Holiday Reading Fun with L.A.

Christmas time already?

Absolutely!

Besides the season of gift giving, for me, it's also a time for holiday themed reading. My little tradition of sorts began on a trip to visit my boyfriend in Chicago about 5 years ago. This was by far not my first time in Chicago, but it was by far my most memorable Chicago trip--perhaps 'cause I was all happy and in love. 

Anyway, knowing my love of books, stopping at the mega bookstore on Michigan Avenue was a must! Being all happy and in love, I promised not to take too long. Believe me, that was challenging!  

Like any time I visit a bookstore, I wasn't looking for anything in particular--certainly not a Christmas book! Who does that?

Me. My eyes fell upon a shiny covered, festively adorned Mary Higgins Clark book and I knew I had to have it. 

A Christmas mystery by the worlds most beloved mystery and suspense author!

I was sold immediately. And ever since at this time I my reading eyes crave CHRISTMAS! 

I invite you to have some holiday reading fun with me! From now until Christmas  I'm going to post a holiday themed book for your consideration.

And it's okay if you don't finish it by Christmas Day. You won't get in trouble, I promise.😉

The Shoebox & the Essence of Motown Literary Jam & Writer Conference

Who knew that a shoe box would have anything to do with a writer's conference?

At the Essence of Motown Literary Jam & Writers Conference this past weekend I started learning stuff before the workshops even began. I was sharing a vendor table with fellow author Tenita Johnson and the fact that she was still working on her setup when I was finished in under 5 minutes was the first sign that I was about to be schooled. On her side of the table was a lollipop-filled mug, strips of words of encouragement, colorful magnets highlighting her book's message, along with the standard business card and promotional items. Sure, those things were awesome in and of themselves but when she slid a shoebox under the tablecloth, elevating her book above everyone else's--hot damn! I marveled at the ingenious!



Notice the extra decor on the other side of the table.

 Lucky for me the trunk of my car is like traveling storage container and there was a box--not a shoe box but a box nonetheless-- inside that I can use for the occasion. Worked like a charm. Don't get me wrong. I didn't sell any books, but that's not why writers attend writer conferences. We go to learn how to sell and write books better.

And learn I did!

This post would be endless if I tried to list everything I learned at the conference. Instead I'll direct you to my Twitter account. Look for tweets with hashtag #eom2012, #mwn.

Til my next post. Happy reading!

Sincerely,
L.A.

Another One Bites the Dust

Oops I did it again..." Unfortunately, not whatever Britanny Spears was talking about in her smash hit in the late 90's. Rather, it seems, I've made another petty thief happy in the city. It was a Friday afternoon. If not for my apartment needing extermination, I would have been at work. Anyway when the time came for me and the kids to leave the apartment for a few hours I decided to take them to the carnival on our city's Riverwalk. Not only did we need something to do, but my sister had informed that the event was free until later that evening so I figured this was an opportune time to support the city. Humph.

If only I hadn't already taken my laptop with me to breakfast and the park near my home, it would have been safely at home. Instead, as I'm always trying to find opportunity to write, I'd brought it with me.

So we arrive at the event, park on the street in a pretty decent area-SO I THOUGHT!

It would seem some punks in the city picked the street I parked on to randomly check for unlocked cars to see what they'd luck up on. That day it would be my laptop!

Pure luck for them. Not so much for me. I may have been dumb enough to leave my friggin' doors unlocked but not dumb enough to leave my laptop out in the open. It was tucked under the seat, no cords exposed. But those bums rifled through every place but the trunk of my car.

And yes, I did say this is the second time this had happened--the first time my mom was using my car & my laptop was inside when she left the doors unlocked to run into the corner store. That time was worse because my tote bag WITH my laptop AND flashdrive inside was taken. Everything was lost. Literally. I practically had to start my novel over, which I could use as an excuse for why I'm behind schedule with publication.

Nevertheless, I was able to look on the bright side of things-my car was not damaged in any way nor were me or my children.

Surprisingly I haven't run out to replace my laptop. While lack of available funds play a significant role in that fact, I also have to admit that I don't really make that much progress with my writing on the laptop anyway. Most of my writing happens on my desktop at my day job--on breaks & lunch, of course. I just like the laptop for for occasions of trips to the coffee shop, library, or vacations.

It's safe to say that whenever I do get another laptop, it will always be kept on my person when I take it out of the house. Enough is enough!

When you take your laptops out and about with you, how do you protect it?

Summer Book Giveaway!!!

Three years I conjured up the nerve to publish the manuscript that I'd been nursing for nearly ten years. It was both the scariest and the most rewarding time of my life.

What better way to celebrate this accomplishment than to reward book lovers everywhere with the chance to win a free copy of Unfinished Business, a story of an addiction to love and/ or lust months before the follow up novel is released.

Just subscribe to my blog, tell me about your addiction to lust or love. All new subscribers will be entered into a drawing to win the ebook edition or a printed copy. You choose.

Good luck!
L. A.

Back on the Writing Grind--Maybe Not

Two weeks ago, I was on a good writing streak. A writing everyday kind of a streak, making real progress. Then I suddenly found myself involved in planning a wedding in a very short period of time so it's easy to imagine how distracted I became. Checking out venues, orchastrating the order of ceremony, looking at dresses, planning the reception, etc. Needless to say things started getting crazy real quick. In a matter of days I realized that it was a complete waste of time opening my document up on the computer screen because I couldn't write a thing!

When the madness finally came to an end I thought I'd easily get back on track. After a couple of days, I did. I was going back over a chapter that I'd previously completed but wanted to revise because of something I'd written in a chapter further down the road. According to this article I read here Write It Sideways I wasn't writing at all. My favorite foe procrastination had reared it's ugly head, which clearly explains the frustration I've been feeling over the past week or so. Running around in circles is what I've been doing.

This article inspired me to STOP! The scene I've been working on is still not perfect--but, will it ever be? Whatever the case, it's time to move on.

Hope you find this article as helpful as I have. This looks to be a very helpful site that I'll surely be putting on my regular reading list. What do you think?

Unfinished Business Reader Review

Check out this reader review then get your copy of Unfinished Business (e-book or paperback) today!

L.A. Jefferson

From: "HARRIS, NIKKI N" <nh1565@att.com>
Date: February 9, 2012 2:27:58 PM EST
To: "lajefferson1@yahoo.com" <lajefferson1@yahoo.com>
Subject: Unfinished Business

Unfinished Business provided an excellent storyline that kept me hooked until the end (Gotta love a surprise ending!!). The writer did a great job of feeding readers tidbits of information without spoiling the ending. Ladies, you will find the main character very easy to recognize if not in yourself then in someone you know! A Great Read that I highly recommend!

Take Care and Many Blessings Lacharmine!

Nikki Harris

NaNoWrMo

Right now thousands of people are in the final days of the National Novel Writing Month Challenge (NaNoWrMo) where participants challenge themselves to complete a 50,000 word manuscript in the 30 days of November. Of course, I'm no stranger to this challenge having tried it for the first time last year. I didn't come close to meeting the goal but I was proud of myself for taking on the challenge. It's a very interesting experience. Unfortunately, this year, I've been hard at work on my upcoming novel, Reconciliation to Hell, which is a spinoff to my first novel, Unfinished Business, so I didn't dare try to take the challenge. What I did do, however, was challenge myself to meet the 50,000 word count for November on my project.

Nope. Didn't come close to the goal, but not for lack of putting forth great effort!

But, I did move farther along than I would have had I not challenged myself at all. So, the moral of the story is, DON'T BE AFRAID TO SET HEFTY GOALS! And CELEBRATE YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS AT EVERY LEVEL!

While November is quickly slipping away, I still have my ULTIMATE goal of completing my manuscript by 12/31. So, my challenge continues...ROOT ME ON!!!



No More Excuses, Only Results

This past Saturday, October 8, I attended the monthly meeting of my beloved writers group, Motown Writers Network. I was so proud of my determination in attending the meeting--on time, at that! Go L.A.! Go L.A.! If my memory is correct, I haven't made it to one of our meetings since the early part of the year. Anyway, on to the point of this post. As is our custom at the beginning of the meetings, all in attendance introduce themselves and share their challenges & successes. For me, as I'm in the process of writing
my second novel, I found myself expressing the same challenge that I had when I was writing my first book, Unfinished Business , over 10yrs ago--writing the book!

Now that just shouldn't be the case! I know my writing mentor and Motown Writers Network founder, Sylvia Hubbard, gets tired of hearing me say the same thing. Heck! I'm getting tired of hearing me say the same thing. It's funny, though. I hear myself saying, "I've got to do so and so with the kids." "I find myself staring at the screen and not typing enough words." "Ive got a lot of outside activities that take up my free time." Blah, blah, blah. I know full well that every other writer in my circle and beyond have the same life obligations. If they can complete their manuscripts in reasonable timeframes, so should I, right? Not to compare myself to others, but I know that I can do better.

Actually, that's the whole point of attending the meetings. You can't attend and NOT be encouraged & inspired to DO better, regardless of your personal challenge. That's why my new motto for my writing life and beyond is, "No More Excuses, Only Results!

What about you? What challenges do you need to overcome?

LaCharmine Jefferson,
Author of Unfinished Business, the story of one woman's addiction to the wrong man for the wrong reason & what she risks to get him out of her system for good.

Paperback at http://lajefferson.blogspot.com/

Ebook at http://smashwords.com/books/views/40425
Website: http://www.lajefferson.com/

My Blogs:

A Day in the Life of L.A. Jefferson @ http://lajefferson.blogspot.com/
All Things Love @ http://all-things-love.blogspot.com/
Twitter @lajefferson
Facebook @lajefferson

My Latest Writing Inspirations

As summer days crawl to an end, I'm gearing up for completing my 2nd major writing project. I'm hoping to complete the manuscript by the Christmas holiday season. Wish me luck! In the meantime, I've been filling my days listening to some very motivational writing books via Audible Books application on my iPhone. LOVE IT! Anyway, the first book I listened to was "The 30-Minute Commute" by stephanie Dickison. Ms. Dickison is a non-fiction writer on a variety of subjects including book and restaurant reviews, articles, essays, columns, profiles, etc. The book was a memoir about her writing life. Interestingly, I wasn't expecting that to be what the book was about--tells you alot about how I purchase books--but I was delighted, nonetheless. Immediately I was inspired by her recounting of the years she spent working at her day job and trying to find time in the evenings and on weekends for her writing life. I know ALL TOO MUCH ABOUT THAT! From there she goes on to explain how long she contemplated leaving the day job to writing full time. The most interesting and profound thing she said was something like this, "The time to leave ones day job is solely up to the individual. Most importantly, it's not for everyone. There are some writers who thrive off of having something else to do while writing and publishing on the side." So basically, the choice is for the individual writer. YOU choose how you want to live "the writers life!" The next writing book I purchased, which I'm currently listening to as we speak, is Telling Lies for Fun and Profit by Lawrence Block. Now, I almost didn't buy this book because it was copywritten waaaayyyy back in 1981, but believe me when I say  its content are timeless. Right now, I'm up to chapter 9, which is all about beginner writers preparing ones self for rejection when sending out ones work for publication. Is this relevant in this "self-publishing" dominated publishing industry, you might want to know? I say yes! Because, quite frankly, self-publishing IS NOT for everyone! However, there's been one thing Mr. Block has said thus far which spoke volumes to me as an aspring SUCCESSFUL, WORLD-RENOWNED author! It was somewhere about Chapter 6 or 7 in which he's discussing whether or not an aspring writer--specifically college students, but aspiring writers just the same--should prepare for other career options as they work on their writing careers. Simply stated, Mr. Block contends that "preparing for another career when you know that you want to be a writer equates to preparing for failure as a writer." Isn't that powerful? I mean, sure, we all have to pay the bills as we pursue our writing goals BUT earning a paycheck to pay the bills is not the same as pursuing another career which will surely take a greater level of time and dedication, which should rightfully be allocated towards your writing goal IF you're serious about it. Basically, if you treat your writing as a side gig, that's exactly what it will be! After hearing those words, I made some decisions. For starters, I'm done pursuing promotions on my day job. The last thing I need is more work, responsibility, and stress during the day. My job keeps me busy enough while allowing some freedom and peace of mind to explore my writing. Secondly, I'm going to give up my Avon business. It's pretty senseless operating a business that's not making any money AND taking up pieces of my time that I could be using for my WRITING business! From now on I'm going to be writing like my life depends on it and you should too! If I come across anything else interesting in my listening I'll let you know. And feel free to let me know what you know good :)

Share your writing motivations! How are living your "writers" life?

Writers Benefit from Taking Their Own Advice

Ever found yourself listening to the words that were coming out of your own mouth? Have you ever done so and thought to yourself, "Wow! You're one smart cookie!"

I've had a few such occassions. Most recently I was giving a pep talk to my teenage daughter about her (our) desire to lose weight. WAIT! Before you say, "Losing weight has nothing to do with writing" and you move on to the next blog post, hold on a sec. The advise that I gave her applies just as much to ones writing goals.

1. Starting out, don't focus on your longterm goals. Instead, set small, measurable goals. For weight loss that small goal could be something like eat a fruit or vegetable with each meal. For writing, it could be a goal of writing for 15-20 minutes each day.

2. Keep your focus on what you want out of this effort. Obviously, for weight loss the BIG picture is to lose weight, but this piece of advice is about the longer term goal. For a teenager, it may be to lose at least 3 dress sizes by prom, which is anywhere from 1-4 yrs. For a writer, it may be to make it on a national bestseller list. In order to do that, you have constantly work on your craft and network. This could mean taking writing classes in the areas where you may be weak. Seeking out honest critiques of your work--not from family and friends. Attend conferences & workshops. Start out with the free ones. There are plenty to choose from in just about every city!  Don't just write stuff for the sake of publishing. Write for the sake of perfecting your craft. The more involved you get, the more work you'll see is involved in making your literary dreams come true. But, if you stay focused on what you want out of this--whatever that is for you--there'll be no doubt it's worth every effort.

3. Don't compare yourself to others. When trying to lose weight, it always seems like everyone else around you can eat whatever they want, not workout, and still have awesome bodies. Now, when we see people like this, we don't know a thing about their genetic make-up, whether they're using weight loss supplements, whether they're throwing everything up when they get home, or whether they have a plastic surgeon's number on speeddial. Point is, you'll drive yourself totally mad trying to compare apples to oranges. It's no different with writing. Don't compare how many followers you have on Twitter compared to another author or how many readers purchase the books of another author at a book event compared to yourself. On the outside looking in, you don't know the struggle of that fellow author that has gotten them to the point where they are today. For all you know, you may be comparing yourself to an author who's been in the writing & publishing game for 10+ years compared to your 3. I'm telling you, just watch a few of those episodes of Behind the Music or Unsung. Take note that most superstars didn't start out that way. Many were signed to their record labels for years before they actually gained any notoriety. It's no different for writers. The most important thing you can do is keep working towards the longterm goals.

Taking my own advice, here are a few short-term goals that I'm working on:

Work on your book, blog, newsletter, website a minimum of 3 times per week.
Forget about self-imposed deadlines for your book, just keep working on it weekly 'til it's done!
Tweet at least once a day about your current book or upcoming book.
Retweet something interesting by another author.
Comment on another's authors' website, blog, or FB page.

Your Author Friend, L.A. Jefferson
Website: http://lajefferson.com/
Follow me on Twitter @lajefferson

Author L.A. Jefferson's Discussion with 4 Kicks Book Club Meeting--May 2011

Earlier this month my novel, Unfinished Business, was the featured selection for the 4 KICKS book club. Consequently, I was invited to join the discussion. Since debuting my novel in 2009, this is the second time that I've received such an invitation so I was just as excited AND nervous as I was the very first time! Let me tell you, this was a VERY lively and fun group of women to discuss my novel with. To get the party--oops--meeting--started the ladies and I toasted with shots of Petrone! I did say lively, didn't I? LOL! Anyway, the meeting was ALOT of fun--reminded me of my own book club days! At the end of the day, the ladies and I had so much fun, they invited me to come back for other book discussions. I gladly accepted the invitation!

Below are some questions and comments that stemmed from the discussion.

Q.  What was your inspiration behind the story?
A. Honestly, it began with my personal to recapture the essence of my first love. The story evolved into what often happens when two people reconnect after years of separation only to realize that--after the ups & downs of life's experiences--they are no longer who they were when that love was born between them.

Q. What was the deal with Lena? Was she bi-sexual, lesbian, or just extra kinky?
A. Surprisingly, the word "lesbian" never came to mind when Lena's character was created. I simply envisioned her as a woman willing to go to great lengths to give her man whatever he wanted in the bedroom. Now, the real question is whether her motivation was to satisfy her man or control him?

Q.  On the night of the bridal shower, did Roy really sleep with Christian, the woman he met that night or did he just want Lydia to think that he did so she could realize what she was on the brink of losing?
A. I left that one open for the reader to decide...

"I'm glad that there was a couple in the book on the right track. It was refreshing to have that balance of Black love."

"As fine as Officer Chris Boyle was, I wanted to see him hook up with somebody in the story! He was too fine to end up by himself."

My question to the group: "What was your opinion of the end of the story? Was it a realistic or unrealistic end?"

"Personally, I couldn't see it happening like that, at least not so soon."

"I wouldn't say unrealistic, but it'd definitely make me want to know what happened later on down the line with the characters' relationship."

Networking Tips--Mailing List

Just arriving home after attending a Glam R Us event, I find myself still pretty excited from the networking opportunity that it turned out to be. The event was a demonstration to attendees on makeup application for everyday and evening occasions. However, the gracious host, the Glam Doctor--being the giver that she is--also allotted approximately 10 minutes for attendees with their own businesses to promote their business by turning in a business card for her to read off to the audience. In hindsight I kind of remember the event details advising business owners to bring business cards with them but that was furthest from my mind as I trudged on to the event after a very exhausting day at work. BUT, I've heard it in enough writer's meetings to know that I absolutely MUST ALWAYS HAVE ON HAND some kind of promotional material for my book and myself as an author because networking opportunities have no bounds!

So that is more like a refresher networking tip to remember--Always keep a stack of business cards/promotional flyers on your person (i.e. in your purse, coat pocket, vehicle glove compartment,etc). Here's what I didn't think about--creating a quick makeshift mailing list. Why? Even though it wasn't my event, those who expressed interest in my book may have been eager to join my list. Fact is, just because someone takes your card doesn't mean they're going to make use of it--or at least not any time soon, if they don't lose in the pile of other cards they collect. On the other hand, if they are willing to give you their email address for your mailing list, a shift of power now exists for you, the business owner--in my case, author--has the control to reach out/follow up with that potential reader. For example, one of the women who took one of my cards mentioned that she was in a book club and that she'd love to recommend my book to her club. Awesome, right? Absolutely! Good news with her is that she also gave me her card so I do, at least, have a way to follow up and I certainly will! But that wasn't the case with some of the others :(

Anyway, as you see, on this literary journey there are always things to learn, but I was very pleased with my application of everything that I've learned thus far in the game and I hope you have, too!

Til Later..L.A. Jefferson

It's the New Year! Let's Get it!

It's 2011! I know, I know. You had so many hopes and plans for 2010. Some things you achieved, some you didn't, but in the coin phrase of 2010--LET'S GET IT! Meaning there's no time for mourning the goals you didn't reach for 2010. Whether it was finishing that novel you started so long ago (or not so long ago), getting your webiste up and running, creating your newsletter, or whatever...it doesn't matter.

Now is the time to re-prioritize. Create a new set of goals with the most important ones from 2010 at the top of the list. Move forward and have a positive mindset. If you haven't joined a writers group you should. They can be instrumental in helping you as a writer to stay focused. For example, my writers group, Motown Writer's Network challenged us to write for 15 minutes everyday and we're supposed to bring our work to the 1st meeting of the year. How's that for motivation?

Anyway good luck on whatever you set your mind to do in 2011. LET'S GET IT!

2010 Recap & 2011 Outlook

2010 has been the most exciting year for me as a new author. To just think there's so much that I didn't do but I'm still proud of what I did do. For starters, I dedicated significantly more time to my craft this year. I attended 2 major writer's events: Literary Meet & Greet and the Motown Poetry Jam & Literary Conference. Just recently I began setting aside time for writing AWAY from home. Having learned that under no circumstances am I going to get a lot accomplished at home because I'm surrounded by too many other obligations, I've concluded that I must get away. Borders Book Store has become my place of refuge. Being surrounded by what I love most--new books--I'm instantly inspired. And as long as I stay off the Internet everything I accomplish during those 90 minute to 2 hr sessions is significantly more than I would at home.

Although I wasn't successful, I set some pretty high goals for myself this year. One of them was entering the 30 day National Novel Writing Month contest where participants try to complete a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. As for my current writing project, the goal was to have the 1st draft completed by 12/31/2010. I haven't given up. There's still 2 1/2 wks left in the year and anythings possible, right? The ultimate goal is to be published by June 2011.

Since I've jumped into 2011, I might as well get into my 2011 outlook. Delegation, delegation, & delegation. Yep, I'm going to be delegating some of these self-publishing responsibilities beginning with my website. Admittedly, I like the layout & design of my website, but there's a lot more that I could do with the site IF I had the time to invest in it. My time needs to be spent writing & promoting my work!

As for writing goals for 2011, they are to publish my second novel, Reconciliation to Hell. Next, I plan to finish writing my first non-fiction book. Lastly, I plan to have my quarterly newlestter up & running--1st edition due 1/2011. Sounds like enough, right? And to think I didn't even mention the number of workshops, conferences, & writing classes I plan to participate in. Oh, and how could I forget book promotions!!!

I'm exhausted already! Wish me luck!

Do Over

Okay. Here's where I am on my current project. Let me forwarne you that it's quite a shame--at least by own standards but I'm trying not to beat myself up too much. After all, it's not how you start but how you finish, right? Anyway, I started writing a new version of Reconciliation to Hell sometime in the spring. If you've read my post you'll remember my self-imposed deadline of having the draft completed by the end of summer. CLEARLY, that didn't happen, but we move on...So, I've been trudging along a little bit (and I do mean a little bit) at a time with chapter one then finally chapter two. Over the last couple of days, for some strange reason, I wasn't feeling these pages as the start of the story. It just wasn't sitting right with me but I sooooo did not want toss the pages. What a waste that would have been? After pondering what to do with these pages that were really an introduction to new & return readers on where the main character's state of mind is coming from before I really get into the depth of this story line, I decided to make the pages I've gotten to so far the prologue. Although it makes perfect sense I still can't help but feel like I haven't accomplished anything as I'm now staring at a blank page entitled Chapter 1. Heavy sigh.

Guess I better get busy. It's hump time FOR REAL. December 31st is the new deadline for the 1st draft. I'm shooting for no less than a chapter a day!

Talk about Happy Friday

Last Friday was a good day. At my day job I had the opportunity to participate as a vendor in which the proceeds were to benefit our company's United Way Giving Campaign. It's funny that I ordered 10 copies of my book a couple of weeks ago in preparation for the event and I planned on ordering some more but time got away from me. Anyway, the morning of the event I found myself to be a nervous wreck! Why? I don't know considering it was my very coworkers who would patronizing me along with the other participating vendors. Well, before I could even set up my table good I'd made a sell of two books! Immediately, I became nervous that I didn't have enough books if that was indicative of how my sells were going to go for the day. Luckily, I had two more copies sitting in the cabinet at my desk. By the end of the day I sold all my inventory of books! I was ecstatic. My weekend was definitely off to a great start. And to top it all off, not only did I have promotional items available with all of my contact & book information,  I even remembered to have available a mailing list for passer bys and those who purchased the book so I can keep them abreast on my work. Girlfriend is stepping up her game, right???

Summer Update 2010

It's 2 o'clock in the morning and my sleep was rudely interrupted so I figured since I'm awake I'd post to my block since I haven't done so in about a month. If you read my previous post you know that I challenged myself to finish the first draft of my upcoming book, Reconciliation to Hell, by the end of the summer/beginning of school. Well, while I'm not even close to the end of the book I am, however, at the end of the first chapter. I know it's nothing to shout about but a girl's gotta celebrate the small milestones too, right? Since I'm in a celebratory mood, I might as well mention a couple of other milestones for a local self-published author pursuing literary stardom. After nearly 5 years of being a member of Motown Writers Network, a network of primarily metro-Detroit writers & authors, I finally attended the annual Literary Meet & Greet, an event providing local authors a forum to introduce themselves to the community of readers and writers. And get this...not only did I attend the event, I also had promotion material available! Believe me, that's a pretty big deal. As an author I'm an entreprenuer of myself, my product and I've got to treat it as such. I've got to advertise, advertise, advertise every opportunity I get...like at the African World Festival this weekend. I didn't pass out as many of my flyers as I should have but I did give a few out. Anyway, the Literary Meet & Greet proved beneficial for a number of reasons. For one, I had the opportunity to speak about myself and my book. For two, I met a book reviewer and an Internet radio host who has openings for guests. Lastly, I was inspired to keep perservearing to be my #1 promoter and keep at it. Practice makes perfect, right?

Now, before I get too sleepy I better pull out my document and see what progress I can make in the next hour that I plan to be awake

Got Another One

Coming up with ideas for books is the best part of being a writer. At the same time, it can also be one of the most frustrating aspects, too. Why? Because the ideas practically fall from the sky. Ideas can sprout from ones own dreams & fantasies--like my story of Unfinished Business, which began from my own desire of reconnecting with an old flame. They can also come from ones real life dramas, such as my upcoming novel, Reconciliation to Hell, which deals with a couple's reconciled marriage that leads them both on a path straight to hell. Then the surrounding world is filled with ideas too! For example, I was watching a clip of Beyonce and her mother on the Today Show. As usual they were talking about their closer than closer mother/daughter relationship, right? Right. Then I began thinking, why doesn't she (Mrs. Knowles, that is) ever speak about the younger Knowles girl, Solange??? Have you ever noticed that? It's always about Beyonce and her mother. NEVER the other sister. Even when they talk about Beyonce's nephew--he's known as Beyonce's nephew NOT Solange's son. If it were me, I'd be pretty ticked about it! So my imagination gets to running...MAYBE Solange is not Mrs. Knowles daughter. Mayber she is the daughter of Matthew Knowles and some other woman. Hmmm. To my knowledge, this fact has not been brought to light, but truth or not, it sparked an idea for me to create a story about it. NOW that story could take many forms. I won't give it away now and I'm not fearful of anyone taking the idea because one story can be told from countless angles. Stay tuned...

L.A. Jefferson, April 2010

What's an Author To Do?

Okay, for a minute there my books were selling like hotcakes! At work I was selling like 2-3 books a day as the word spread about my recently published novel. It was really cool! Things have slowed down quite a bit, but that was to be expected. What I didn't expect to learn is that, rather than some people buying their own copy, they've been reading a book purchased by someone else. WTF??? One coworker was walking past me the other day, and she was like, "Girl, I didn't know you wrote a book." Then I'm thinking, cool, she wants to buy one. WRONG! Then she says, "Yeah, so and so gave me a copy and I was like, L.A. Jefferson...that woman on the back cover looks just like LaCharmine. Then OHHHH that is LaCharmine. I'm liking it so far..." While I was glad she was enjoying it, I would have much rather preferred she bought her own. But, it happens, I know. I, myself, have borrowed someone else's copy of a book. Not because I was too cheap to buy my own, but because they offered it to me. Soooo I won't cry over spilled milk. What I will do is push my book sales even harder to compensate for the those darn book sharers!

1st Book Club Discussion of Unfinished Business

Needless to say I was pretty geeked up about the book club discussion of my book, Unfinished Business, on this past Saturday with The Sistas Book Club. In fact I was so geeked up that I couldn't even attend a coworker's birthday party on the night before the book event. I needed a full night's sleep so that I could have all of my barrings about myself. This was, after all, my first time talking to a group of readers of my book in such close proximity. Talk about getting down to the nitty gritty. As an author, the bottom line is the readers, right?

I went to bed and woke up with thoughts of how this event was going to transpire. What was I going to say? Most importantly, what were they going to say? What were they were going to ask me? Would my responses flow like water running from a faucet or be lumpy & bumpy like rocky road ice cream? Believe me, unless you rehearse talking about your book--like my mentor, Sylvia Hubbard, advised me years ago--it is possible to stumble over your responses about your own work. Not because you don't know it through and through, but because of simple nervousness. Anyway, I didn't want that to be me. Even though this would be my first group discussion of my book, I didn't want it to appear that way, you know what I mean?

At the end of the day, I came through with flying colors. I was thrilled that my story was so well-received and created so much fun conversation! An array of topics was broached, including: friends' involvement in friend's relationship decisions, the revolving door factor of relationships, how ones personal atrocities can affect ones career, and can a man be as forgiving as a woman when he's been wronged in the relationship? If I didn't say the discussion was lively, it was!

As much as the book was liked by the book club members, I'd be lying if I said there was no criticism. One woman commented that she would've liked more sex scenes--details, details, details. Honestly, I won't be feeding into that one. I'll leave that for the romance and erotica authors. The most surprising critique by two of the members was that the story started off slow. As the author, I thought I pretty much jumped right into the story. In fact, I wondered if jumping in so quickly was a mistake. But, the harshest criticism one member noted was that she could tell this was a first book, BUT she wants to read more from me. Hmmm. How would you take that? My first inclination was one of negativity, even though it is my first book. However, an author doesn't necessarily want readers to be able to tell it was a first. We want it to appear as though we've been writing for years. But I'll take it for what it's worth--there is room for improvement and I look forward to doing so with my next project.

So, as I continue on my path to literary stardom, I thought it was important to share this first major stepping stone. Hopefully, this will be the first of many book club discussions that I'll be involved in as the feature author.