My Personal Challenge – Fated (The Rewrite)

Posted on September 27, 2014 by valloryv

Getting back to writing is harder than I ever imagined. After several weeks of plotting and creating an initial outline, I tried to re-write the first chapter last Saturday. Well, I’m still working on it.

But I’m determined to get it done. I think one my biggest problems right now is trying to write the story I want to write and silencing that inner critic because she has major issues.

While it is important to think about plot holes, character consistency and grammar rules, my critic also likes to throw in random thoughts like – “Who’s actually gonna read this?” “Is anybody gonna like this?” “Doesn’t this suck?”

My answers lately have been – “No one”, “No one”, and “Yes”. So I have rewritten the first chapter each day for the last seven days. And I remain in the place where I started.

Ughh!!!!

My remedy for the time being is: Do it anyway. Maybe, this piece won’t ever be published but I will finish by the end of the year and to help me along – stay tuned for unedited chapters each week.

Here’s the synopsis for Fated (working title)

Marc Rossi is a small town detective working on the biggest case in the not only the town’s history but his career. A prominent business man is found with a single gunshot wound to his head in his office. To complicate matters – the business man is not only a member of the latest wave of post-Katrina transplants to settle into the town but a member of the growing number of immigrants into the South Louisiana region. Language barriers and general prejudice hamper the investigation as well as Marc’s growing attraction to Laurence Tomas, the victim’s former girlfriend.

Can he find a killer and love at the same time?

Hope you’ll join me on Monday for that first chapter!

Sidelined…But Still Going

Posted on June 23, 2014 by valloryv

This weekend, I was going to make my first author appearance at Beautiful Trouble Publishing’s Eat and Greet. I was so excited. Since I’m currently unemployed, I had to make cuts to my advertising budget but was able to wrangle books to sell along with bookmarks for giveaways. I had my rental car and was on my way to Target to pick up miniature body sprays to attach to the bookmarks.

And I got hit by a large truck…

Apparently after the accident I stepped out of my car and fainted in the parking lot of Wendy’s. When the EMTs arrived and asked me how I was doing. I responded – I’m writing a book about tights. Different kinds of tights.

Later that evening, I begged my husband to drive me to Austin since the ER docs said that I had a concussion and shouldn’t drive. He refused and yes I will hold this against him for the rest of his life. He seems okay with this.

Anyway, I missed my first publicized event. I’m sore and I’m afraid to drive. However, there is a the gleam from a silver lining sparkling through my clouds.

A short story that I penned two years ago has found at least two new fans. I checked my Amazon stats today and found this for A Night at the Wesley:

4.0 out of 5 stars Short and hot June 22, 2014

By dncc26

Format:Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

I didn’t know where this story was taking me, but I liked it. Old crushes are the best. It’s short but good. Could be turned into a longer story.

5.0 out of 5 stars Night with who? June 21, 2014

By Kindle Customer

Format:Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

First I would like to have a longer story. I liked this book. It needed to be longer. Romance is romance and this story reminds you that old flames can come back into your life. This one I’m going to say worked out. Again I WOULD LIKE TO SEE LONGER ENDINGS.

Sometimes I think I’m the only one who likes short stories, but I’m so appreciative of those who want a novel to give me a shot. Wow! And Wow! What a way to make a terrible weekend bearable.

An Experiment – The Category Change

Posted on May 23, 2014 by valloryv

Last night, I was checking my ranking for Scent of a Woman on Amazon (yes, I’m slightly obsessive). And this is what I found:

It’s a good start for the book and it is showing up in two top 100 categories. My thing though – it’s not erotica.

What I learned was that “Interracial” gets put into the Erotica category on Amazon by default. So what if someone picks up the book expecting an erotic work and they don’t get one? Perhaps they enjoy it anyway or maybe they’ll return it. But honestly, I don’t think this practice is giving the IR genre the best opportunity to thrive.

So I tried an experiment, I have a short story on Amazon that has been there for almost two years. It has received some good reviews but has never seen many sales.

A few times, I offered it for free and a few more readers picked it up but nothing like what has happened today! On my last 3 day free sale, I had 112 books downloaded for the entire sale.

Less than twenty-four hours since a A Night at the Wesley has begun its free promotion and 85 books have been downloaded. I put a new cover on it – one that clearly shows an African-American woman and a Caucasian male and I re-categorized it as Contemporary Romance with the tags: interracial romance and sensual short stories.

The results:

I’ll let you know how the short story fairs after it’s no longer free. I have two self-pubbed works coming out in July so if I can see more exposure using general romance instead of interracial romance, then I’m going with general romance with tags.

Happy Reading!

Wanted to add in a daily total for each day.

On Saturday when I checked, my numbers for A Night at the Wesley were:

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,319 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)
- #20 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Romance > Multicultural & Interracial
- #44 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Short Stories
- #51 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary Fiction > Romance

My best ranking ever!!!

Congrats to the Winners…More to Come!

Posted on May 9, 2014 by valloryv

The winners of the Evernight Book Boyfriend Blog Hop and the Hot n Sprung Blog Hop have been notified. I hope you all enjoy!

There is one more event going on until midnight tonight. I’m giving away a $5.00 electronic Amazon Card and a pdf of In the Moment at Romance Novels in Color.

And for Mother’s Day, both Cheers and Deja Vu are free this weekend at All Romance so why not get both!

Cheers: As a successful Sales and Catering Manager for the posh Hayden Court Hotel located in New Orleans’ famed French Quarter, Darcey St. Claire is absolutely thrilled to be working on New Year’s Eve. The commission and bonus, she’ll receive from the two day Guidry Construction event will not only fund her spring trip to New York City, but buy a cute pair of shoes for the plane ride!

Her enthusiasm quickly turns to barely disguised irritation when Vincent Guidry arrives hours early for his scheduled check-in, demanding access to his suite. After he slashes the budget for the event, not even the crystal blue eyes of the former quarterback can quell the anger surging in her chest.

That is until he walks into the Chat Noir where she is trying to regroup after her irksome day.

In the private enclave known as the Cristal Room, Vincent willingly lights up Darcey’s New Year’s Eve and may have lost his heart in the process to the young woman who isn’t looking for anything serious.
Please be aware, this is a short story and contains language some readers may find offensive.

Deja Vu: One week has passed since Darcey St. Claire, a sales manager for a posh French Quarter hotel, broke the cardinal rule of sales – you don’t sleep with your client. Against her better judgement, she agrees to an even more egregious breach of her hotel contract.

A real date with the handsome former quarterback to take place over the course of a weekend. For both she and Vincent, it wasn’t supposed to be anymore than that.

But things changed…

Beginning a campaign to become the governor of Louisiana, Vincent Guidry’s plans are halted when his feelings for Darcey become more than sexual and the young woman cuts all ties with him. Her appearance in his office, seven weeks after their break-up, begins a backward journey to right the wrongs of their separate pasts.

Is a shared forever possible?

Evernight Book Boyfriend – Shane Fowler

Posted on April 25, 2014 by valloryv

The Book Boyfriend Blog Hop is back and better than ever!

The authors of Evernight have a brand new team of swoon-worthy book boyfriend candidates. A sexy assortment of cowboys, Doms, detectives, millionaires, royalty, vampires, soldiers, and shifters are just a click away.

Get ready to find your next book boyfriend…

I’m excited to introduce you to Shane Fowler of One Stormy Night and one of the many book boyfriends you’re going to meet over the next few days.

Shane is a little different than most. Not a cowboy, not a millionaire. He’s the boy you wished lived next door – handsome, funny, smart and very sweet. Well, not so sweet according to one ex-girlfriend. But that’s not the point. When you’re together he’ll flash that megawatt smile and have you floating.

That’s what he does for the heroine of One Stormy Night, Alexis Joplin, and they’re just friends…or so they say.

Let’s take a peek at what happens one evening while the two are watching the rain from the front porch of a hundred-year old inn:

From One Stormy Night

“Alexis, you are a beautiful woman.”

“Thank you,” she mouthed.

The gentle breath she blew across his cheek tingled. The subsequent pucker of her lips against his skin burned. Desire to have her flamed in his groin, and not even the furious splatter of rain down his back doused it.

“You’re smart and funny and caring. A woman any man would want to wake up next to,” he whispered. Shane stopped fighting the urge.

He kissed her.

Shane savored the lingering tartness of the wine as he kissed her lips. Bursts of simmering raspberries and cherries tingled over his mouth, adding to the fire growing deep within him.

For a few seconds after slipping his tongue inside her mouth, he thought he’d found relief from the gnawing ache.

Then she kissed him back, sweeping her tongue over and under his in slow, tantalizing circles. How many nights have I dreamed about kissing her like this?

“Damn.” He snapped his head back, excited by the tickle of the murmuring sounds coming from deep in her throat, and lifted Alexis into his lap.

The swing creaked from the sudden movement, but he wasn’t going to let go just yet.

“Oh.”

He covered her mouth with his and caressed her breast. The lush mound was as firm, yet yielding to the squeeze of his hand, as he’d always imagined.

But he needed more than the feel of fabric to satisfy the awful thump between his legs. He slid his fingers under the dress’s crisscrossed neckline until he reached her nipple. Her tender skin shrunk into a point, making it easier to pluck while his tongue danced over hers.

“Shane.” Alexis moaned out his name.

He kissed down her the smooth skin of her neck, now wet from the rain splattering over them.

“Yes,” she whispered into his ear.

I’m not letting her go now. He licked closer to the spot where his fingers played.

Clunk. Clunk.

“Oh, shit.” Alexis tore away from him, staggering to her feet as the swing plummeted.

What’s up for grabs?

One lucky hopper will win a $100 Amazon Gift Certificate sponsored by Evernight Publishing.
Plus, each author is giving away their own unique prize! So visit each blog hop stop for a host of fabulous prizes to win.
The Vallory V blog will be giving away a $5.00 electronic Amazon Gift Card or $5.00 in eBucks from All Romance, winner’s choice. One lucky winner will be chosen from the comments so be sure to leave your email address!

How to enter? Answer this question in the comments below…

With only a snippet, a photo, and my description of Shane, where do you think he’d take someone on a romantic date?

Be sure to leave the answer and your email address to be eligible to win a prize. Each comment gives you an entry for the grand prize (one per blog hop stop).

Keep hopping to the next author or blogger. After you’ve met each hero click here to vote for your favorite book boyfriend. You’ll earn an extra grand prize entry!

You’re one step closer to meeting your next Book Boyfriend…

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Click here view the other hoppers…

Typed ‘The End’ – Now What…Part 1

Posted on April 5, 2014 by valloryv

It’s been a while. But I’m back in the blogoshere and the writing world. However, it’s not easy to jump right back into late nights, no Candy Crush and marketing, marketing, marketing!

So I’m easing into it, instead of running full steam ahead.

The first thing, that I’ve done is to create a writing schedule that will take me to the end of the year. Along with that came a promise to myself that I was going to complete it. Here’s schedule and where I am:

Anthology Submission to Hot Ink Press for an upcoming project called Naughty Bedtime Stories – This has been submitted and now I’m waiting. If not accepted then I’ll rework and find a new home.
Holiday Short Story – I have a first draft completed at 11,000 words and will begin working on the second draft next week. Plan on submitting this one to Secret Cravings before the September deadline. If not accepted then I rework and self-publish this one.
Second Shifter Novella – I have an outline completed for a follow-up to A Scent of a Woman which will be released by Evernight Publishing in a few weeks. First draft should be completed next week. Please, please let them accept this one!
The Rose Gold Collection – A Loving Affair is in first draft form and Dulce Means Sweet is in outline form. Just got to get started. Choose cover art, contract an editor, hire a proofreader…

That’s the schedule. Check back with me next week for an update.

Happy Reading!

There’s a Sale Going On!

Posted on March 4, 2014 by valloryv

Each year, Smashwords hosts a site-wide sale on its e-books for Read an E-Book Week. And I’m so proud to once again have something to offer for this event. As an indie author, it is a wonderful feeling to say – I wrote this and I think it’s worth your time to read it, so it’s on sale.

The hope behind that thought is that the readers think it’s as great as I do and tell their friends!

So readers, if you are enjoying a free copy of Cheers or In the Moment and you just loved it, feel free to give me a tweet @ValloryVance.

Also feel free to give me a tweet if you read it and hated it, I need that feedback as well. Even though, I’ll cry and whine for a few hours, I need the tough love as much as the praise!