Mean People

So my birthday was on my Monday and I had planned on blogging (with pictures included!), but my camera didn't work so no pictures were taken. Besides the camera issues, I scrapped the blog idea for a topic much more important: Mean People!

One of my author friends called me recently. She was terribly upset because someone had bashed both her and her books on the Internet. During a Google search, she had found the post that ripped her apart.

"Why are people mean?" she asked me over the phone. I wanted to sit there and call the author of the blog nasty names to defend my friend. I wanted to sooth her hurt feelings and make her feel better. I didn't call anyone names but I did try to ease her hurt. While doing so, I thought about why people don't like certain books or whatever.

Have you ever watched a movie and the main character reminded you of someone you know? I did. I love the movie The Waitress. I love the story line, most of the characters, even the main actress is one of my faves, but I cringe every single time the main character's husband appears on the screen. You see, the husband in the movie looks exactly like a guy who used to beat on my relative. It hits to close to home for me. If I was more sensitive, I'd probably hate the movie just because that one actor.

Back to books... I once had a new critique partner. She started reading Confessions and couldn't get past the first chapter. She sent back a nasty note with my manuscript that went something like: Wendy, it is impossible for people to sell their babies. It just doesn't happen. You won't ever sell this book to a publisher and I'm not going to critique it for you. I was pissed and wanted to ask her if she ever watched Lifetime because damn it, people do sell their babies. It isn't legal but since when do laws stop some people? Never. Just so you know, my mom was sold as a toddler and Confessions is #1 bestseller for romantic suspense on my publishers site! Anyway, I later found out that my new critique partner couldn't stand my story because it hit way too close to her own life. The stuff going on in my book reopened issues she had in her life.

I explained all that to my friend. Sure, the person didn't like her book and we don't know why since it is taboo to comment to negative posts. Something in my friend's novel might have struck a nerve with the poster of the blog. Maybe one of the characters reminded her of someone she once knew. My friend needed to just brush off the fact that the blogger didn't like her book.

What wasn't acceptable is the crap she talked about my friend. We never know when someone we talk about is going to read our blog so why should we make comments like "I would rather die than read anything from that author again" (that wasn't what was said. I made that statement up). I think that is a lot worse than saying, "I didn't like such and such in the book because..."

There is a difference between stating your opinion in a respectful way and being mean. So, my friends, that is all for this Wednesday! Have a great evening and I will talk to you soon.

Wendy Ely

Telling secrets with Confessions!

This is one of my favorite current releases so I thought I would share it with you since it has been awhile!

Excerpt: (www.lyricalpress.com/confessions

Jordan sat down on the couch and patted the floor in front of him. “Sit down. Let me get those knots out.”

She took a few steps in his direction, stopping out of his reach, afraid to let him touch her. If he touched her, then she’d fall madly in love with him all over again. That couldn’t happen.

She watched as he leaned forward far enough to grab her by the hand. He pulled her to him.

“Are you sure you want to?”

“Yes,” he said. He guided her down to the floor between his legs. Before leaning back, she slipped her t-shirt off, revealing the navy tank top. His strong hands slid over her skin and she sunk back against him. She’d forgotten how strong he was, how needy she felt when he touched her. As if by magic, her body slowly began to relax underneath his touch. He kneaded her skin with the palms of his hands. The more he touched her, the more she felt at ease. She leaned forward a bit, making his legs embrace the rest of her body. His hands trailed down the length of her back toward the top of her jeans. A small moan escaped her lips. If only he would go lower.

“Feel good?” The words floated through the air like music from a past dream.

“Mm hm.”

He rubbed the small of her back, his hands working every muscle imaginable. “Remember when I would rub your feet each night after work?”

“The best part of the whole day.” His hands. His voice. He had cast a spell over her.

“I loved those times with you, Chels.”

Butterflies swarmed in her stomach, breaking up her intoxicated sensation. Chels? He used to call her that when they were teenagers. He was the only person who’d ever had a pet name for her.

“Me, too,” she mumbled.

“That’s what has gotten me through until now. Those memories of us from before you disappeared.” His hands stilled, but she could feel their heat against her.

Damn it! Tears welled in her eyes. He couldn’t see them, she wouldn’t allow him to. She scooted away him his touch, far enough away so she could stand up on her own without using his assistance.

“I’m sorry, Jordan. We shouldn’t be doing this.”

“What are you talking about, Chelsea?” He tried to grab her by the hand again but this time she walked away from him. She went over to the windows, dried her eyes and then turned around.

“I told you everything, so now I should go.” She walked past him toward the stairs.

“No, you won’t.” The words were ice cold. It seemed like his massage had been some sort of dream.

She froze. “What do you mean, I won’t?”

“Let’s get something clear. Okay?”

She slowly turned around. She had never heard this tone from Jordan in the whole time she had known him. It scared her.

“What?”

He stood up from the couch and walked over to her. His hands jammed into his jean pockets. “There’s a choice to be made here,” he said. “You either stay here to help me locate my daughter or I contact the authorities.”

www.lyricalpress.com/confessions

No longer an author!

My first book (Jesse's Brother) came out 1 year and 10 months ago! It has been a magnificant journey as an author but I've known that my writing career has been slowly slipping away. I haven't done much author stuff in the past 10 months. It tears me apart. My miss the life of being an author... you know... fan mail requesting your next book, edits, getting the new cover, and the great reviews. I feel like it is all over for me because I just don't have any time to write, edit, and submit new material. I've known this was coming, but it really hit me last night when I opened up my royalty statement for March. The day had finally come.... I had reached the month where I didn't sell one single book. It took 1 year and 10 months to get there but it hurts, dang it! I need to write. I need to sell books. I need this life back. So if you're up to a new read feel free to stop by here www.lyricalpress.com/wendy_ely and grab one of my books! Talk to you soon, Wendy Ely

Midnight Secrets contest!

Happy Wednesday, everyone! I'm sad to say that I'm a bit late with giving away a copy of Midnight Secrets since it came out last week! If you've read Confessions, you need to hop on over to www.lyricalpress.com/wendy_ely to get a copy or leave me a comment to be entered to win one! Why? Because the herione in this book is the sister of Chelsea in Confessions!





And here is an excerpt from the book:



“Guess who, Alli?” the male voice asked.

The voice. The nickname. She didn’t have to turn around to know who stood behind her. “Let go of me,” she demanded. She twisted to make him let go of her. Once she saw the face, she froze. It seemed as though all those years that had gone by came rushing back. So did the urge to slam her knee into his groin, which she never had gotten to do the last time she’d seen him.

Mitch laughed and patted her head as if she’d suddenly grown a long tail, sprouted fur, and turned to barking as a form of communication. “Oh, not happy to see me?”

She shoved his hand aside and stepped out of his reach. “Don’t ever touch me.” How had such a good day gone so shitty in a heart beat?

“Chill out, so we can talk.” He reached for her again, but she moved out of the way before he could put his slimy hands on any part of her.

Her arms crossed over her chest. “What should we talk about? Maybe the fact that you blew me off to marry some bimbo? Or perhaps it was keeping your children a secret and putting me down?”

His face froze. Shock maybe? “Oh, that.” Had he actually thought she’d forgotten what had happened? It was possible that the incident had completely slipped his mind. He reached for her, but she put her hand up to block his touch. “I came back to see you and our kids. Don’t you miss me? Don’t they?”

“You haven’t seen your son since he was two. You’ve never seen your daughter. Hell no, they don’t miss you. They don’t even know you!” She spun on her heel and stomped to the door. If she stayed outside with him one more minute, she was likely to knock his ass out. He’d deserve it too, but landing in jail wasn’t on her to-do list. She slammed the door a little too hard behind her.

“Go hide in your little hole, Alli, but you’ll have to see me sometime. Wilson is a small town and I’m back for good.” He must’ve walked up to the door to yell those words at her, because she could hear them clear as glass, even with the door shut.

Once she was certain he had left, she crumpled to the floor and leaned up against the counter. Her face dropped into her hands. She cried and then cried some more.He couldn’t be back. Why would he step forward now and claim to be a father? It just didn’t make sense, but that didn’t matter. He could take her to court, do a paternity test, and force visitation rights. How would the kids react? Probably not very well. Her body shook with deep sobs. She was so deep in her sadness, she didn’t even know anyone had come into the bakery until strong arms pulled her against the brawny chest she’d missed.

“Miguel,” she started to protest and put half an effort into pulling away.

He rubbed her hair and said, “Shh. It’s okay to cry, honey.”

She quit fighting and rested her head against him. Tears continued to run down her face. “I’m making your shirt wet.”

He held her tighter. “All I care about right now is that I’m here for you.” Miguel kissed the top of her head, making her heart swell.

After a few minutes, she pulled from his embrace. “I’m really sorry.” She stood up.

“For what?” He got up from the floor and looked at the bare walls.

“Not calling you at all and then making your shoulder all soggy.” She wiped another tear from her cheek. “I hate crying.”

He waved at her. “It’s okay. You can use my shoulder to cry on anytime.”

~~~~~

Don't forget to leave a comment so I can give away a copy of Midnight Secrets and I'll talk to you soon!

Wendy Ely

A little peek...

At the new cover for the second book in my Desert Secret Series! Midnight Secrets will be released in November so watch later this year for excerpts! Anyway.... I had to fill out a paper describring what I envisioned for the cover. I wanted it to have a similar style to Confessions but with different people (the main character is Chelsea's sister Allison!) and I think Renee Rocco did a brilliant job!

Here's Confessions excerpt just in case you haven't read it yet:

Jordan sat down on the couch and patted the floor in front of him. “Sit down. Let me get those knots out.”
She took a few steps in his direction, stopping out of his reach, afraid to let him touch her. If he touched her, then she’d fall madly in love with him all over again. That couldn’t happen.
She watched as he leaned forward far enough to grab her by the hand. He pulled her to him.
“Are you sure you want to?”
“Yes,” he said. He guided her down to the floor between his legs. Before leaning back, she slipped her t-shirt off, revealing the navy tank top. His strong hands slid over her skin and she sunk back against him. She’d forgotten how strong he was, how needy she felt when he touched her. As if by magic, her body slowly began to relax underneath his touch. He kneaded her skin with the palms of his hands. The more he touched her, the more she felt at ease. She leaned forward a bit, making his legs embrace the rest of her body. His hands trailed down the length of her back toward the top of her jeans. A small moan escaped her lips. If only he would go lower.
“Feel good?” The words floated through the air like music from a past dream.
“Mm hm.”
He rubbed the small of her back, his hands working every muscle imaginable. “Remember when I would rub your feet each night after work?”
“The best part of the whole day.” His hands. His voice. He had cast a spell over her.
“I loved those times with you, Chels.”
Butterflies swarmed in her stomach, breaking up her intoxicated sensation. Chels? He used to call her that when they were teenagers. He was the only person who’d ever had a pet name for her.
“Me, too,” she mumbled.
“That’s what has gotten me through until now. Those memories of us from before you disappeared.” His hands stilled, but she could feel their heat against her.
Damn it! Tears welled in her eyes. He couldn’t see them, she wouldn’t allow him to. She scooted away him his touch, far enough away so she could stand up on her own without using his assistance.
“I’m sorry, Jordan. We shouldn’t be doing this.”
“What are you talking about, Chelsea?” He tried to grab her by the hand again but this time she walked away from him. She went over to the windows, dried her eyes and then turned around.
“I told you everything, so now I should go.” She walked past him toward the stairs.
“No, you won’t.” The words were ice cold. It seemed like his massage had been some sort of dream.
She froze. “What do you mean, I won’t?”
“Let’s get something clear. Okay?”
She slowly turned around. She had never heard this tone from Jordan in the whole time she had known him. It scared her.
“What?”
He stood up from the couch and walked over to her. His hands jammed into his jean pockets. “There’s a choice to be made here,” he said. “You either stay here to help me locate my daughter or I contact the authorities.”

****

And if you want to get a copy of Confessions, it's available at www.lyricalpress.com/confessions

Talk to you soon,

Wendy Ely

Happy "Read An Ebook" Week!!

What are you doing right now? Not reading an ebook? Shame, shame! It's Read An Ebook week so you should be (smile!). As some of you may know, I write for two publishers now and find it wonderful that Captiva Press officially opened their doors this week with their premier book release. Okay... the book isn't mine but you should hop on over there and check it out anyway. It looks great!

Want to find a new ebook to read? My publishers are http://www.lyricalpress.com/ and http://www.captivapress.com/ and you can find some great reads there! Other favorite ebook publishers of mine are http://www.sapphirebluepublishing/ and http://www.ravenousromance.com/. And yes, these really are favorites of mine and nope, I don't get paid to advertise... I really do like them.

Some of my favorite ebook authors are Buffy Christopher (okay... she's my critique partner), Rebecca Rose, and Piper Denna. And don't forget me and my blog partners!

My ebook releases so far:

Confessions:

Can Chelsea and Jordan find their child, and rediscover each other?
When Chelsea Montgomery vanished eleven years ago, her hometown thought she’d been abducted. In truth, she'd given up the daughter she'd secretly had with Jordan Case.
Now he confronts her to help find the child. With a little girl's fate hanging in the balance, will the uneasy partnership -- stained by the past -- transform into something else?

Buy it here: www.lyricalpress.com/confessions

Jesse's Brother:

One woman, two men: a single summer to choose between them.
Sacrificing a summer to fix her relationship with her mother and find out what’s troubling her father isn’t so bad...right? Wrong. Or so Samantha learns upon her return to Portland.
As if family drama wasn’t bad enough, first comes Noah. Then comes Jesse. Samantha is torn between the way her heart skips a beat each time Noah looks at her, and the way Jesse’s touch make her yearn for more.

Buy it here: www.lyricalpress.com/jesses_brother

Hey, what are you still doing here? Go treat yourself to an ebook and I'll talk to you soon,

Wendy Ely

Themes and family~ A tie that binds!

My post is not about me getting nominated but I'd like to announce Tierney's novel along with mine (Jesse's Brother) have been chosen to compete for Book of the Month over at Dark Diva Reviews. Have some time? Stop on over and vote!

http://darkdivasreviews.webs.com/bookofthemonthpoll.htm

Thanks for the being patient. Now on to the blog post:

I recently took a workshop given by a wonderful author. She mentioned something (I don't remember her exact words) about every writer having a theme in their books. She asked if we knew what our 'theme' was. My critique partner, Buffy Christopher and I were talking about this the other day because she figured out that her books all focus on the heroine trying to save herself. Every book of mine has had the characters dealing with family issues of some type. In Jesse's Brother, Samantha is home to deal with issues she has with her mother and adores her father. In Confessions, Chelsea has to face her dysfunctional family after her disappearance so many years ago had convinced them that she'd been abducted. My release for 2010 has a heroine who a normal family but doesn't desire to have a connection with them.

If you know me on a more personal level, you probably know I have a lot of family issues and I admire people who have healthy relationships with their family members. It's the holiday season and it has gotten me thinking about families and my book theme. For awhile I believed the theme came up from the issues I have and have tried varying up a little since who wants to read family drama all of the time, right? So I went further back in my life to see if it held in relevance.

My mom had been a single parent and ran a foster home for most of my childhood. I often felt alone and on the sidelines. I started reading V.C Andrews at a young age so I believe my attraction to family issues goes way back then what my family is like today.

What about you? If you are writer, do you notice a theme in your books? For the readers, do you tend to gravitate toward a certain theme? How do these mirror your life?

Can't wait to hear your thoughts on this!

Wendy Ely

New Book Trailer and Nanowrimo update

It's almost time for the release of Confessions so I decided I needed to finish up the book trailer. And I LOOOOVE it! I'll be giving away a free copy of Confessions the week of the release so watch for it :)

As for my nanowrimo project.... I have figured out another problem I've encountered over the past year. I used to be able to sit down and whip out a few thousand words a day with no problem. I could write a novel in 2 months. Now that I've most of the year doing book edits from the publisher, I've unlearned how to write quickly. Even when I know what's coming next I can't seem to do it. Needless to say, Nano-novel is moving along at a snails pace. I probably won't finish it but have done a few great but dark scenes. If you remember, my goal is to add 50,000 words to an already written novel so I can break through that hurdle of writing short novels. So now the novel is long-er but not long yet!

Wish me luck and let me know what you think of the new trailer!

Wendy Ely

It's that time...

I can't believe November 1st is right around the corner. It really is hard to believe since we don't have the falling leaves, coats to snuggle up in, or even pumpkins dotting doorsteps of neighbor's houses. We are the only ones in our apartment complex with pumpkins. To me, it seems more like any other time of the year but what it really is. We've been having 100 degree days, chilly nights, and bright sunny days. To get into the holiday spirit, I'm watching more horror movies with daughter (who loves them!) and wrapped Christmas presents already. We also made a gingerbread haunted house a few days ago and will be carving pumpkins soon. Maybe I'll break down and put the Christmas tree up earlier. It's a whole lot different than the holidays were like while growing up in the Pacific Nortwest!

Besides the holidays, Confessions will be released November 16th! I'm so excited because I LOVE this book!

Blurb:

Can Chelsea and Jordan find their child, and rediscover each other?
When Chelsea Montgomery vanished eleven years ago, her hometown thought she’d been abducted. In truth, she'd given up the daughter she'd secretly had with Jordan Case.
Now he confronts her to help find the child. With a little girl's fate hanging in the balance, will the uneasy partnership -- stained by the past -- transform into something else?

And a teaser for you:

Jordan sat down on the couch and patted the floor in front of him. “Sit down. Let me get those knots out.”
She took a few steps in his direction, stopping out of his reach, afraid to let him touch her. If he touched her, then she’d fall madly in love with him all over again. That couldn’t happen.
She watched as he leaned forward far enough to grab her by the hand. He pulled her to him.
“Are you sure you want to?”
“Yes,” he said. He guided her down to the floor between his legs. Before leaning back, she slipped her t-shirt off, revealing the navy tank top. His strong hands slid over her skin and she sunk back against him. She’d forgotten how strong he was, how needy she felt when he touched her. As if by magic, her body slowly began to relax underneath his touch. He kneaded her skin with the palms of his hands. The more he touched her, the more she felt at ease. She leaned forward a bit, making his legs embrace the rest of her body. His hands trailed down the length of her back toward the top of her jeans. A small moan escaped her lips. If only he would go lower.
“Feel good?” The words floated through the air like music from a past dream.
“Mm hm.”
He rubbed the small of her back, his hands working every muscle imaginable. “Remember when I would rub your feet each night after work?”
“The best part of the whole day.” His hands. His voice. He had cast a spell over her.
“I loved those times with you, Chels.”
Butterflies swarmed in her stomach, breaking up her intoxicated sensation. Chels? He used to call her that when they were teenagers. He was the only person who’d ever had a pet name for her.
“Me, too,” she mumbled.
“That’s what has gotten me through until now. Those memories of us from before you disappeared.” His hands stilled, but she could feel their heat against her.
Damn it! Tears welled in her eyes. He couldn’t see them, she wouldn’t allow him to. She scooted away him his touch, far enough away so she could stand up on her own without using his assistance.
“I’m sorry, Jordan. We shouldn’t be doing this.”
“What are you talking about, Chelsea?” He tried to grab her by the hand again but this time she walked away from him. She went over to the windows, dried her eyes and then turned around.
“I told you everything, so now I should go.” She walked past him toward the stairs.
“No, you won’t.” The words were ice cold. It seemed like his massage had been some sort of dream.
She froze. “What do you mean, I won’t?”
“Let’s get something clear. Okay?”
She slowly turned around. She had never heard this tone from Jordan in the whole time she had known him. It scared her.
“What?”
He stood up from the couch and walked over to her. His hands jammed into his jean pockets. “There’s a choice to be made here,” he said. “You either stay here to help me locate my daughter or I contact the authorities.”

***

Are you in the holiday spirit? If not, what pushes you along? Let's chat!

Talk to you soon,

Wendy Ely