Happy Thursday! I’m guest blogging over with Peggy Jaegar today about miracles and my newest book, ALL OR NOTHING. Join us! For the complete blog post including excerpt, a book blurb, and gift basket giveaway details be sure to pop over to Peggy’s here!

There are two facts about me you should know: I have successfully crammed a loveseat into the back of a Chevette, and my final grade in high school geometry was 103%.

I share these two little factoids not to brag (okay, maybe a little. I even got the extra credit questions right!), but because it was with this inflated sense of mastery over spatial thinking and physics that I approached a particularly difficult application of ice and water shield several years ago. (Think rubbery sheets of contact cement.) Dearest Hubby and I were weatherproofing our newly framed dormer before the summer T-storms hit again. I was leaning through the narrow rafter cavity with a piece of ice and water shield (sticky side out) attempting to reach in a direction that would require: a.) one of my elbows to bend backwards, b.) my arms to stretch another 6-8 inches, and c.) me to develop x-ray vision that would allow me to see through a 2 x 12 rafter. I had struggled for probably ten minutes or so at this task when DH leaned close to my ear and whispered, “Is this when the miracle happens?”

I dissolved into convulsions of laughter and ended up sticking the ice and water shield to my forearm (which, BTW, I don’t recommend) because it was perfectly clear that as much as I stretched and pushed and struggled, the physics of the situation where not going to change.

In ALL OR NOTHING, self-made tech millionaire Ian McIntyre has just returned from filming a reality dating show. Unfortunately, he did not find a match. This is an ice and water shield moment for the show’s producer who spends the rest of the book trying to bend her elbows backwards getting Ian to fall in love and choose a fiancée so the show’s ratings don’t go down the toilet.

It turns out that the kind of woman Ian asked to be matched with isn’t the woman he needs (big surprise!) And it takes a loveable puppy, some persistent paparazzi and one spunky heroine to get him to see he needs to approach things differently. Cue the triumphant music and happy ending as the hero and heroine run through a sunny field toward one another…

You see, sometimes the miracle happens (don’t ask me how I got that loveseat in that car) and sometimes it doesn’t, but as writers we have a tendency to continue to shove and twist during those difficult times waiting for the fairy dust to sprinkle down from the heavens so our elbows will bend backwards and the scene will work. Chances are good, though, that we won’t suddenly realize we’re double-jointed, and it will take a whisper from outside ourselves to see that we need to take a new tack.

This is where I admit the third fact: If it weren’t for my lovely, talented and painfully honest editor, you would probably throw my book at the wall. In ALL OR NOTHING, I had a plot line that was not working. I knew this, and yet a part of me still hoped that, somehow, I’d pull it off. (Shh! Don’t say anything! I just need to stretch a little more!) Enter my editor who said (and I quote): “WHAT?!” If she’d had a red Sharpie, my manuscript would have been glowing. She hated this plot line and told me the two (Or twelve. Really, I lost count.) reasons why readers would go on to hate me and my heroine if I left it in.

She was right, of course. I was struggling so hard to make it fit, I wasn’t able to step back and see that it would never work. Once I pulled that plotline, all sorts of things fell neatly into place… like a loveseat into a Chevette.

This whole experience has reinforced for me the VITAL importance of having a critique partner, a plotting group, a good content editor or simply an honest friend to point out when persistence has morphed into stubbornness. Anyone that knows me knows I’m an optimist. I believe in happy endings and true love and that, somehow, the sticky pieces of life will magically fall into place. (Ta-da!) The reason I believe so strongly in these things, though, is because I surround myself with those who have the courage to whisper the truth in my ear when it needs to be said so I can reach my goals another way.

Now, I’m excited to share ALL OR NOTHING with the world, because I know it delivers the magic of a happy ending (with only fictional joint pain.) And I hope, if you do throw the book at the wall, you do so out of convulsions of laughter.

It does make me wonder, though… If I had left that ugly, unsympathetic plotline in, would you have thrown your book at the wall? How far does an author/character have to go to make you lose all respect for them to the point they become unredeemable? Depending on your answer, I may have to send my editor an extra large bouquet of flowers to thank her…

Join me over at Margaret Locke’s blog where I share a mini-interview about my writing inspiration, writing advice and our favorite authors! Come and relax. We’re all friends here! 🙂

I’m guest blogging over with Cynthia Woolf today on my addiction to reality dating shows. Check it out! You know I’m not the only one. 😉

I am addicted to reality dating shows. I freely admit this. The cheesier, the more dramatic, the more over-the-top, the better. I’m sure I’m rotting my brain, and yet, like an accident scene unfolding before me, I CANNOT LOOK AWAY. I love to watch how people behave (and misbehave!) and analyze and dissect their behavior and body language.  It’s people-watching on steroids, and we writers eat this stuff up like an all-you-can-eat cheesecake buffet. (Oh, if only there were such a thing!)…

Visit Cynthia’s Woolf’s blog and read the rest! http://cynthiawoolf.com/?p=4761#comment-149394

A random commenter will be chosen to win a free Betting on Romance e-book, so stop on by!

I’m so excited to get ALL OR NOTHING, Book #3 in my ‘Betting on Romance’ series, into your hot little hands! But because we’re still a few weeks away from release day, I’ve decided to share some deals and steals on books #1 and #2!

LUCK OF THE DRAW, Book #1, is ***FREE*** on Amazon today (3/12) through Monday 3/16, so snag your copy of this story of a widowed single mom looking for her second chance at love. Over fifty 4- and 5-star reviews on Goodreads!

STACKING THE DECK, Book #2 is just ***$0.99*** on Amazon today through Tuesday, so nab this sexy/sweet romance about coming home, taking chances and making good on that high school crush. See why one reviewer called it, “…sweet, emotional, heartwarming, and funny with a dash of sexiness on the side.”

This post originally appeared December 3, 2014, on the blog of Susan A. Wall as she celebrated NH Writers’ Week. Follow this link to her blog (http://susanannwall.wordpress.com/blog-writing-the-journey/) and discover other writers from the Granite State!

I write sexy, heartwarming romantic comedy. My second release, STACKING THE DECK, came out in October—so I know what you’re probably thinking. “She’s living the dream! Her life must be filled with sunshine and unicorns! I’ll bet her husband makes her breakfast in bed every morning!”

Um, no. And for the record, I would settle for him taking the dogs out first thing. No, the reality is, I’m plopped in front of my second-hand laptop that only occasionally overheats feeling a bit wonky from the after-effects of the Nyquil I took last night, mentally recalculating the revolving commitments and grocery lists (and associated chauffeuring responsibilities therein) for the kids’ activities between now and the end of December, and wondering what in holy jalapenos I’m going to blog about today. Because, when my brain is full of stuff other than brilliant story ideas, well, it’s like every other day of the year.

Many of us dream of writing our opus magnificat in a remote cabin or on a tropical isle away from distractions and worries. We tell ourselves that if we could only cut ourselves off for just [fill in magical number here] days we’d finally get that next bestseller written. If you’re like me, this is what would really happen: I’d spend several days (or weeks) catching up on the reading I’ve put off and then waffling between the conviction that my work is just as good and wallowing in self-doubt that I could ever write stories that fabulous. I’d wander around feeling lonely or bored and would either write letters about the weather or imagine that that spot on my left forearm is growing discolored and irregular. Does it look irregular to you? And obsessing about what it might mean if it is, in fact, cancerous. I’d spend hours making elaborate culinary creations just for myself, because I’d want to fuel my body and soul for the creative work ahead. Then, I’d plot my book like I’ve never plotted before. And color-code the POVs. And re-read writing craft books. Then, because I could I’d do an illustrated story-board… and collage… and create mock-ups of my future book cover as inspiration…  In short, I’d find excuses not to get the work done even while pretending to do the work.

We writers are especially good at making excuses about why we’re NOT writing. I’ll bet I’ve used every one there is. See if any of these sound familiar:

• Excuse #1: My muse isn’t speaking to me. I think I’ll go make some coffee/have lunch/go for a walk/do laundry/[fill in the blank with preferred diversionary activity.] Now the thing about this is that all of these other activities ‘must’ be done at some But now? Probably not.
• Excuse #2: My significant other/parent/best friend doesn’t support me. This is a toughie, because writing is a lonely business, but I’m here to tell you that I’ve been writing for years, and my husband has yet to read my books. He’s started them… but never actually finished. I used to feel somewhat snubbed. Didn’t he value them? Or me? But I have good tires on my car, and the lawn is miraculously mowed on a regular basis and the water filter gets changed without my actually knowing where it is… so it’s okay. I’ve learned that my beloved is not my target audience. Not everyone will be beating the door down to read your work. That’s okay. Find those who will and make them your beta readers. Win-win!
• Excuse #3: I’m sick. Remember when they used to require doctor’s notes for absences from work/school? Same thing should apply to writing. If we quit working every time we got the sniffles, we might as well take half the year off. Here’s the rule: fevers and vomiting are automatic passes. If you’re well enough to sit up and hold a laptop, you’re well enough to work.
• Excuse #4: I’m REALLY sick. You know what? Life’s curve balls happen. If you qualify for extended disability, then working from home had better be something that makes you fulfilled and happy, and that includes writing. If writing is instead taking away from family time or time you’d use to tend to ‘you’ then that’s not a healthy balance and you won’t be returning to ‘work’ any time soon, because you’ll be…
• Excuse #5: Dead. This is a tough one to argue with if it’s actually YOU who is the dearly departed, but what if it’s someone close to you?  A family member. A friend. A beloved pet. Grief is a powerful and unpredictable fact of, well, life. But here’s the reality: it’s unavoidable. While launching my self-pub novels, our family lost two friends and two aunts in the course of four months. It felt, for a time, we did nothing but attend funerals. Writing comedy and uplifting romance felt like I was the rude person in the back pew snickering, and yet I longed to have something happy to lose myself in.
• Excuse #6: So, we got another dog. Which, as anyone knows, is a whole ‘nother kind of diversion from writing. The adjustment of a new pet in the household—“Quick! Take a picture! S/he’s so CUTE!” to “Ack! S/he just chewed the arm of my antique wing chair/left something I stepped in!”—makes it difficult to concentrate on anything else. Also true with babies. But, life is all about changes, and sometimes the worst distractions of all are the changes we’re HOPING for.
• Excuse #7: I’ve send out my contest entries/agent queries/partial manuscript/ full (SQUEE!!) manuscript, and now I’m going to take a break and see what they have to say. Oy. All I can say here is don’t ever let your forward writing progress hinge on waiting for something else to happen. Been there. Done that. Wasted too much time waiting for someone else to validate me, tell me what I already knew, or kick me in the butt to do what I’d already planned and didn’t have the courage to start. The truth is, no one, NO ONE, cares about your writing future more than you. So, if you’re looking for feedback, join a critique group or writing group and share your work. If you’re looking for an agent, query your work and keep producing new stuff to share. If you want to be published, by all means submit to editors and pitch at conferences, but also keep writing so if you decide to go it alone and self-publish, you’ll have a pipeline to market.

Excuses #8 (and beyond): The biggest and most used excuse, of course, is “I’m too busy” to write right now. Between shuttling children and aging parents to activities and appointments, shopping, cooking, homework help, exercise and more or less cleaning the house before major holidays, NO ONE has oodles of free time. The question is: what are you willing to give up to write? If it’s not AT LEAST as important as folding laundry (hello?) then it’s never going to rate high enough on the priorities list to allow you to finish a book.

And despite what it looks like, I’m not here to give you excuses, because even though I have used every one of these excuses over the years, I’ve: completed 5 ½ books (some rewritten multiple times), entered multiple contests, e-mailed over 60 agent queries, attended major conferences, sent out over a dozen partial and full manuscript requests, ‘won’ NaNoWriMo… and published 2 books. And, I did this all while serving 8 out of 10 years on the board of the NH chapter of Romance Writers of America, while homeschooling two kids, helping my aging and widowed mother and MIL as they moved/dealt with medical crises and loss, lived through renovation/construction on our home, adopted pets, buried pets and generally lived life. Just like YOU will. The key to staying productive as a writer is simple: make it a priority, commit publicly and build a support network.

Make writing a priority. We all have that little pile of crapola on the end of the kitchen counter that never seems to move, odds and ends and mail that wasn’t quite junk but not urgent either. Rate your writing time higher than dealing with that pile. If you have to [fill in the blank] at 1:00 p.m. today, figure out when you have to write. And be specific. Do you have to plot the first half of the book? Figure out the next twist in your story? Get words on paper for a scene playing out in your head? Figure out what your next mini-goal is and allot time in your schedule to meet it. We can all dicker around aimlessly for an hour, but that’s like wandering around at the mall killing time. If you need pickles, go buy pickles. That’s a five minute stop. Give yourself ten minutes and check it off the to-do list. But, if you need a dress for the party, you’ll want to allot enough time to find it. Plan ahead. Your future book deserves to sparkle at its release party.

Commit publicly. Tell your friends your writing goals.  There’s a reason NaNoWriMo and writing buddies are so helpful. They are public announcements of our writing ambitions. It’s like standing outside your office each morning and announcing what you’ll accomplish that day. We don’t want to look like slackers, so we tend to achieve what we’ve publicly announced we plan to do. So, check in with your writing buddies via e-mail. Put it out on Facebook. Then check back in at the end of the day and toot your own horn over what you’ve accomplished. Your friends and readers are watching and cheering you on. You can even promise yourself a reward for reaching your goal.  It’ll taste all the sweeter for having earned it.

Build a support network. Thankfully, I don’t live on an island. During NaNoWriMo, I had friends like Susan Wall to cheer me on when the words were flowing and to brainstorm with me when they weren’t. And when I would have forgotten this blog post because life got in the way of writing, she was there to remind me and hold me accountable. From the gal friends that keep me grounded and sane when life turns topsy-turvy to those that check in with me to see if I’m meeting my daily goals, my support team is there for me.

So, despite the Nyquil fog and demanding/adorable pets and a social calendar that rivals the Duchess of Cambridge’s, I’ve gotten it done. Because that’s what writers do. And so can you. Writers write.

(And eat chocolate. But that’s a blog for another day.)

Sharing time! What are your tips for getting it done? What’s your biggest excuse and how do you stay productive?

{Please note this is the text of a guest blog which appeared on http://peggyjaeger.com/ October 21, 2014. For the full post–and the treat of reading Peggy’s many observations and insights on writing–visit her blog today!)

When Peggy first invited me to guest blog I immediately leapt at the chance to promote the release of my newest romantic comedy  Stacking the Deck and then I went into panic mode. WHAT. TO. WRITE? This is not, of course, much different than the typical day as we authors sit down at our keyboards, but having been through this blog tour/book release drill once before (thereby rendering me a veritable expert <snort!>) I wondered what NEW thing I had to write about. (Also a typical worry of authors on a daily basis.)

Which, if you are prone to distractibility (squirrel!) led me to thinking abouthow I wanted to portray myself to all you lovely people. And THAT, my friends, is what we authors struggle to master as much as the writing itself.

Let’s face it, we are fans, followers and social media friends with dozens of bestselling authors whose news feeds are filled with witty, pithy posts and pictures of adorable kittens, sexy men and sexy men cuddling adorable kittens. But… what if that isn’t us? What if we are allergic to cats? (Perish the thought!) Or we feel vaguely uncomfortable when we have a nearly naked man pulling on his underwear on our computer screen when our under-18 kids walk by? (“I’m doing research!”)

We’re told time and again we must develop a “presence” on social media, to “build a platform,” to “engage our readers.” As a writer, this feels like a blank page. A great and wonderful, horrible and magical blank page. I can be anything!we tell ourselves. AN-Y-THING! We whip out our hair dye and Photoshop manuals and practice our French just in case… well… who knows! We have the opportunity to reinvent ourselves! How cool is THAT? We do it every day with the characters in our books, why should we, ourselves, be any different?

Except we aren’t characters in books. We’re more like fan fiction. The basic character and backstory are already there. We can’t wash them away. We have to work with who we already are. I mean, I enjoy dress up as much as the rest of you, but I’m here to tell you, that taking on a social media persona that doesn’t feel like ‘you’ will eventually not ring true with readers or with yourself.

Figuring out how you want to portray yourself to the larger world is not so much about putting on airs as it is peeling off layers  to get to the core of who you are.

Because your image is, fundamentally, your voice. YOUR voice. What makes YOU write the books of YOUR heart and turn phrases with just the right elegant finesse to make your heart beat a little faster with excitement. You can’t fake the ‘you’ you present to the outside world any more than you can successfully copy someone else’s voice.

On the other hand, this doesn’t give you carte blanche to let it all hang out. No. No one needs to see the down and dirty, unshowered, ‘haven’t eaten food that didn’t contain unpronounceable chemicals and/or chocolate for a week because I’m on deadline and this is how I roll’ you. No. Neither do people want the ‘I’m stepping on my soapbox’ you. Because we can’t throw rotten vegetables over the internet, the mudslinging ‘you’ will have to rant in person.

The you WE want to see and interact with and get to know is still fundamentally ‘you’, but freshly bathed, and happy (generally) and sitting across from us in a coffee shop or in a park because we’re old friends, and we DO that sort of thing. And then you reveal those unique observations about life and love and friends and family and the shows you watch and the things that bug you… as friends. Because THAT’S the ‘you’ we readers want to know.

Let your public “persona” be the face of who you are when you are in the ‘zone’ of writing. That’s the real you. That’s the ‘you’ readers want to know and engage with. Maybe ‘you’ like kittens, pictures of sexy men, travel photos or talking about crafts. Whatever you enjoy sharing is the persona to share with the world, and the more you do that, the more ‘you’ in the larger world will mesh seamlessly with the ‘you’ you are everywhere else.

Now you all may be saying, “Ha! She’s talking about being real and honest and yadda, yadda but look at her PINK author photo! What’s that all about?” Well, I’ll tell you a secret about that photo. My critique partner HATES that photo with a purple passion. She thinks it’s cheesy and odd and not befitting my professional author persona. And while she has the looks and demeanor to portray a beautiful and glamorous author-self to the world. I am… pink. And I like being pink. When I look at my photo, it makes me smile in the way I do when I think of holiday lights and Dr. Seuss. It reminds me not to take myself too seriously. Maybe it isn’t glamorous or polished or sexy, but it feels like a more honest portrayal of who I am, at heart, than any glossy Glamour Shot ever could.

So, in the words of Dr. Seuss in Happy Birthday to You! come climb to the top of the world and shout with me: “I AM I!” Go ahead. It’s easy. And after we can grab a cup of coffee and chat about our books while searching the internet for random photos of sexy men cuddling kittens… because that’s how we roll.

Sharing time! Have you ever tried on a different public persona or image on social media? What happened? Did it feel “right” or like someone else’s hand-me-down you couldn’t wait to peel off when you got home? Tell us your story!

Hey, I’m over at Susana’s Morning Room today with an interview about moi and the LAST CHANCE to enter my book blog tour giveaway–so pop over!

Cheri: Thanks, Susana, for having me as I put the cherry on top of my blog tour for Luck of the Draw! Hmm. That makes it sound all neat and tidy, doesn’t it? But the reality is, writing a book is a slog. Through mud. With flies buzzing around you. (Okay, that’s not a pretty picture AT ALL.) What I mean to say is, I’ve arrived at this lovely place chatting with you with a shiny new book and wonderful friends and family (and, God bless you, people I’ve never even met!) buying my book, and it surprises me that I’m HERE. Phew! It’s been a journey. A lovely, crazy, road. With potholes. And some bush-whacking… But I digress. You were asking…?

Susana: What inspired you to start writing?

Cheri: I fell in love, married my best friend and wanted to retell that journey again and again. Plus, I like working from home in my pj’s.

Susana: How long have you been writing?

Cheri: Eek. Do I have to answer that? Truth is, too long before publishing. In my own defense, I raised and homeschooled two kids, renovated a home, and generally lived life, so it wasn’t as if I was completely idle. But, I did spend too much time waiting on others… waiting for editors and agents to get back to me, and so I’m happy I’m now in a place where I have the confidence and support system to take charge of my own future.

Susana: What advice would I give writers just starting out?

Cheri: 1.) Go buy yourself a copy of Deb Dixon’s Goal, Motivation and Conflict. You’ll save yourself a lot of time and frustration. 2.) Don’t apologize for wanting to be a writer of popular fiction. I spent too long worrying what others would think of my choice, but I’m over that now. Romantic fiction celebrates love, life and community in an unpredictable world. So, what am I apologizing for?

Susana: Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it?

Cheri: I prefer to think of it as inertia, because it’s generally caused by something slowing the momentum of my story (as in, it has come to a dead stop and built itself a protective firewall.) The best way to move past this is to brainstorm one-on-one with my CP or plotting friends. I find they usually ask me the tough questions I’ve been avoiding (but which need answering) in order to identify the problem and move beyond it. Plus, they follow up with me, so I’m held accountable for using their advice.

Susana: What comes first: the plot or the characters?

Cheri: Snippets of both. I might get a nugget of a plot idea, but usually it’s a character whose story needs to be told. For Luck of the Draw, Jim’s character came from a previous book, and the latent match-making grandmother in me kept saying, “That Jim is such a nice young man. Why isn’t he married?”

Susana: Are you a plotter or a panther?

Cheri: I’m a total pantser. Outlines give me hives. The one time I did an outline for a book, I deviated wildly half way through, tore up the outline and never looked back. That said, I’ve learned that if I don’t identify the key GMC of the characters at the outset, I set myself up for lots of hair-pulling revisions down the road.

Susana: Are you working on something at present that you would like to tell us about?

Cheri: Yes! I’m putting the finishing touches on Stacking the Deck, book #2 in my Betting on Romance series (coming this fall!) It’s a story of first love and second chances and living up to your potential and features a smart-talking bad-boy with a killer smile.

Susana: What are you reading now?

Cheri: I just finished Waiting on You by Kristan Higgins and am still in that post-book euphoria. I think I’ll order Chinese food…

Susana: Is there a writer you idolize?If so, why?

Cheri: There’s no secret I have a girl crush on Kristan Higgins. (See above.) Her books make me laugh and weep and laugh again and that’s good medicine. Plus, she’s a genuinely sweet person. I try not to stammer when I see her at writers’ conferences for fear she’ll block me on Facebook.

Susana: What is your work schedule like when writing?

Cheri: My writing schedule is more like binge eating… I will get a great idea and immerse myself for as long as I can, ignoring household chores, menu planning, and small kitchen fires then, when the draft is complete, I walk away and ignore it. I’ll read again and watch romantic comedies. Then, I’ll feel guilted into revisions and dig in, finally sending it to my CP who will point out all the parts I knew weren’t working but had hoped I’d be able to get away with ignoring. (I can’t.) She’ll send me notes, and I’ll find a lot of cleaning that hasn’t been done (see step #1) as I attempt to avoid the inevitable before remembering why I loved the story to begin with and diving in again. It sounds haphazard, but it has its own cyclic quality.

Susana: What did you want to be when you grew up?

Cheri: A vegetarian. Because I wanted to work with animals. Yes, I was a little confused. Then my vocabulary improved and I learned what vets actually did, and I made adjustments.

Susana: What are your pastimes?

Cheri: Do-it-yourself projects and home renovation, skiing, reading, watching reality dating shows and writing!

Susana: What is the one modern convenience you can’t do without?

Cheri: A coffee maker. Panic ensues whenever we’ve had one die usually resulting in a midnight run for a new one. It’s the first thing we plug into the generator when we lose power, too.

Susana: Do you have a favorite quote or saying?

Cheri: ‘It’s all fun and games until somebody puts an eye out.’ Which is usually our way of reminding each other to wear protective eyewear and go have fun. 🙂

Okay, now my turn! So, who is YOUR favorite author? What is it that makes him/her an auto-buy for you? Share! I’m always looking for a new favorite author to binge-read. 🙂