Writer Wednesday: Meet Cheri Allan

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Author Cheri AllanWelcome to Writer Wednesday! Today I’m delighted to host Cheri Allan, author of hopeful, humorous contemporary romances. Her newest book, All or Nothing, is out today!

Here she shares with us a little about her writing life:

What inspires you to write?

They call it ‘falling in love’ for a reason. People usually do it gracelessly, hurling themselves forward in messy, humiliating, stumbling spectacles of ardor. I LOVE THIS about love. I adore the fact that the most transformative experience on earth is so, incredibly, wonderfully awkward and, well, human. I want to experience that process again and again with my characters, because what is more relatable and what makes us feel less alone than to watch someone else bumble their way toward happiness?

What one piece of advice do you wish you’d had when first starting out?

Never stop moving forward. I spent too much time waiting on others over the years: waiting on contest results; waiting on editors and agents; waiting on inspiration to strike. The fact is, no one wants your success more than you, and no one else can tell your stories. No matter what, keep moving forward; whether it’s taking a class, doing free-writing, sending pages to a critique partner or just getting that next cup of coffee. Inertia is a powerful force, so make it work for you and not against you.

What fellow romance author do you recommend reading, and why?

It’s no secret I have a major girl-crush on Kristan Higgins. Her books never fail to make me alternately snort through my nose with laughter and weep into my dog’s fur like I’ve just finished Where a Red Fern Grows. She is brilliance on a stick with her quirky characters, relatable small-town dynamics and a writer’s voice that makes you feel you’re sitting down for coffee with the most entertaining of friends. She cannot ever write fast enough, and if I ever heard she’d read and liked one of my books (!!!), I’d squeal like a 12 year-old at a Taylor Swift concert. Then I’d faint. You are forewarned.

All or Nothing CoverWant to know more about All or Nothing?

When finding Mrs. Right goes oh, so, wrong…

 Self-made tech millionaire Ian McIntyre has suffered through a reality dating show only to return home to idyllic Sugar Falls, New Hampshire, empty-handed, swarmed by paparazzi, and hounded by a Hollywood producer determined to deliver a Happily Ever After. But then his home is invaded by a sexy, snarky local staging it for the season finale, and Ian finds himself more interested in the cute and scrappy hometown girl dusting off his action figures than the audience’s favorite southern belle.

Auto mechanic Bailey Adams grew up on the wrong side of the tracks and is struggling to patch together enough odd jobs to buy a garage of her own. When the Golden Boy of Sugar Falls entangles her in his disastrous season of Happily Ever After, they both discover that some long-held dreams are only as ‘real’ as ‘reality’ TV. Now, with the deal on her dream garage in jeopardy and her unlikely love affair with America’s favorite geeky hunk playing out on national TV, Bailey must decide if she’s willing to risk it all for love… or be left with nothing.

Craving more already? Here’s an excerpt:

“Then take off your coat and avoid hypothermia.”

Her bottom lip jutted out. “You first.”

He shrugged out of his parka and hung it on a hook by the door, raising one eyebrow as he did so.

She took another long drink then tugged her coat off and hung it next to his. Melting snow dripped onto the floorboards beneath it. Stubborn woman.

“Your lovely flannel shirt is also soaked,” he said.

“Yeah, like I’m falling for that.”

“Don’t flatter yourself. I’ve seen lumberjacks make flannel sexier than you do.”

He didn’t know why he was goading her, but he felt on edge… wet, chilled and restless.

“Like you could resist me if I were standing naked in front of you,” she said.

She paused, as if she weren’t sure how those words came to be floating in the air between them. But there they were, raining down over him like hot sparks. Heat flooded through him, and he could feel his blood pumping. He watched her, the air crackling with awareness. The fire in the stove popped and something tumbled inside. His heart thudded in his chest at the word ‘naked.’

“Try me,” he finally said.

About Cheri

Cheri Allan writes humorous, hopeful contemporary romances. She lives in a charming fixer-upper in rural New Hampshire with her husband, two children, two dogs, four cats and an excessive amount of optimism. She’s a firm believer in do-it-yourself, new beginnings and happily-ever-afters, so after years of wearing suits, she’s grateful to finally put her English degree to good use writing romance. When not writing, you might find her whizzing down the slopes of a nearby mountain or inadvertently killing perennials in her garden.

Find Cheri’s Books:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Nothing-Betting-Romance-Novel-Book-ebook/dp/B00VO56WMU/

Barnes & Noble/Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s?store=allproducts&keyword=cheri+allan

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/all-or-nothing-62

All three Betting on Romance books are available at major on-line retailers and www.cheriallan.com.

You can also find Cheri on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter and (when she can figure it out) Pinterest.

Join Cheri’s mailing list at www.cheriallan.com and be entered to win an ‘All or Nothing Gift Basket’ full of goodies and books from New Hampshire. Drawing to be held April 30th! 

Thanks so much for joining us, Cheri!

Flash Friday Fiction: Spies Like Us

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The Beggar. CC2.0 photo by Foto_Michel.
The Beggar. CC2.0 photo by Foto_Michel.

Spies Like Us – 210 words

Know the best power to have if you’re gonna be a Super Spy? Invisibility.

Sure, flying would be cool. You could get places faster. Some would say X-ray vision is essential. For, you know, secret documents and stuff.

But for me, it’s my ability to be invisible that lets me do this job perfectly.

I know I’m invisible, because nobody in my family pays attention to me.

Mom’s always playing on her laptop. Dad’s watching a game. My sister’s constantly on her phone, mooning over Jacob’s hair or Justin’s eyes. Whatever.

My brother’s the only one who ever notices me. Mostly he tells me I’m annoying. But sometimes he gives me pointers. You know, how to deal with bullies, how to sneak dollar bills out of mom’s purse, how to disappear whenever Dad’s in one of his moods.

It was my brother who disappeared last night. Said he was done, he was outta there, he wasn’t puttin’ up with their crap anymore.

“Good riddance,” Dad said.

He doesn’t see me now, my brother. I’m the garbage can in disguise, spying on him from across the way.

He looks sad. Angry. Maybe even a little lonely.

He doesn’t need to worry, though. I’ve got his back.

We Invisibles gotta stick together.

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This week’s challenge? Incorporate a spy character in conjunction with the photo prompt into a story of 200 (+/-10) words. How’d I do?

Make your way (stealthily or not) over to Flash Friday Fiction to read and comment on the other entries, and perhaps draft one of your own!

Writer Wednesday: Meet Paula Shene

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Children's Author Paula Shene
Paula Shene

Welcome to Writer Wednesday! Today we jump from the world of romance to the world of children’s books as I welcome author Paula Shene. (It’s always good to mix things up a bit, right? Plus, I need some good books for my kids to read while I’m writing. Plus, she reads romance.)

Here Paula shares with us answers to three writerly/readerly questions, and tells us a bit about her books.

What inspires you to write?

Life inspires my muse; situations trigger story lines, and it produces either a children’s story, short stories, articles or blogs. 

Which type of romance do you love most, and why?

Presently I lean towards psychological suspense romance in the medical or justice system milieu.  I am a catholic taste reader and read everything from zombie to classics, Working of the Brain to on-line Marketing. I devour an author’s line of books. I’m always happy to find a new author or start with a beginning to a series.

What one piece of advice do you wish you’d had when first starting out?

It takes about ten years before you become known if you are published or self-published. Had I known the book I wrote was not to be a one-off, I would had learned marketing more quickly.

Sandy Pages - Peacock WritersWhat’s next for you?

I have two books being published this month. I’m featured in the Peacock Writers‘ tenth collection of children’s stories to benefit Children’s Charities, and my award-winning children’s story, Digging Bones, which has been online as a WIP, will be published this month as well.

Thank you so much for hanging out with us today, Paula! 

Want to learn more about Paula Shene and her writing? Visit her web page.

Adventures in Editing: I Get Knocked Down, But I Get Up Again (Thanks, Chumbawumba)

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A Man of Character
A Man of Character – A Snippet of the Real Cover. Thank you to Lankshear Design!

In January, I hired a developmental editor, Tessa Shapcott, to help me with my first book, A Man of Character. Generally speaking, I (and others) had been happy with the book, but I knew that to “do it right” as an indie publisher, I needed an editor’s opinion.

She gave me one. She gave me several. She gave me nearly four pages’ worth of suggestions. And they were spot on. Tessa is fabulous, people. But all those pages of suggestions meant I needed to restructure my book – move some elements to the front, delete others, add scenes, pay attention to emotional development.

I won’t lie. I wanted to bury my head in the sand. I even asked Tessa if she felt the book were worth salvaging (luckily for me, she most emphatically said YES).

So instead pulling my standard ostrich move, I got to work. It took me longer than I wanted (pesky Other Life responsibilities, plus my standard Time Managing Idiocy), but I finished that sucker, read through it again several times, made more corrections, and sent it off to Tessa for a second read-through.

Green light. WOO HOO! She liked it, felt the revisions worked well, and had just a few minor suggestions. I know there’s additional work to do after those revisions, since the next step is a line edit, but still, I was feeling on top of the world.

Last night, I was in the hot seat for my beloved critique group. A Man of Character in its newly revised form was up for review. And the critiquers did exactly what they were supposed to do, exactly what I want them to do: they critiqued it, meaning they found favor and fault in it. Lots of fault, depending on whom you asked.

I know that I have a long way to go in developing the thick skin writers need. I know that writing is rewriting. Writing is revision. And being a relative newbie to the fiction writing world, I have a lot to learn. In my head, I know all of that, accept all of that. In my head, I want to learn, learn, learn, to find out what works and what doesn’t, to grow and become better.

In my heart, I feel pain when someone challenges my baby, even when the challenges are justified, and would only lead to improving the book. In my heart (and head), I also know now it’s my turn to critique the critiques, by taking what I like and leaving the rest. And I will. I will. Just not today. Today, I’m not touching it.

It’s a roller coaster, this writing thing. It’s the highest of highs when you feel you’ve nailed that scene or that dialogue, when a beta reader tells you she loves the story, when you get positive feedback from fellow writers.

And it’s the lowest of lows, the days where you stare at the words and think they’re crap, when you get rejection after rejection from agents, when you open up your document returned to you from a critiquer and all you see are pages full of comments.

Some days I want to get off. Some days I want to ride forever.

They tell you your writing is not you. Don’t take it personally.

Does that ability come easier the longer one pursues this profession? I hope so.

In the meantime, I’m taking today to work on reading and reviewing other people’s writing. But I’ll be back at A Man of Character tomorrow. Because, warts and all, my baby is entering the world on May 26, 2015. And I’m excited.

How do you deal with the ups and downs?