I’ll have to chose another winner.
I’d love to talk about learning to write in today’s blog. My husband recently attended a writer’s conference as one of their guest-author panelists, and I’ve attended several conferences myself after becoming published. My impression? So many rules. And some authors state their set of rules as being absolute, which I believe to be a gross error. Because no rule in writing is absolute! No rule cannot be broken if the writing is good enough. Sometimes, in fact, I feel as though these rules only serve to bog down aspiring authors in the muck of all the “what you must do’s” where they slowly grow tired and discouraged with the whole process, and stop writing.
I’m not saying that all writing classes are bad. In fact, it was only after I attended Robert McKee’s “Art of the Story” 4-day seminar in screenwriting that a light-bulb went off in my head and I went, “Ahh…so that’s how you write a story.” Believe me, he had plenty of rules, and I followed many of them, including how to world-build. But they were general, broad-stroke rules, and I did not follow all of them.
One rule that I purposely disregarded was never using the first idea that came to you but thinking of ten more diabolically clever ideas and using one of those. Nuh-uh. When an idea, a scene, first comes to me, I run with it and madly type it out. Because, I figure, why make things harder for yourself? When I first started writing, my goal was not to write the best book in the world, but rather to simply write a damn book, something I never thought I’d be able to do. And I found that once you’re doing it, writing, and caught up in the world you’ve created and lifted up by the momentum you slowly build word-by-word, other ideas and characters come much more easily to you when you’re buoyed up in spirit.
To wrap things up, rules are good, but only up to a point. If you find that some of the rules you’ve heard are bogging you down, throw that rule—or the whole set of them—out the window. And, also, perhaps, lower your goal a little. Instead of trying to write the next Pulitzer Prize novel, just try to write a complete story, if you’ve never done so before, or just the first three chapters, and then the next three, and so on until you finish. And then, oh, the exhilaration you will feel!
Start with baby steps. Don’t pressure yourself with the weight of too much expectation: too much in the beginning can crush the tender, young bud of your creative imagination and hopeful ambition. Pick and choose the rules you burden yourself with. If it isn’t working for you or helping you, dump it and try something else that does work for you.
I’d love to hear some of the things that have proved helpful and not helpful to you—keeping in mind that everyone is different. Pick and choose, and keep trying things until you find what works for you. Then stick with it.
GIVEAWAY ENTRY RULES
Leave a question or comment for Sunny in the Comment’s section of this post between now and midnight EST 10/6/09 for a chance to win ONE of THREE print copies of LUCINDA, DANGEROUSLY.
Make sure to leave a valid email address in the “Email” line of the contact form. All winners will be contacted via email and also announced at the top of this post on 10/7. Eligibility: Giveaway open to U.S. residents only.
*NOTE** All prizes MUST be claimed by midnight EST 10/12 or I will choose another winner. Happy reading!
Want to win more free books & prizes? Check out Michelle’s Countdown to TEMPTATION EVE contest & author giveaways.
Sunny,
What is your opinion on book trailers? Do you think they help in book sales?
Thanks,
Tracey D
Hi Sunny,
I just picked up your first two books in the Mona Lisa Series. They look really good.
Q: Paranormal genre is very big rightnow. Do you see it winding down and fading a bit or do you see it growing in popularity?
Thanks for being here.
Dawn R.
Hi Sunny,
Thanks for two great series!
I’m so glad you posted the announcement about “Dangerously” on the FFP loop as you’re one of my “buy immediately” authors. I try to jot down upcoming releases on my kitchen calendar, but I’ve been traveling so much recently (IL, MA, KY and in a 2-week period), I’m sure I would have missed picking it up today. Now a trip to Borders is on my list of daily errands.
Julie S.
Hi Sunny,
Thanks for the great insight. I totally agree that many new writers become intimidated by all the “do’s and don’ts” they hear in the beginning. Every writer has their own process and if it works, it works!
Minx
Sunny,
I have just discovered your Mona Liisa series and have purchased the first three books for my To Be Read stack. I was very interested when I found it through a Bargain Sales on Amazon.
Andrea
Thanks for the pointers on writing. I am a first time writer and I seem to be stonewalled already. How do you keep from having too many characters and too many plot lines in one book? Thanks for the chance at a freebie! Johanna
okay I am just full of questions today LOL
You interview was really informative, Sunny. I had always assumed that an author just started writing the story as she/he “saw” it in her/his imagination. I didn’t realize there were rules to writing. I guess I was wrong.
I find it very interesting that you went into this so level headed… you didn’t start out focusing on trying to write the next best book in the world. That is fabulous advise!
Is there anything specific that you remember that made you come up with the idea for Lucinda, Dangerously? A situation, a tv show, running into someone from your past???
I’m always curious about where stories come from.
Thank you and have a great day! T.
I am an avid reader but I cannot imagine how to write a book. I thinks writers must be special.LOL
Debby Creager
creagers@windstream.net
Hi Tracy D. Wow, you posted early! The first one to do so. Hugs. Regarding your question on book trailers, I personally don’t view them and it doesn’t influence at all my decision whether or not to buy and read a book. But I know other authors who are happy with their book trailers, so I presume it impacts their sales positively. Probably more popular with younger readers.
Dawn R. Hope you enjoy your first taste of Mona Lisa :)
Paranormal has slowly built in popularity over the last 30 years, advented by Anne Rice, bumped up again by the popular Buffy series. Could have peaked here, but it continued to build, especially in literature with JK Rowling and now Stephanie Meyer. Now you have paranormal TV shows and movies popping up and proliferating like popcorn, i.e. True Blood, The Vampire Diaries, and Twilight. I would think the genre is peaking now, but again, it may just continue to cycle upward in popularity. One thing for sure, it’s definitely not a fad that will fade. Definitely here to stay.
Julie S. What a sweetheart you are. I’m glad the FF&P loop announcement served as a reminder, LOL. My fav way finding upcoming books are cruising the Amazon.com bestselling books list and eyeing my “must-read” author’s “Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought” Amazon list. My husband just bought me a Kindle, and their free books and bestselling list is my second new way of discovering new authors and keeping track of what’s coming out :)
I have no imagination (that’s why I’m an appreciative reader) so I have no helpful hints for you.
Your e-mail today mentioned a possible new paranormal series. Can you give any hints about the type of characters or the setting?
Sunny I’ve read the 3 books in the Mona Lisa series and I’ve gotten hooked on Lucinda’s story when are you going to write about Mona Lisa’s brother that would be such a great book and I would love to know what it powers will devlope to be?
Hi Minx Malone. Thanks for dropping by. Encouraging new authors is a small passion of mine. Love nurturing talent and am outraged when I see it being snuffed out instead of encouraged and developed.
Andrea I. LOL, thank goodness for those Amazon bargain sales :) Any way people discover me, I’m grateful for. Hope you enjoy!
Johanna. Different things work for different people. I’d say the most important thing is to write, hopefully until you are finished and have a completed manuscript. Then polish it up and evaluate. If writing by the seat of your pants doesn’t work for you, you might try plotting out the entire story in an organized fashion first then diving in and writing. But writing is key, because you improve the more you write. Trust your instincts and judgment, and use common sense. Don’t be afraid to try things and see if they help or hinder. Good luck!
Great post. Very helpful information for writers. I admire people who have the ability to write the books we read.
Hello, Sunny! What is the one thing that you most enjoy about writing, and what is the one thing you truly dread?
I’m excited to hear more about your new series as well. I loved the Monere and now I’m looking forward to reading about Lucinda.
Hi Tina. I actually enjoy pursing the tangents, in a manner of speaking. I come up with an idea or concept, world-build around it and develop a few key characters, then imagine the opening scene and start writing it. While I’m doing that, immersed in that world, the idea for the next scene or episode or “tangent” comes to me and I write that, and so on and so forth. Like episodes in a television show. You go from one “turning point” to the next and then you wrap it up at the end. I believe spontaneity is important. If an idea comes to you, go with it and leap off that point to another, all the while weaving together a story :) Lots of the secondary characters I develop beg for a story of their own. I try to give it to them if the opportunity presents itself, like with Lucinda. And I try never to hold back. Don’t worry about including too much about a sub-character. Just write the best book you can.
Patsy. Actually “no rules” is a good way to write. Sometimes rules are good, sometimes they just bog you down. Just write, see what you’ve got, and procede from there :)
T. Haves. LOL, Lucinda came about from a secondary character I wrote in my novella for the “Over The Moon” anthology. I had sold the first two books and written them, fulfilling them, before the first book was published, and my editor didn’t want to buy any more Mona Lisa books until they saw how the first book did. So I had to come up with another story idea to sell. Lucinda had been an unexpectedly fascinating sub-character, and so I thought, “Why not try to write her story?” That’s how the spinoff Demon Princess Chronicles came about, not by design but by necessity :)
I love your Mona Lisa series and can’t wait for it to continue!
Hi Debby Creager. That’s exactly what I thought :) I started out, and continue to be, an avid reader. Tried my hand at writing and failed several times (i.e. not happy with what I wrote), then twenty years later things serendipitously all came together–need, desire, and know-how–and I found myself, oh my God, able to write
Anne. That’s how I thought of myself, too, as having no imagination. I was one of those people who had to be taught :) The new paranormal series is about genetically altered and bred parapsychically talented individuals. The heroine in the first book is a sickly young woman who is unaware of her hidden talent until the day she dies. Then it kicks in and that’s when she really begins to live.
Hi Tameka. I know. I’ve been wanting to write out Thaddeous’s story. Perhaps someday in a novella.
Started with the Mona books when you started them… Love ALL the stories you’ve published so far. Can’t wait to read Lucinda’s new tale
My only complaint is it seems sooo long to get the next story.Thanks for the great entertainment.
Really interesting post, Sunny, and a wonderful inspiration for new writers. Loved the excerpts for this series and can’t wait to start it.
At 11:55 am, 06 Oct 2009, Tameka Green said:
Sunny I’ve read the 3 books in the Mona Lisa series and I’ve gotten hooked on Lucinda’s story when are you going to write about Mona Lisa’s brother that would be such a great book and I would love to know what it powers will devlope to be?
Tameka, I noticed you said the “3 books” in the Mona Lisa series. Have you also read the novellas in that series? They are in separate anthologies titled Over the Moon and On the Prowl. I enjoyed those and one of the novellas introduced Lucinda, which got me hooked on her character. If you haven’t read either novella, they are very good reads.
@ Julie S. & Sunny: What is the FF&P loop?
As far as writing goes the advice I’ve been given from authors has been very helpful. With that in mind I’d love your thoughts on fear, Sunny. Fear of writing.
I enjoy your books immensely!
Happy Halloween.
Mel K.
Meljprincess AT aol DOT com
Congratulations Sunny! What a wonderful post today. You are to be admired since you are so creative and have a wonderful imagination. I am in awe of your abilities since you are a physician which requires a great deal of strength and determination. Is writing therapeutic for you and enjoyable?
HI, I am just now getting into the paranormal reading and have not read one of your books so far. I will be checking the local book store and library to see if they do have any of your books available. I have written a few short stories (not ready to really submit any) and as soon as my mind gets back to almost normal I will tackle the re-read and edit and get more info as to what, when, how and where to get this published.
Now I read to keep my sanity and not into writing at this time.
I have been a fan of yours for ever it seems. I loved the
Monere series from the beginning and continue to follow the story. I must admit i’ll be sad to not have any new books coming out for awhile but hey your starting a new series so I will have my cravings satisfied this way. LOL
I always find it very interesting reading how an author goes about their writing. It is interesting in finding how an author went about writing their books and getting a peek into how a great story took shape. I think throwing out rules can be good because just because it works for one person doesn’t necessarily mean it will work for someone else. Really enjoyed your post.
Hi! I love Sunny’s work! Please enter me!
Also, I noticed that the Mona Lisa Series is going in alphabetical order (Awakening, Blossoming, Craving and Devouring). Is this going to continue? Will there be 26 books in the series?
qtpie07059@yahoo.com
Hello Sunny :)
I’ve just recently become aware of your mona lisa series and through that the beginning of the Lucinda series. And while I really like the mona lisa story line, I’ve grown exceptionally fond of Lucinda and am very happy that you decided to run with her story.
I really enjoyed your interview. I have read the first in your Mona Lisa series. Loved it, got to get off my butt and get a couple more!! Lucinda also sounds wonderful.
When I saw this on the to shelve cart I went ooh! because I don’t get paid until Friday.
Good thing I’m an employee and can hold it behind the counter.
Im an avid reader and I have a huge imagination but i dont think I could ever write a book I want to say thank you for sharing your talent with is and enabling my book addiction.
I just wanted to say that your one of my favorite authors!
Hi ChrystalGB. Thanks for dropping by. I appreciate authors also. I just wish my favorite ones would write faster
Virginia C. I most enjoy the ability to create. I grew up thinking of myself as not creative or imaginative, so being able to write stories now is a surprise and privilege. What I dread most are the deadlines.
Minx Malone, again. Hi! Oh, you read my Mona Lisa series. Always thrills my heart to hear that. Hope you like Lucinda just as much.
Karen Krack. Thank you. I’ll probably be taking a break from the Mona Lisa series, but hope to come back to it eventually.
Dotty. A cyber-hug coming your way. I know, it’s taking longer and longer to write each book. One of the reasons why I taking a break and penning out a new series :)
Cathy M. Thrilled you enjoyed the excerpt
Michelle. A big smooch to you for pitching my anthologies.
The FF&P loop is the Yahoo chat loop for RWA’s Fantasy, Futuristic, and Paranormal Chapter members. http://www.romance-ffp.com/
The email for joining the Yahoo Group is FFandP-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Mel K. Thank you. Glad you’re enjoying! Fear as a writer was my biggest stumbling block. Fear of trying and failing, which I did several times over a twenty year span, never happy with what I wrote. I had to become really motivated to try again, and what finally prompted me was another fear: fear of appearing a failure, talent-wise, in the eyes of my children. That finally made me pick up my pen again and try once more.
Hi Ruth. I gotta confess that I love being an author much more than being a family practice physician. Mostly because I never thought I could write a book…and now have written several, to my family’s amazement :)
Brenda. There’s a timing for everything, and sometimes it’s good to take a break, a breather, before returning going back to writing.
Hi Earlene. What a sweetie you are! Always brightens my day to hear from someone who started reading me from my first book. Hugs and kisses!
Sunny, thank you for sharing your work with us. I am a great fan of the Monere. I first became a fan when I read I read one of the short stories. I immediately went out and bought the first two books. Now I buy them as soon as they come out. I can’t wait to read the next installment of Lucinda’s story.
Laren Wirum. Ah, someone who agrees with me! Love that. Thanks for taking time to read the blog.
Chelsea DeTorres. Yes, I had the titles in the Mona Lisa series in alphabetical order, Mona Lisa A(wakening), Mona Lisa B(lossoming), Mona Lisa C(raving), and Mona Lisa D(arkening). Had wanted to run through the entire alphabet, but my stamina is flagging. Need to take a break from the series and hopefully return to it refreshed.
Angela. Oh, someone who love Lucinda better than Mona Lisa. I must confess, I feel LUCINDA, DARKLY is the best book I’ve written so far, and the short story in OVER THE MOON my best written novella.
Judy Cox. Glad you enjoy the first book!
LOL, Erin G. Love meeting readers who work in bookstores. Isn’t the cover for this new book just fab?
Wanda Flanagan. You’re most welcome
I’m an avid reader, too. And would definitely term the way I inhale down books an addition, also.
Rachel M. Start with one concept, build a world around it, add in characters, and throw them into a situation. They, the characters, usually take it from there
Avice, honey. Thank you! LOVE hearing that!
Thanks for the interesting post. Congratulations on your new release.
Sunny,
First let me say how much I love your books! You are one of my keeper authors. Also thanks for your take on getting started and the writing process. I tend to get overwelmed when things are too big in scope. The baby steps advice is perfect.
Hi Sunny,
I just wanted to let you know that I happen to stumble across one of your books in the public library-Mona Lisa Darkening and I loved it. I checked out the other Mona Lisa books and Bought Lucinda Darkly. Can’t wait to read Lucinda Dangerously. I read and can’t put your books down. Love em Thanks for giving me a way to escape from my day to day routine. Looking forward to more Mona Lisa series books. BIG Thanks for sharing your imagination with me. You are great and I am a fan of your work. Keep on writing and I’ll keep on reading.
Thank you for all your help with writing. I love that you run with your first idea that comes to your mind. I always thought that writers wrote whatever voice was the loudest in their head so that would be in keeping with the first idea that comes to you. I don’t know if that works for all types of writing but I think I will give it a go as I analyze things to death when I write and am not confident even though I know what I write is good.
I love your stories and hope there are many more in the Mona Lisa Series.
Hi Sunny,
Have greatly enjoyed all of your books thus far although I confess that I started with On The Prowl and worked my way back through the rest once I discovered how much I enjoyed your style. It was a bit frustrating when your latest Mona Lisa book came out because it took forever to arrive at the bookstore that I had all of my credits with while it was across town at a rival bookstore several weeks early! I look forward to reading the new Lucinda book, good luck with it and I wish you continued success and a fertile imagination!
You are a new to me author and your books sound really good and I wondered if your books were stand alone?
catslady5 @ aol.com
I don’t have the talent for wrighting whis i did.Yor books look good.and there on my list to get some day.hope your book sale’s great
sasluvbooks@yahoo.com
How do you sustain your story? I find that I begin writing with a good idea, then slowly fade out, with nowhere to go and no way to move the story forward. Do you have the entire book in mind before you begin writing, or do you let the story take you where it wants to go?
Sunny..How do you decide which story idea to run with…All your characters are so strong they must be really eager to have their story first…Thanks for all the great writings
Hi Tatia. Thank you! I always love hearing how people discover my stories. A pleasure to have to drop by here.
Thanks, GSM.
Annmarie Taylor. I love being a one of your “keeper authors.” No greater compliment. And baby steps certainly worked for me :)
Angie J. What a lovely post. Thank you, honey. And a real sweet way to end the night…reading your kind words of encouragement. I will definitely write on, with more joy in my heart now :)
Gayle O. You sound just like me. I used to polish and re-polish the first few pages of what I wrote, and then lose momentum. Much too critical of myself. When I finally completely my first manuscript and wrote out Mona Lisa Awakening I had the mistaken belief that my husband, a published author, could fix whatever I wrote. Not true, as it turns out, but it was what led me to just gush out the writing without being too critical.
Hi E.L.F. It seems those anthologies I had the good fortune to be included in garnered me more readers than I knew. Ouch on having to wait several weeks longer to get ahold of my book. Sorry about that. Hope it was worth the wait
Catslady. Yes, you can read all of my stories as stand alones. I give enough background while introducing the characters in each new book so that you can enjoy it without reading all the prior books.
And last but not least, Stacey. Thank you. I’ll take all the well-wished I can get
Hi Christine. That used to happen to me, too. I’d start off with the first scene, write that out, then not know what to do next. What helped me me personally was the 4-day screenwriting seminar by Robert McKee on “The Art of the Story,” i.e. his famous Story Seminar. The secret for me, that I learned (never took any writing classes before) was to nail down your characters–all the specific traits and details, including his/her backstory–and do the same with world-building. Never did that before. I used leave them vague and open. Nah-uh. That’s what gets you stuck. Once you know your world and characters well enough, enough to throw them into a situation and know how they will react. Pretty soon they’ll be talking in your head. In essence, for me, I structure my world and characters enough to then fly by the seat of my through the rest of the book. Story comes to me as I write it out.
Thank you, everyone. What a sweet bunch! Winners will be announced tomorrow. My publisher will be mailing out the 3 books so they won’t be signed, but the winners can email me through my website at http://www.sunnyauthor.com and I’ll be happy to mail you a signed bookplate to adhere inside your book. Thanks again. Goodnight, everyone.
Hi. Your books are wonderfully dark and deal with some very interesting aspects of love in the fantasy world. Is it difficult to find the right balance of having horrible and horribly violent things happen to the characters, and maintaining enough of a shred of hope to keep readers just tantalized enough to not be able to stand not knowing what’s going to happen next? Does that question make as much sense in words as it made in my head? My only criticism of your much beloved books is how Mona Lisa continues to think of herself as plain and less than beautiful – those insecurities somehow don’t seem to fit in my perception of the character. Or maybe it’s the way she expresses them, I’m not sure. When you started writing, did you know that Mona Lisa would have multiple lovers or did it just happen that way? The depth of the relationships and the vast differences in those whom she has let close to her are fascinating. The more depth of character, the better. Utterly wonderful. Thank you. I’m glad you chose to explore Lucinda’s character in depth also.
Hi Sunny,
Sorry I missed the contest. The email announcing your contest and new book came out to me about 30 minutes ago. :( Still I am eager to see your new book. I have read all of them. I like your perspective of writing. It’s nice to know that there is another rule breaker!
@ La Crimson Femme: Yes, I love how Sunny’s books break the “rules” of writing. Her stories are always interesting and I fell in love with the character of Lucinda, so I’m eager to read this new book. Thanks for stopping by to comment.
@ Danny: Hopefully Sunny can drop by the answer your questions. She was very active on this post last night, graciously responding to every question. Thanks for commenting. I’m always happy to “meet” another fan of Sunny’s work!
THANKS TO SUNNY: I just wanted to add another note thanking Sunny for generously stopping by all day to answer reading questions and offer her insight into the writing process. I really enjoyed yesterday’s guest post and I hope everyone else did as well.
Now, for the PRIZES! I posted this notice at the top of the blog, but I’ll put it here as well. Congratulations to T. Hayes, Tameka and Johanna. I’ve emailed you to collect your prizes. Please respond by 10/12 midnight or I’ll have to chose another winner (s).
Thanks to everyone for participating! If you enjoyed today, please take a look around my site and see some of the other events and giveaways I have listed for this month.
Hi Sunny!
Your books all sound so wonderful! I would love to read them all someday. I also would love to be able to write novels. Thanks for blogging!
Kelli Jo
Hi Danny. Sorry I missed you last night. Finding the right balance between violence and hope was actually fun for me, pushing for edgy and hopefully achieving it. No matter how violent or dark, however, truth and good does triumph in my books–what my hubby calls a safe story my readers can enjoy. Didn’t know in the beginning that Mona Lisa would have multiple lovers, just how the story turned out in the world I built and the rules I had to adhere to, but it was indeed fun getting to know all her yummy men :) So very pleased you enjoyed!
La Crimson Femme and Kelli Jo. Thank you for stopping by!
Michelle. A pleasure being here. Thank you!!!
Congrats to the 3 winners!
I have yet to read one of Sunny’s books. I’d love to but at the moment I am a library person till I get a raise anyway. : )
What I’d like to ask is what can I do to get my library to carry your books? I’ve requested but the budget seams to be limited. Next question why is it that books like yours don’t tend to be at library’s. It’s so not fair :(
Ok I’ll stop pouting now lol : )
@ Jessica: I only found a copy of Sunny’s work at my local library once, and that was her first Monere book, Mona Lisa Awakening. I’m not sure why they didn’t get any more. It might have to do with the librarians (who have some control over the books ordered by the library), as well as concerns about the sexual content.
My local library is fantastic; they get all the best in British DVD series and movies (which I love), and they buy lots of romance. However, for the steamier books, I don’t see too many on the shelves.
Sunny, I love your books! To all your readers: if the library you go to doesn’t have her books, request them. I have requested all of them to our library and now they are getting checked out frequently! I am excited to read about Lucinda more….