Harlequin, Here I Come!

Book news! Book news!!

I'm just tickled to announce that I've sold my steamy and emotional firefighter story FIGHTING THE FLAME to Harlequin SuperRomance, for publication in August 2014!

Yes, Firefighters...like these dudes:

 

And more importantly, these dudes:

Not familiar with Harlequin's SuperRomance line? It's a romance line that packs a lot of emotion with a lot of sexy and steamy, and if you've read my book TEMPTING THE COWBOY, you know I love to write both! The steam is a little tamer, but the emotional connection between the characters is off the charts. I love that, and so I really feel grateful and honored to be writing for the SuperRomance line.

You can see Harlequin's current SuperRomance books here.

What's FIGHTING THE FLAME about? I'm glad you asked! Here's the unofficial blurb (and I mean, very, very unofficial! LOL)

Here's the Pinterest Board for a little visual candy.  

Lily Ashden was a talented carpenter before a devastating fire ruined her left arm, reducing her from high-profile builder to lackey for her overbearing and emotionless father.The same accident that left her damaged also claimed the life of her sister--a life that wouldn't have been lost if the firemen on scene had just done their jobs. But they hadn't. They'd left her sister to burn to death as Lily watched.

Little does Lily know that the hot bartender from the Throwing Aces bar she has an almost-fling with, is also one of the firemen who failed to save her sister on that fateful day. Garrett Mateo isn't just Lily's self-declared enemy, but the big commercial construction client her father needs her to woo. Garrett is a Lieutenant on the Danbury Fire Department and co-owner of the Throwing Aces bar--a bar he promised his dying uncle he would renovate as financial padding for his uncle's wife and children.

Good thing Garrett and his brothers made a pact long ago--to skip commitment and focus on honoring their father's legacy as a Fire Captain. Wives, children, they were just potential casualties if he were to be killed on the job. When Lily pushes every boundary Garrett has set for himself, he has to decide if risk is worth the reward. Lily must gain Garrett's construction contract to save her father's business, but as her heart gets involved, she must decide: Firefighters already failed her once. Can she trust one to save her again?

SO THERE YOU HAVE IT. What do you think???? I think we should let the party get started up in here. Woot, woot!

A Little Blogger Love

I didn't know what I was in for when my book began landing in the hands of book review blogs. I was nervous. I was scared! I was anxious...but then good things started to happen! The reviewers liked the book...they started talking about the book, and telling other people, and letting me know what they didn't like so I can maybe do better next time.

Before long, I had my eye on so many awesome book review sites, that my head was spinning!  I started to tell my author friends about the cool blogging sites, and then I realized, why not feature a blog once or twice a month, and help spread the word?

So, that's what I'm going to do. I'm spreading the love, people. Spreading the love. Like jam. On toast.

Bloggers, want to be featured on my blog and across my social media sites? Yes! Yes, you do.

SIGN UP HERE (It's a Google form. Nothing scary, I promise).

Cole Haywood's $100 Gift Card Giveaway~

So, if you've read TEMPTING THE COWBOY, you know the hero Cole Haywood is a sexy alpha cowboy with one hell of a soft spot for the women in his life. He's a hard-working rancher, a devoted single father, and, yeah, one hell of a lover, too.

He's also plays the fiddle and likes to give money away!

Ok, he really doesn't like to give money away, but I talked him into it. I found him in the barn the other day, trying to keep his black and white paint horse, Pana bar Noir from kicking down the door to his stall. Pana's kind of naughty.

"Look, Cole," I said. "The holidays are coming up, and I think it would be a nice gesture for you to give some of your money away." He just grunted and gave me a arrogant look with those brilliant, aquamarine eyes. I'm used to dealing with his attitude, though, so I just grabbed that old worn out hat off his head and held it behind my back. He tilted his head a little, his eyes going all angry-like.

"Dammit. Not funny." He reached for the hat and arched his eyebrows. I couldn't help it: I had to take one teeny, tiny peek at how damn good his chest looked in that tight grey T-shirt; his hips all lean and thighs filling out his worn jeans. He caught me looking, again. My eyes snapped back up to his, even though they were more than happy to stay put.

"Too bad, " I retorted. "You want this old piece of shit back, you have to give away some cash."Pana stuck his nose between the bars on the stall door. He likes to chew things. And kick things. And cause a rukkus, but mostly chew on things, so me being me, I sided up to the stall door and held that hat out to the horse's nose.

Pana's lips made a grab for the hat at the same time Cole crossed his arms and glared at me. I pulled the hat away from Pana before he could grab it, but Cole--well, he got my point.

"Fine." Came his tight-lipped reply. To which I was slightly disappointed that he gave in so easily. Tickling Cole into submission was my Plan B.

Cole held out his hand for his hat, and I held mine out for some cash, and here you have it folks:

A $100 AMAZON Gift Card! Enter in the Rafflecopter below. Good luck!!



a Rafflecopter giveaway





Click the graphic to be taken to all my blog tour spots. You'll need this information if you choose the blog tour option for more chances to win the gift card. Or, VISIT HERE.

TEMPTING THE COWBOY Deleted Scene: The Barn Scene

Tempting the Cowboy started out more like women's fiction than category romance. That's an entire topic for another day; however, what it means is that a lot of the original story was cut to re-shape it into a category romance style.

Which means that I have a lot of awesome bonus scenes from the book!

This one was affectionately called The Barn Scene by my critique partners who read the book when it was shiny new.

Enjoy!

The stable was quiet when they rode their horses inside. Cole dismounted first and grabbed Rylan’s reins while she jumped down.

“Go on ahead. I’ve got this,” He hoped she’d do just that, go about her day. The ride back should have been a little uncomfortable, but it wasn’t. Not in the least. It had been comfortable and…fun. Too much time passed since he'd last ridden for the hell of it. His time on horseback was necessitated by work and Cole couldn’t remember the last time he’d drank up his surroundings like he had today.

He did because Rylan had. It was like seeing Paint River through her eyes. The property hadn’t lost its beauty; he’d simply forgotten to look. Rylan’s eyes were wide enough for both of them and he enjoyed seeing the pleasure on her face. She leaned against Sisko, her ass perfectly in line with Cole’s view. He sniffed. If she didn’t hightail it out of here, he’d be tempted to find a reason to put more pleasure on her face right damn now.

“Nah, I’ll help you.” She flipped the left stirrup over the saddle and bent down to loosen the girth from the horse’s belly. Cole’s cock jumped. He turned his back, grappling to get his testosterone under control. This is stupid, Haywood, he chastised silently. It wasn’t like he was lacking in the woman department, far from it. It was his reaction to this woman that drove him nuts.

Rylan dropped the saddle and blanket, undid the bridle and laid everything in a neat pile. Cole did the same, resigned to ignore her before he jumped her in the fucking hay. They turned the horses out, bumping shoulders as they walked back to the tack.

“Sorry,” she said, brushing her arm where he’d touched her. Her gray eyes raked his face, the tip of her tongue wetting her lower lip before she tugged it a little with her teeth. She reached for the saddle, her breasts bouncing under her white t-shirt.

That was it.

Cole cleared the space between them and grasped her upper arms in his hands. She gasped, eyes growing huge. He took in the stunning dark outline of her lashes against pewter irises and the rosy flush spreading across her cheeks. Her chest stalled while his sped up. Cole pulled her close, her breasts a whisper from his chest. If he pulled her in all the way, he’d lose it hard.

He ran one hand up her arm to her shoulder until the back of her neck was cupped in his palm. Rylan’s lips parted, her eyes locked with his. He wanted the taste of her mouth, the sensation of her skin on his. Barely aware of what he was doing, Cole walked her back against the stall door. Breath left her in a soft rush as she pressed against the wood. He waited for some sign of resistance, but found nothing but a wicked wanting in her eyes.

“Tell me not to kiss you,” he whispered huskily, dipping his head until his lips hovered over the curve in her neck. Her hands grabbed his waist and for a second, Cole thought she was going to push him off. But she pulled him closer until his hips met hers, and her fingers wound around his belt to hold him there. She smelled like vanilla and sunshine, and he couldn’t wait another second to see if her taste matched. He touched his mouth to her skin and kissed her bounding pulse, Rylan’s gravelly moan flaming him on.  Cole traced her pulse with his tongue, the sweetness of her heady and perfect. The shiver that quaked through her was an added bonus and he knew right then that he was in so much trouble.

 “Tell me to stop,” his lips cruised along her jaw. Please, tell me to stop before I lose myself in you. 

Rylan’s hand cupped his chin.  Her fingers clenched harder around his belt as she leaned up, her breath washing over his lips. And then his hat went flying and her hands were in his hair, her fingers twining in it hard and urging him closer.

“Don’t stop,” her breathy whisper barely popped out before he crushed her lips to his. Her lips were hot and willing, parting and meeting his every movement, little moans blowing into his mouth as he devoured her. He ran his hands down her sides, over the smooth architecture of her ribs to the curve of her waist and soft, delicious flare of her hips. Grasping her waist, he pulled her forward until his erection dug into her belly. She gasped, reflexively grabbing his back and digging her nails into his shirt.

Flecks of surprise nagged his brain. This felt right. She felt right. How the hell did her husband ever think she was plain? Rylan was a goddamn firecracker.

 “Ah, Cole?”  A throat cleared. A low chuckle. Cole whipped around. Jaxon Moore stood in the aisle a few feet back with a huge shit-eating grin.

“Christ!” Cole smoothed Rylan’s arms with his hands, a little dazed at losing the connection with her. Her heavy breaths and kiss-swollen mouth pulled him back like a magnet.

“We got a mare delivering breech. You best come along.”

Rylan’s eyes shifted to Moore and back again. Her chest heaved, goose bumps dotting her arms. “Go. I’ll get the tack.”

He hated to leave her there, looking all trussed and bewildered with all that smoke brewing in her eyes. Hell, what had he just done? She was the housekeeper, a woman with an indifference to children and some heavy secrets in her back pocket. No good was going to come of this, but hell if he didn’t want her anyway.

Cole swiped his hand across his mouth as he turned away. The sooner he got the taste of her out of his mind, the better or he was in deep shit.

Blog Tour & Prizes. Hey, I'm like a rock star or something!

Tour time. I've always wanted to go on "tour." It sounds so darn official, doesn't it? Like I'm a rock star or something. 

Prizes! Oh, do I have prizes. Follow along on the tour and enter to win at all the stops. Here's where you can find me:




October 29: It's Raining Books
November 5: Reading In Twilight
November 12: Long and Short Reviews
November 19: Susana's Morning Room
November 26: Rachel Brimble Romance
December 3: Harlie's Books
December 3: Musings From An Addicted Reader
December 10: Booklover Sue
December 17: Read Your Writes Book Reviews

In conjunction with prizes available during the book tour, I'll be giving away MORE THINGS along the way, including a $100 Amazon gift card & book packs from my favorite authors.

Start following the TEMPTING THE COWBOY tour on Tuesday, 10/29, and then visit back here on the blog on November 1st to enter to win a $100 gift card.

That would be a great way to start your holiday shopping, huh?

 

Entangled's Halloween Hop + PRIZES!

Join the All Entangled Eve Halloween Hop! Click on the badge above to visit SIXTY authors, each talking about Halloween and ALL with loads of prizes! My prize is a copy of my steamy, spooky paranormal romance, BLOOD OF ISIS! All you have to do is enter using the Rafflecopter form below. 

Halloween isn't just a holiday of sorts at our home, it also marks the change of seasons from fall to winter. Because we live way, way out in the country, we don't decorate much. No one ever comes to our place to trick-or-treat, which is pretty common for rural homes like ours. We live in a farming community, so the kids all gather in the small town to gather their candy. It's handier that way, than for moms and dads to drive from farm house, to farm house, all over the country miles. 

We love to decorate pumpkins, though, and put up some dried corn stalks as a symbol of fading fall. For many years, we've grown our own pumpkins. Small white ghost pumpkins, big fat orange ones, teeny variegated green and yellow ones. It's not uncommon to see our steps lined with many varieties--some carved, some painted on, some dressed up like fat little monsters. The thing I look forward to the most? Slicing up all the pumpkins I saved from my children's creativity, to roast in the oven and mix up for the first pumpkin pies of the season!

You can't welcome winter without a great home made pumpkin pie! Well, you can try...but I wouldn't recommend it!

To celebrate my upcoming pie, I'm giving away a copy of my spooky, sexy paranormal romance, BLOOD OF ISIS. It's perfect Halloween/cold weather reading! 

Passion isn’t the only thing that burns…

When a designer drug rocks the small town of New Brighton and makes junkies spontaneously combust, Paramedic Jayda Swenson suspects the worst. The super-methamphetamine her husband created before his death has resurfaced. She’s worked hard to create a safe, tidy life and put her meth-ravaged past—and her secrets—behind her. But when tourists start disappearing and charred body remains crop up, Jayda learns the hard way that this drug doesn’t just fry people’s minds—it also fuels demons.

Sexy new medic Ben Tierney is a demon-hunter in disguise, but his demon-busting powers don’t work so well anymore…until he realizes Jayda’s touch can refuel the energy he’s lost—a touch she’s not so willing to dish out. Now Jayda finds herself wedged between an ancient demon that knows her past and her secret, and Ben, who has plenty of secrets of his own. He’s willing to help—for a price—but Jayda’s not sure if it’s a price she’s willing to pay…

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Birthday: TEMPTING THE COWBOY + Giveaways

This day has been 11 months in the making! I signed my contract with Entangled Publishing this time last year, for the 3-book Paint River Ranch series, and for a while, it felt like book release day would never come!

But, here it is. Today is TEMPTING THE COWBOY's release day.

Join me in a collective, 'YAY!' will you?



 
Here's the deal:

I love gifs. As you can tell. Gifs make me happy, and trust me, with a job dealing with blood and vomit and other people's bodily fluids + wrangling my 3 crazy kids, I need all the HAPPY I can get.

The first person to read TEMPTING THE COWBOY and leave me a review on Goodreads with GIFS (honest reviews please-good, middle of the road, bad, doesn't matter. Your honesty is what counts) wins a bracelet similar to this one (colors and style may vary slightly). There, now you have two chances to win a pretty bracelet!

 To be eligible, you must have read the book and leave an honest review, with GIFS (or fan art would be great, too), on Goodreads. I'll pin them to TEMPTING's Pinterest page). First person to do so, wins!


Also in celebration, there are a couple really cool giveaways going on in TEMPTING THE COWBOY's honor. It's your chance to win a free copy of the book, and/or a river stone bracelet.

Visit my lovely friends to enter:

Laurelin Paige is giving away 5 copies of the book + a river stone bracelet.

Straight Shootin' Book Reviews is also giving away 5 copies of the book.

Go forth and enter. Better yet, go forth and enter the world of Paint River Rance. Deep in the heart of Montana ~ Sexy cowboys ~ horses...yeah. *dreamy sigh*

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

I'm a $3.10 Author

When I used to teach in the Emergency Services department at our local tech school, one of the first things the lead instructor and I would ask incoming class fresh-faced EMT-wannabes, is why they wanted to have a career in emergency medical services. I can tell you with utmost sincerity that the one answer we rarely heard was, “to make money.”

It’s a well known fact among EMTs, Paramedics and those in EMS, that the profession is one of the most seriously underpaid in the nation. Most students coming into the program know this upfront, and those that don’t, usually drop out when they figure it out. I work 32-40+ hours a week, on 8 and 16 hour night shifts, as an EMT for the city, and I make less than (you’d better sit down for this) $8,000 a year. That’s just about $600 per month, before taxes, to pull people out of cars, restart dead hearts, push medications and deal with drunken idiots, every day. Every week. Every month of every year.  A relative of mine is a paramedic, and literally, she’d make more working full time at McDonalds than she does as a hospital-based medic. 

I’ve done this job for fourteen years and I’m required to go through countless hours of training every year, hold several certifications and am held to a very intimidating care standard by the state, all for barely enough to cover my grocery bill every month.

So why the hell do I do it? Let’s be honest—that’s what you’re wondering. 

There are three reasons people get into this field: 

#1: They are an adrenaline junkie

#2: They genuinely feel called to help people

#3: Both of the above. 

That’s me, #3. I do feel like it’s a calling to do this job and my responsibility as a human being to provide care to others. When I first started writing fiction seriously, I realized that I was in for a similar financial ride that I’ve taken as an EMT—lots of hours and hard work, with probably very little financial payback to show for it. 

Considering my first royalty check was $3.10, I’d say I was right about that. But, just like EMS, I think there’s a calling—a passion-- in your heart to either be an author and pursue it seriously, or not. It’s what separates the writers who ‘think about it’ and those that simply go for it, financial gain, or no financial gain. The passion for creativity is what keeps you going, even after you see sales numbers that look like they’ve been run over by a semi a time or two—flat and non-existent. Even after receiving a $3.10 royalty check that you’ll never, ever cash because it’s not worth the gas to drive to the bank. 

Here’s the thing: As I come up on release day for my second book. TEMPTING THE COWBOY, I’m going into it with no real expectations except to have fun, just like I’ll keep getting covered in other people’s blood for the sake of the job, and maybe saving a life. It’s what I do. I’ve recently taken on a second full-time job as a care provider, working in the mornings before I run off to the night shift. It’s all I know, and it’s what I’ll continue to do--just like I’ll keep writing new words, creating new worlds and crafting new characters for you to fall in love with. 

If the passion is there, right? 

The next time someone asks you why you became an author, if you answer, “for the money,” I’m going to kick you out of my class. Wrong answer, sweetheart.  

Happy writing!

Homemade Medicine Keeps Me Writing!

Yeah, it's true. I've kind of got the crazy, "new age" thing going on. Sometimes I walk barefoot through the meadow and play in trees...I make daisy chains with my girls. I've, uh, been known to hug a tree, or two--literally--and I save baby bunnies and feed stray cats (seriously, all the pregnant cats on my country mile say, "Hey, go pop your kittens out at that human's house. She'll make you a warm bed and feed you and stuff.")

Sometimes, me. Sadly, without Flynn.













I grew up with naturalist parents. My mother had an admirable interest in and knowledge of medicinal herbs. This was something we loved to read about--and practice--together, and grew lots of helpful herbs in our vegetable garden. Because I'm a slacker, I haven't increased my knowledge much since my mother's death, but I do know this--

The settlers and Native Americans were onto something, man!

It's crazy to me that we're just now beginning to really, really understand the properties of plants that make them kick-ass medicine. I guess it's easier to pop a few chemical pills made from horse urine and nuclear waste, right?

 
 Heh. Ok, Ok, I'm all for modern medicine, of course--but I avoid it when possible. 

Cold and Flu Remedy from Simple Green Smoothies

Well, it's flu season. Colds. Ugh, strep throat. Pneumonia. They all suck. Because I want to be healthy enough to keep writing for you, and because I want you to be healthy enough to keep reading what I write, here's a wonderful recipe for an immunity-boosting, throat soothing "medicine" that I keep all year long. But especially in the fall/winter. I originally found this lovely recipe on Pinterest, and have modified it a little.

I *promise* that this "medicine" tastes better than radioactive horse pee. Promise!

I'm sharing the original recipe, which I found on Simple Green Smoothies.Click on their beautiful website for the recipe. You won't regret it. Their site is beautiful.




Here's what I do. I use the ingredients called for, lemons, honey and ginger. I only use local honey because I want to be exposed to all the local pollen I can get--it helps my seasonal allergies. Then, I brew three bags of green tea in a small amount of water (like 1 1/2 cups for 3 bags) so it becomes like a concentrate. In a quart mason jar, I mix a batch of the honey, lemon and ginger and then add hot tea concentrate over the top. Shake a little and set in your fridge. When you want hot tea, simply pour some in a glass and add hot tap water to taste. All the goodness is there, in a simple, easy step.

Even better--as long as  your lemons are covered with honey or tea, they won't spoil, so you can keep this remedy on hand for weeks at a time. I always make more so we're never without.

Enjoy and hey, wash your hands and cover your cough. PLEASE!

Happy cold and flu season. :)

Tempting the Cowboy Cover Reveal & A GIVEAWAY!

It's Here!

Toss the confetti, pour some wine and grab a handful of  hot Wrangler butt.

 

WHY? Because it's time to show you the super hot and sexy cover for my cowboy book, TEMPTING THE COWBOY! The book just went live for pre-order, which means, I have the go-ahead to share all the joy and smexiness that are Cole Haywood and Rylan Fredrickson on the cover.

 

 

But wait! What's TEMPTING THE COWBOY all about?

After taking a job on a quiet Montana dude ranch, ex-cop Rylan Frederickson finds herself surrounded by unbelievably sexy cowboys. Too bad the one she wants is her boss...and the single dad of a four-year-old. It doesn’t matter anyway, because after a recent tragedy, there’s simply no more room in her heart. 

Letting a new woman into their life is the last thing Cole Haywood wants for him and his daughter, Birdie. But as Rylan’s presence at Paint River Ranch breathes new life into his family he can’t ignore his growing attraction. 

 When the sparks between them turn into fireworks in bed, Rylan’s torn between the family she’s lost and the one she may have found. Now she must decide if something that feels this good is worth the risk.

ADD TO GOODREADS

Without further A-do:

 *Swoon* I'm swooning. Are you swooning? ARE YOU??  Well, hold on to your balance, because there's more. In honor of this first Paint River Ranch book, I'm giving away a gorgeous, custom made, river stone bracelet. Beautiful, polished river stones and brass clappers are strung on a one-size cord. Why river stone? There's a very special place at Paint River Ranch, and if you want to find out why the river stones are important.....

You'll have to read the book! 

(Come on, you had to see that one coming)

 

Enter with my friend, Rafflecopter!

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can find TEMPTING THE COWBOY (Official release, October 14th, 2013) on pre-order here:

 

AMAZON

Writing is a lot like Saving a Life!

It’s no secret that I’m an Emergency Medical Technician in my day job. It’s a gritty profession much of the time. Most of this time, this is me on 911 call:

 

However, many times, this job is one that takes my stress level through the roof and then makes me come crashing down like you wouldn’t believe. While I’m riding the high that precedes the crash-and-burn, I might be trying to save a life, or doing something as mundane as holding a bucket while my patient throws up. This, strangely, is the same set of feelings I get when I’m writing. 

The heart-pounding rush of typing at Superman speeds while the words just come pouring out, and then I’ve said all the things, and my characters have done ALL THE THINGS, and then, and then…I sleep for, like, a week because, oh, the crash-and-burn! Oh, the crash and burn. 

(Trust me. I wrote 15,000 words in 4 days recently, and I still haven’t recovered).

 

See, the thing is, writing is a lot like saving lives. 

 

The ambulance service I work for is also a training facility. We take in those so-shiny-you-need-to-wear-shades new EMT students and show them the ropes. In 14 years, I’ve done a lot of new-EMT hand holding, prodding, encouraging, discouraging, cringing and shaking my head. Some of my students have a natural ability to master the skills needed to save someone’s life. For others, it will takes months to years before they are fully capable. This is OK. This is expected. Why?

Because, like writers, some EMT students have the drive and passion for this job and an immediate ability, while others have the passion and drive, but need more time to stew, simmer and practice, practice, practice. One is not better than the other. Both can equal very good, skilled and reliable EMTs.

And writers!

This is me when one of my students NAILS IT!

 

I always tell my students to keep three things in mind:

• Fluency
• Competency
• Confidence

Fluency is when you know the steps needed to perform a key skill. Like intubating a patient by putting a tube down their throat to help them breathe. You can do it in your sleep; you can go through the motions in the blink of an eye and not falter. 

For writers, fluency is when the words simply flow from thought-based ideas into tangible paragraphs and sentences. The end result might not be what you’re expecting, but you still have the ability to go through the motions and get it done. 

Competency is when you can perform the steps for a skill in a way that gives the patient the utmost chance at a favorable outcome. In other words, it means you know what the hell you’re doing. You know the why, the how and the what-the-fuck to do if something goes wrong. 

For writers, competency is a misnomer. You can never really be competent in writing the story in your head, because, let’s face it—even the jumbled pile of horse crap that appears on your screen after a two a.m. impromptu writing session displays nothing of competency. Writing just is. Competency comes when you know how to take that pile of crap and polish it into a cohesive body of work, with syntax and plot and central conflict and an ending that makes sense. This takes skill, which is born of practice. 

This is me when my students does something really dumb (not at a patient's expense, of course. *shifty eyes*):

 

  
But I would never laugh at you. I promise.

Confidence is a must have for every EMT. If you’re not confident when you’re performing a skill or giving a treatment, you’ve helped no one. You will screw up. You will, likely, someday, kill someone. Confidence is not optional. The most fluent and competent EMT in the world will never be a  SAFE provider if she is not confident in her own ability to provide care. 

Writers, you will never get past the mountain that is writing, revising, revising, revising, critiques, revising, querying, rejection, rejection, rejection, rejection, and then, all of this again once you land an agent and go on house submission, if you are not confident. It must be there, in some small way, so that you can mold and conjure it into a much bigger lump of confidence-clay, to help you succeed. Confidence doesn’t come early and it doesn’t come often, but it must be there. And it must be there when you need it for something crucial, like querying or sending off you manuscript to critique partners. If you don’t believe you have what it takes to do this job, you’re going to kill all those characters in your head. 

In the process, you’ll hinder your ability to ever be fluent and competent. 

Remember your writer CPR:

Confidence

Practice

Repeat.

Or just do this a while. Guaranteed to make you feel better, if nothing else:

 

NOW GO WRITE SOMETHING!