Blooming Author Daisy Harris!

“Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be.” ~ George Sheehan

Daisy Harris has an upcoming "Ocean Shifters" series of erotic books being released in late 2010 through early 2011: Mere Temptations, Mere Passion, and Shark Bait.

Tell us about your Ocean Shifters series. What is it about and where will it be available?

The Ocean Shifters world is concept I came up with when I first started writing fiction. Mere Temptation was my first ever stab at fiction writing, though it began as a very different story and got re-working a thousand times.

First and foremost, the Ocean Shifters world is post-colonial. The sea dragons are the oceans' superpower and used to have colonies in almost every mere (mer-people) colony on the planet. Dragons can live among humans, and mere must live close to water. Dragons, in general, are wealthy and priviledged whereas mere lived under semi-slavery and in many cases still do.

Shark-shifters cannot live on land at all and historically survived as scavengers or smugglers. They often terrorized mere colonies, stealing from impoverished and unprotected mere.

A central focus of all the Ocean Shifter books is power dynamics in a changing world and how that effects inter-species relationships.

Much as the dragons are in some ways my "bad guys" they play a big role in every book. They are the species changing the fastest, and able to learn and grow the most.

But enough about my world!

The first book, Mere Temptation, is available as an e-book through the Bookstrand storefront (http://www.bookstrand.com/) as of November 3rd, 2010. Mere Passion will be available in December 2010, and Shark Bait will be available in January 2011. Each book will available a few months after its Siren/Bookstrand release through a wide range of storefronts including Amazon and Barnes and Noble. If sales go well, they'll all be available in print-on-demand approximately six months after their e-release.

What were your inspirations for Ocean Shifters? What sorts of thing inspire you as a writer in general?

My inspiration for the world came from several places, but mostly from my own background. Mere Temptation is a coming home story in which a mermaid named Isa, who's been living among humans, flees back to her home habitat. There she runs into to ex-boyfriend, a sea dragon, and temptation ensues.

Isa's journey was a homecoming of sorts for me because although I grew up in New York, and my family lives in Long Island (where the story begins), I was born in Florida, where the story ends. I've lived the majority of my life within a mile of the water, co-incidentally the maximum distance from the ocean a mere can survive. Sea-side towns are often rife with power dynamics between townies and tourists, colonists and colonized.

Although I write erotic romance, a lot of what inspires me is social  and interpersonal dynamics. Sometimes I worry that my stories have a "come for the sex, stay for the social commentary" vibe. Mostly I aim to entertain, but I like my conflicts to reflect real-world conflicts and issues people face everyday.

Let's talk about your process. How do you approach a story, do you start with outlines or something else? Where did you work when writing Ocean Shifters? Do you think is the optimal writing environment for you?

There's no question that the optimal writing environment is Ohmwriter for Mac! Baring that, there's a French restaurant a couple blocks from my house that's a great place to work so long as I get there at five, before the dinner crowd. I love writing first thing in the morning too, but I'm usually busy making my kids breakfast and packing lunches at that time of day.

How I approach a story depends largely on whether it's the first or a continuation of a series. If it's the start of a new world, I spend a lot of time figuring out the different groups, the stakes, and the power dynamics. There's always a kernal of boy-meets-girl, but in order to understand the hero and heroine, I need to know about the context and circumstances they're in.

Once I know the world, the characters bubble to life. I do a thin sketch of an outline, including end of first, second, and third acts, black moment, etc. Then I pants my way through. After I fast draft I have a very involved revision method in which I dissect and analyze the whole thing within an inch of its life before essentially pansting a one (or two) pass revision.

I'm a big fan of the plan-then-pants method.

Tell us about your "story of getting published."


It was pretty simple, really. I submitted Mere Temptation to a handful of publishing houses, and got a full request, but also several rejections. So, pessimist that I am, I figured it would be rejected completely and when I was done writing Mere Passion I sent it out to a few more publishing houses. I got full requests everywhere I sent Mere Passion, and Siren offerred to publish it before I heard back on Mere Temptation.

So I submitted Mere Temptation to Siren after I'd already agreed to give them Mere Passion.

Siren was really great about my newby mistake of submitting the second book in the series before the first. In all honesty, I think I just hadn't heard of Siren at the time I submitted Mere Temptation! When they accepted it, they gave me a release date ahead of Mere Passion, which was great.


What are the publicity plans you have coming up?

You're looking at it! (Just kidding.)

Honestly, I don't have a whole lot of plans. I have a few blogs that want to interview me. Siren sends every book to a variety of review sites. I'll probably send it to two or three more reviewers as well.

I've signed on with an agent, Saritza Hernandez of the L. Perkins Agency, and she'll probably have more ideas for me, but I'm going to spread out my publicity over time since the books will be released through third party distribution at a later date. I want to be sure that when I promo books readers can actually access them!

Another big part of my promotion plan is to continue writing in the Ocean Shifters and other worlds. I've started on a new world filled with Steins, zombie-robot hybrids. I hope that each new story I write draws in more readers and encourages folks who buy my newer books to try out the earlier ones.

After all, writing great stories is the best advertising I can think of!

Blooming Author Liz Borino!

“Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be.” ~ George Sheehan

Liz Borino's book EXPECTATIONS will be published by Lazy Day Publishing 12/1. Liz is the first Fresh Voice to be published and featured as a Blooming Author!

Tell us about Expectations. What is it about and where will it be available?

EXPECTATIONS, depicts the struggle between what we desire for ourselves and our familial obligations. This is personified by Chris and Matt Taylor, identical twins, who are trying to win their overbearing father’s approval and acquire their trust funds. Their best friend and roommate, Aiden O’Boyle, left his family behind in Ireland to pursue a career in dance.

Robert Taylor, Matt and Chris’s father has set certain conditions that must be met in order for them to receive their trust funds. Matt must work at a job he hates, while struggling with alcoholism. Chris has to deny his own desires and deep love for Aiden, to get married to Matt’s girlfriend. All the while, their father continues to use extreme measures to ensure his sons’ compliance.  The story takes place against the backdrop of preparation for Aiden’s upcoming performance.

It will be available on my publishers website lazyday.com, amazon, Barnes &Noble. In addition it'll be on all e-reading devices.

What were your inspirations for Expectations? What sorts of thing inspire you as a writer in general?

For this book I was actually inspired by The Secret. I wanted to write about people choosing their own life's path. I wanted to depict both the obstacles and joys that come with that process.
I'm inspired by relationships. My books are always character driven. I'd say life in general inspires me.
You know what else? Fish. :)

Let's talk about your process. How do you approach a story, do you start with outlines or something else? Where did you work when writing Expectations? Do you think it was the optimal writing environment for you?

I wish I could do an outline. I try every single time. I start an outline and my characters stop talking to me. I don't think they like to be boxed in.

I worked everywhere I possibly could, school, home, work. When I wasn't writing, I was thinking about writing. Inspiration struck at the most inconvenient times. If you can have inconvenient inspiration.

Tell us about your "story of getting published."

I started off with a manuscript that was WAY too long and had lots of plot holes, but as an author I thought "It's perfect! Everyone will love it." No, not the way it works. So, I got smarter. I let it sit and then looked at it objectively. Cut a character, sorry Nonna, and about 40,000 words. Then I started querying agents. After a few rejections (I don't count), I started looking at smaller presses. I found my match with Lazy Day. They're a new digital publisher and I'm with a wonderful group of authors debuting with our publisher. We've been honored with the title of Founding Authors!

What are the publicity plans you have coming up?

I'm trying to do any interviews I can and I've got some great ones already. In addition I'm building a Twitter and Facebook following. I know Social Media is one of the best tools we have as authors.

Blooming Author Jesi Lea Ryan!

“Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be.” ~ George Sheehan

Jesi Lea Ryan's book, Four Thousand Miles, was published by DCL Publications on October 7, 2010.

Tell us about Four Thousand Miles. What is it about and where will it be available?

When Natalie Spencer loses both her career and marriage in the same morning, the emotional shock sends her on a spontaneous journey to England. There, she is nearly mugged in a Tube station, but an introverted songwriter named Gavin Ashby scares off her attackers. Recognizing Natalie’s fragile state, Gavin offers help and invites her to recuperate from her trauma at his country home.

As she adjusts to her new role and surroundings, Natalie finds healing by helping others. Gavin and his family begin to accept Natalie into their hearts, leading her to a choice…abandon her old life in the States and trust in a new chance at love, or flee once again?

Four Thousand Miles is available now in ebook format at DCL Publications.

What were your inspirations for Four Thousand Miles? What sorts of thing inspire you as a writer in general?

The inspiration for this story originated while I was staying as a bed & breakfast outside of Pluckey, Kent in England. It was actually a 500 year old, medieval farm which had been converted into an upscale restaurant with guest rooms. Not only were the buildings beautiful, but the surrounding countryside was as well. I remember thinking that it would be the perfect place to fall in love. I just ran with it from there!

Let's talk about your process. How do you approach a story, do you start with outlines or something else? Where did you work when writing Four Thousand Miles? Do you think it was the optimal writing environment for you?

Honestly, I do everything that the books on writing tell you not to do! I don't outline. I'm not organized. I don't adhere to a writing schedule. I work at the dining room table where I can be in the middle of the action of my home rather than in my quiet office. My only excuse is that it works for me.

I do have a couple of rules for myself. I never sit in front of a blank screen. If I'm blocked, I get up and do something else. I give myself the space to think about my work and how to resolve the plot or character issues that I'm hung up on. Only after I am comfortable with my direction do I sit back down to write. Another major rule...plenty of black coffee!

Tell us about your "story of getting published."

I really had no clue about how to go about the process of selling my book once it was written. I used tips off of other writers' websites to learn how to write a query letter and approach agents. I sent out about forty queries to agents, but didn't get a nibble. In May 2010, I attended the Romantic Times Convention with the goal of finding an agent. I didn't, but I did find two editors who requested partial manuscripts from me. Within two weeks, Jean Watkins from DCL Publications offered me a contract. She'd only read the first three chapters. I thought that was a good sign!

What are the publicity plans you have coming up?

Since it is an ebook, signings are pretty much out of the question. I've been making the rounds on the blog circuit, and that's been a lot of fun! Next week, I'm having a release party for a large group of friends and family. Since many of them are not ereaders, it will give me an opportunity to show them how they can download the book. My hope is that it will open the door for them to other ebooks.