Hey Readers,
Since my last post I've learned one thing, I need to have a little more faith in my work. When I was reading some of my comments from the last post, I realized how nervous I am about everything all the time. I think it all boils down to first impressions. People are entitled to have their opinions about everything, and some people really let you have it. I think my nerves boils down to making the right first impression for me. I don't care about having negative comments, but I'd rather have good ones first. You know, being a new name has a better chance if you have good recommendations and a few dislikes. It's harder when you start off with terrible comments and then you try to improve later. Well, the latter is something I don't want to be faced with and I'm sure every new author has been nervous about their first review.
Anywhoo, I haven't been home since Friday and I've already gotten a lot of work done. I stayed up until two a.m. this morning just to finish Chapter 1. I have been procrastinating for the past month. At first, I was always distracted with my sister and her horrible kids living in my house, but by the time I get two hours alone, the last thing I want to do is write since I be screaming for sleep by the time they leave the house. Thankfully my other sister let me crash at her house and I slept half of Saturday. Then, I got up to cook dinner, because I was expecting my mother and I wanted to at least have everything on the stove by the time she walked through the door. I got a little housework done and got kids squared away. Folding clothes is not something I do often. I hate it with a passion, but I actually washed and folded my clothes and washed my mother's clothes too. After we ate, I slept from then until Sunday. Now I actually woke up pretty early Sunday. My church traveled to Dallas yesterday, so I didn't have to worry about missing service. I'm still a kid at heart, so I watched cartoons until about noon. I have to watch my Smurfs and Winx Club on Sundays. After that went off, I grabbed my laptop and said I have to finish this chapter. I had promised myself that I would finish it, but the weekend was almost over and I was about to break another promise to myself. Of course, I had to procrastinate one last time, so I played one of the yahoo trial games. Ya'll know those trials only last an hour, so I didn't actually start writing until one. I actually got a little buzz going on and that's when my other sister's boyfriend called my mama. He was like, his daughter called and said somebody was trying to break in the house and both my sister and she were out of breath. He was talking to her and the phone cut off. He tried calling back but the line stayed busy and that’s when he called the police. He doesn't have a car so he's stuck at his parent's house. That's when my mama, my other sister and her kids, and I drove down there. Before all of this, my granddaddy had left like at seven that morning and my sister had had her car broken into while at work. She's even heard people messing with her car and our dogs barking frantically when my mother and I aren't home. My sister gets involved with strange people, so I thought she had pissed off the wrong person. We stay deep in the woods so it seemed ridiculous for somebody to break in our house. I mean, first of all, somebody had to find us and where we live, you won't find us if you aren't looking for us. However, with the past instances, to me, it made sense that if somebody was after her they would wait until she was home alone with her kids.
Now we get down there and we meet the cops coming out of our road. We get to the house and my sister came back to the car and said our niece and nephew had been playing on the phone. I come in, my oldest sister is fussing and my granddaddy is sitting on the arm of the couch. I didn't even know he had come home. You see my sister was in the bathroom taking a bath. When she came out to get dressed, her youngest son told her that the cops were outside. Of course, this was the very first time my sister or my granddaddy was hearing anything about this alleged break in. It turns out that my oldest nephew had lied to his other grandmother and he was acting like he was his sister. Ya'll know the bad girl that I told ya'll about in a past post that I got into a fight with. I told you she lies, so it made sense that she would've done it. Everybody thought she had done it, but the one time she was telling the truth nobody believe it until she started explaining her case and her story matched ours. Anywhoo, my nephew told they granny that somebody was breaking in so she past the phone to her son, which is their father. Our phone lines are nigga rigged so one wrong move can unplug the lines, which is exactly what he had done and didn't know it. Therefore, he didn't get a chance to tell his daddy he was only joking. That explains the phones mysteriously cutting off during the conversation. It also explains why the line stayed busy when we were trying to reach them, which is why their father called the police. Our grandfather said that the police wanted them to talk to the children, because if our number shows up for real the next time it would seem like The Boy Who Cried Wolf. You know the law doesn't condone whipping your kids, but being from a southern black family we read the bible and we firmly believe in the scripture that says, "Spare the rod, spoil the child." To each it's own, but I am glad my mother whipped me. I turned out perfect fine, so did my sisters, so did my mother and her siblings, and their mother and so on and so forth. There is a difference between chastisement and child abuse, which is where most people get confused...end of story.
Anywhoo, I finally made it back to where I was staying for the weekend around three something. I went to the store and made it back to my laptop around five. I stayed on my laptop from five until two this morning. Counting the hour I wrote before I was interrupted, I spent a good ten hours working. Now you see what I can get done when I'm not bothered?
Finishing my first chapter is, for me, the most important stage in writing a book. Finishing the first chapter is like signing a contract for me. You know once it's finished, I'm stuck until the contract expires, or rather, the last chapter is finished. The first chapter is the most difficult for me because it determines how the rest of the book will go. It's like my road map, and after I finish my map, the rest just comes naturally. I have nine chapters to go and if I work at this rate, I will be meeting my two month deadline.
Now the second most important stage for writing a book, for me, is the cover. I usually start working on my cover anywhere after the hallway point, but a ways before the ending. Then, I release it. Releasing a cover creates your "buzz." It also serves as motivation to complete your book. Of course, it's tempting to throw your book out, or ideas rather, when you haven't finished chapter one. However, I find it just as easy to throw in the towel when you are chapters into a book, but you just happen to get stuck. You can end up with writer's block anywhere from a few days to a few years. It took me a few years with my first book, but everything after that I only had it for about a week tops. Anyways, when you get stuck and you know you want to continue, just create your cover and release it. The cover not only makes it seem real for you, but it makes you feel like you have to finish because if you don't you'll look like a quitter to your fan base. Then at that current time, your fan base is so small that you'll do anything to keep them, so the last thing you'd want to do is release a cover and a book summary, and then rip it all away as soon as the public gets excited about it.
Anyways, that's my advice for the day. Of course, when you accomplish one thing, another problem arises. I am beginning to tap into a whole-nother genre and I feel like I am starting over with everything, but I'm willing to take that risk. With that being said, I am going to start another blog, but I don't know what it should be about. It is solely for my YA author image, but I'm not looking to do any type of review. I think review blogs are too common and starting one would just give me more work. I barely have time to write, let alone read and critique. And then there is this blog, my followers from here knows that I talk about whatever comes to mind on this one, so the last thing I need to do is start another blog just to do the same thing. After all, things would become sort of redundant and that's the last thing I want. I still want my topic to be YA fiction related, but I want it to be out of the box. If you have any suggestions, please let me know in a comment or just email me at qbreean@yahoo.com. Your advice would be greatly appreciated.
Until next time, tell me what you think...
Queen B.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Monday, June 18, 2012
I Scored My First Book Review---6/18/2012---2:40 p.m.
Good Evening Readers,
In my attempts to increase my number of followers, ya'll know the old trick, follow for a follow, everybody does it or has done it in one point in time...well I got in touch with a blogger who does book reviews. She is the writer of http://curseofthebibliophile.blogspot.com/ but that is just one of the many blogs that she manages. She volunteered to do this review and I immediately agreed. You guys should know by now that I jump at things and then think about the consequences later. Well, about an hour after I agreed to it, I got really nervous; after all, reviewers can be brutally honest at times and if she didn't like it, I'd be screwed. This was a few weeks ago and I never saw the review. My friend said he saw it, but that was during the time that I took my books off sale. When I realized my review could've went away with my books, I panicked and I immediately contacted Kate earlier last week.
Anywhoo, a few minutes ago I logged onto my email and I had an email from Kate. She had posted her review in four different spots:
1) Her Blog: http://curseofthebibliophile.blogspot.com/2012/06/what-it-took-to-get-her-part-1-boss.html
2) Shelfari: http://www.shelfari.com/books/26697037/What-It-Took-To-Get-Her-%28The-Boss-Bitch-Chronicles%29/reviews/3632108
3) Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3E5MS1WKOINVO/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B0066CAPC4&nodeID=133140011&store=digital-text
4) Librarything: http://www.librarything.com/work/12701493/book/86825735
They all, of course, have the same review, so if you want to, just click on one of the links to see it for yourself. Thankfully, she loved the book and I'm sure you will too.
Until next time,
Queen B
In my attempts to increase my number of followers, ya'll know the old trick, follow for a follow, everybody does it or has done it in one point in time...well I got in touch with a blogger who does book reviews. She is the writer of http://curseofthebibliophile.blogspot.com/ but that is just one of the many blogs that she manages. She volunteered to do this review and I immediately agreed. You guys should know by now that I jump at things and then think about the consequences later. Well, about an hour after I agreed to it, I got really nervous; after all, reviewers can be brutally honest at times and if she didn't like it, I'd be screwed. This was a few weeks ago and I never saw the review. My friend said he saw it, but that was during the time that I took my books off sale. When I realized my review could've went away with my books, I panicked and I immediately contacted Kate earlier last week.
Anywhoo, a few minutes ago I logged onto my email and I had an email from Kate. She had posted her review in four different spots:
1) Her Blog: http://curseofthebibliophile.blogspot.com/2012/06/what-it-took-to-get-her-part-1-boss.html
2) Shelfari: http://www.shelfari.com/books/26697037/What-It-Took-To-Get-Her-%28The-Boss-Bitch-Chronicles%29/reviews/3632108
3) Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3E5MS1WKOINVO/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B0066CAPC4&nodeID=133140011&store=digital-text
4) Librarything: http://www.librarything.com/work/12701493/book/86825735
They all, of course, have the same review, so if you want to, just click on one of the links to see it for yourself. Thankfully, she loved the book and I'm sure you will too.
Until next time,
Queen B
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
What's Going On---6/13/2012---10:06 a.m.
Hey Readers,
First of all, What it Takes to Keep Her is finished, minus a few editing issues. For those of you who are new to this site, What it Takes to Keep Her is the second book in my Boss Bitch Chronicles trilogy, so in the meantime, you can pick up your copy of the first book, What it Took to Get Her, on amazon. Just type in Boss Bitch Chronicles and they all should pop up. You can expect the second one to be release in August or September, because I am thinking about publishing this one through Lighting Source. Until then, my manuscript is literally on the floor in a binder behind my bed.
Anywhoo, in my last post I informed you that I am working on my first YA fiction novel. Well, I am still on Chapter 1 of that. I'm still living in a noisy house, so it gets pretty hard to concentrate at times. My only real issue is is how to promote. Queen B has a blog, a twitter, a facebook page, and several blog networking accounts. I'm trying to decide whether or not to create separate accounts for my YA persona. I am stuck on that, so will you guys please voice your opinions on that one.
Things are slowly picking up for me. I finally have a somebody to handle my PR. She doesn't start until August, but I'm happy to at least have somebody to do it. Now all I have to do is focus on writing.
Until next time,
Queen B.
First of all, What it Takes to Keep Her is finished, minus a few editing issues. For those of you who are new to this site, What it Takes to Keep Her is the second book in my Boss Bitch Chronicles trilogy, so in the meantime, you can pick up your copy of the first book, What it Took to Get Her, on amazon. Just type in Boss Bitch Chronicles and they all should pop up. You can expect the second one to be release in August or September, because I am thinking about publishing this one through Lighting Source. Until then, my manuscript is literally on the floor in a binder behind my bed.
Anywhoo, in my last post I informed you that I am working on my first YA fiction novel. Well, I am still on Chapter 1 of that. I'm still living in a noisy house, so it gets pretty hard to concentrate at times. My only real issue is is how to promote. Queen B has a blog, a twitter, a facebook page, and several blog networking accounts. I'm trying to decide whether or not to create separate accounts for my YA persona. I am stuck on that, so will you guys please voice your opinions on that one.
Things are slowly picking up for me. I finally have a somebody to handle my PR. She doesn't start until August, but I'm happy to at least have somebody to do it. Now all I have to do is focus on writing.
Until next time,
Queen B.
Monday, June 4, 2012
My Books Are Of Sale For A Few Days---6/4/2012---12:10 p.m.
Hey Guys,
Another church member of mine called and asked me how to get to my book. I admit it, I sent her on a wild goose hunt like I do with everybody else who asks. My mother even asked me why I did the article if I didn't want anybody to find my book. To stop with all the questions, I just simply told people I took them off sale for grammatical corrections. My sister talked to me and she was saying, "I can't believe you wrote that. I didn't even finish the first two chapters because I didn't want to read anymore. It's just not a good look if you are in church every Sunday." (Or rather every other Sunday in my case). My pastor's wife is a second mother to me, so my sister and my mother asked me what I'd do if she found out. Now to be honest, I would tell her the truth. I wouldn't want her to see it for herself, but I would tell her. That way she wouldn't be surprised and at least she'd hear it from me. I just respect her like that. Anywhoo, I was feeling amazing after my last post. I was even getting ready to go out Friday night and I made the mistake of calling my sister while I was getting ready. She killed my entire mood with her guilt speech until I couldn't even focus on having fun that night. I came home at one in the morning...and that's early for me, because I usually get home later than that. I was panicking and everything, because It was Friday night and ya'll know I don't have Internet access at home. I eventually called a friend of mine and told him I need some help. I sent him my account information and he unpublished all my kindles. I later went back and edited my paperback in hopes that it would go away too. Well I found out this morning that my paperback was still online and you could still open it up and preview the chapters. All it said was currently not for sale or something like that. That's when I thought, well if I can't get this down, then I might as well put the Kindles back up. I had a couple people telling me, "No, don't take them down yet! I can't get one until I get paid." I did it anyway. When I woke up this morning, I looked at my royalty records and something hit me. I said, "Hey, I'm losing money." So I had to put my books back on sale. I haven't gotten a steady job yet, because I'm waiting until I move to Baton Rouge. So far, writing is my income. That's why I put them back on sale and you should be able to see them on Amazon again within the next 48 hours...sorry for the inconvenience.
However, I did come up with a pretty good compromise. I will be continuing to write what I love...erotica, under Queen B. I don't know if I told you or not, but I was planning on doing a young adult fiction series after I finish with my erotica series. Well I'm just going to put my erotica on hold until I write the first book young adult fiction book. I'mma try to have it finished in two months. It's going to be a rush job, I know, but desperate times call for desperate measure. Anywhoo, it's just going to be a decoy to satisfy all those people who are so proud of me that they can't imagine me writing erotica. Instead of publishing it under Queen B, I'mma use my first name for those and I will let you guys know how to access them. That way the people who read my erotica can find my young adult fiction, but not vice versa. And if they do find it, so be it...they'll get over it, but nobody's going to mess with my love or my money. Just pray for me ya'll, because I am just one big, walking contradiction.
It's amazing how you grow up in the time you are waiting for a prayer to be answered. My idea for this book is just ten chapters and 250 pages. I am really pushing myself especially since I only average about ten to twelve pages per chapter, so I am really pushing myself. It's a good push though. I actually like trying this new genre. It's easy writing erotica and if you've ever read my book, you know I go hard and I don't bite my tongue. Now going from that to a clean teenage novel is challenging, but very interesting. I haven't read YA fiction in three years, but since I've been writing, I've noticed that it is a popular genre to write. I didn't know why then, but I understand it a lot now. Honestly it took me two days to write five pages. I usually could write a chapter a day when I'm not bothered, but not with a clean book. It pushes me to use better judgement and it pushes my abilities. Anybody can write erotica, but take all the explicit content out of what we write and make us fill it in with something clean is the challenge. It's even harder for me to create the perfect teenager that only says the occasional "hell" or "damn," especially when every to ten year old I know curses and acts way older than they should. Anyways, be expecting to hear about that one soon.
Until next time, tell me what you think.
Queen B.
Another church member of mine called and asked me how to get to my book. I admit it, I sent her on a wild goose hunt like I do with everybody else who asks. My mother even asked me why I did the article if I didn't want anybody to find my book. To stop with all the questions, I just simply told people I took them off sale for grammatical corrections. My sister talked to me and she was saying, "I can't believe you wrote that. I didn't even finish the first two chapters because I didn't want to read anymore. It's just not a good look if you are in church every Sunday." (Or rather every other Sunday in my case). My pastor's wife is a second mother to me, so my sister and my mother asked me what I'd do if she found out. Now to be honest, I would tell her the truth. I wouldn't want her to see it for herself, but I would tell her. That way she wouldn't be surprised and at least she'd hear it from me. I just respect her like that. Anywhoo, I was feeling amazing after my last post. I was even getting ready to go out Friday night and I made the mistake of calling my sister while I was getting ready. She killed my entire mood with her guilt speech until I couldn't even focus on having fun that night. I came home at one in the morning...and that's early for me, because I usually get home later than that. I was panicking and everything, because It was Friday night and ya'll know I don't have Internet access at home. I eventually called a friend of mine and told him I need some help. I sent him my account information and he unpublished all my kindles. I later went back and edited my paperback in hopes that it would go away too. Well I found out this morning that my paperback was still online and you could still open it up and preview the chapters. All it said was currently not for sale or something like that. That's when I thought, well if I can't get this down, then I might as well put the Kindles back up. I had a couple people telling me, "No, don't take them down yet! I can't get one until I get paid." I did it anyway. When I woke up this morning, I looked at my royalty records and something hit me. I said, "Hey, I'm losing money." So I had to put my books back on sale. I haven't gotten a steady job yet, because I'm waiting until I move to Baton Rouge. So far, writing is my income. That's why I put them back on sale and you should be able to see them on Amazon again within the next 48 hours...sorry for the inconvenience.
However, I did come up with a pretty good compromise. I will be continuing to write what I love...erotica, under Queen B. I don't know if I told you or not, but I was planning on doing a young adult fiction series after I finish with my erotica series. Well I'm just going to put my erotica on hold until I write the first book young adult fiction book. I'mma try to have it finished in two months. It's going to be a rush job, I know, but desperate times call for desperate measure. Anywhoo, it's just going to be a decoy to satisfy all those people who are so proud of me that they can't imagine me writing erotica. Instead of publishing it under Queen B, I'mma use my first name for those and I will let you guys know how to access them. That way the people who read my erotica can find my young adult fiction, but not vice versa. And if they do find it, so be it...they'll get over it, but nobody's going to mess with my love or my money. Just pray for me ya'll, because I am just one big, walking contradiction.
It's amazing how you grow up in the time you are waiting for a prayer to be answered. My idea for this book is just ten chapters and 250 pages. I am really pushing myself especially since I only average about ten to twelve pages per chapter, so I am really pushing myself. It's a good push though. I actually like trying this new genre. It's easy writing erotica and if you've ever read my book, you know I go hard and I don't bite my tongue. Now going from that to a clean teenage novel is challenging, but very interesting. I haven't read YA fiction in three years, but since I've been writing, I've noticed that it is a popular genre to write. I didn't know why then, but I understand it a lot now. Honestly it took me two days to write five pages. I usually could write a chapter a day when I'm not bothered, but not with a clean book. It pushes me to use better judgement and it pushes my abilities. Anybody can write erotica, but take all the explicit content out of what we write and make us fill it in with something clean is the challenge. It's even harder for me to create the perfect teenager that only says the occasional "hell" or "damn," especially when every to ten year old I know curses and acts way older than they should. Anyways, be expecting to hear about that one soon.
Until next time, tell me what you think.
Queen B.
Friday, June 1, 2012
My Book Is In A Library---6/1/2012---9:33 a.m.
Hey Readers,
Once again I overreacted. It's different with strangers than with family. Put me in front of anybody, tell them anything you want about me, and I could care less what they think or what they say. Put me in front of family and I guess I just don't want to be a disappointment. I guess anybody can relate to that. Anywhoo, my sister came over after she got off work Wednesday evening and gave me a copy of the paper. The was the very first time that I wasn't on the front page, but I was actually kind of happy about it. My article was on page nine and it really did me justice. The headline had my name on it and beside my name said "Moving Up The Ladder of Success." She started of by calling me a mover and shaker. Then she ended the article by saying I was destined for greatness. The entire article took up almost half the page. It was awesome and I really am proud of it. It's one thing to have people calling me and saying, "Hey, you're in the paper again. I loved the article now tell me how I can get to your book and check it out." It's another thing to actually see the article myself.
So I got another call yesterday morning from the local library. I only picked up because I thought it was my mother calling. Instead, it was her manager. My mother had showed her my article and she wanted to check out my book. She was looking on Amazon and she couldn't find it. I know why she couldn't find it. She and everybody else that knows me are typing in my real name, because they don't know I go by Queen B. Besides, I don't think my titles pop up when you type in Queen B or What it Took to Get Her. You actually have to type in Boss Bitch Chronicles to find them. Anyways, I told her how to get to it. I'mma be honest, I told her not to read the first two preview chapters, because the entire time I was thinking about the masturbation scene at the end of chapter 1. I called her back and she loved it. She said, "I don't discriminate. She was impressed and tickled." Then she told me she was going to buy a copy to finish reading it. I said, "Well, it gets worse in part 2." She responded by simply saying, "Don't say worse, say better or deeper or something else like that. I'm a big girl. I can handle it. Besides I've already went through all of this before." That's when she told me, "I'm going to buy a copy for the library too, because I know a few people who likes to read these books." I was speechless. You know, in a past post, I told you guys about the time I was in Wal-mart with my mother and we were looking at books. I put my arm around her and said, "I want to she my book on the shelves next to my favorite authors." Well, the library is a far cry from being in stores, but it is definitely a start. Having my book in my local library puts it in the system for all the rest of the Desoto Parish libraries. Now that's what's amazing. Even if my books don't make it in stores within the next few months, I am genuinely happy...for now.
Until next time, why don't you tell me what you think.
Queen B.
Once again I overreacted. It's different with strangers than with family. Put me in front of anybody, tell them anything you want about me, and I could care less what they think or what they say. Put me in front of family and I guess I just don't want to be a disappointment. I guess anybody can relate to that. Anywhoo, my sister came over after she got off work Wednesday evening and gave me a copy of the paper. The was the very first time that I wasn't on the front page, but I was actually kind of happy about it. My article was on page nine and it really did me justice. The headline had my name on it and beside my name said "Moving Up The Ladder of Success." She started of by calling me a mover and shaker. Then she ended the article by saying I was destined for greatness. The entire article took up almost half the page. It was awesome and I really am proud of it. It's one thing to have people calling me and saying, "Hey, you're in the paper again. I loved the article now tell me how I can get to your book and check it out." It's another thing to actually see the article myself.
So I got another call yesterday morning from the local library. I only picked up because I thought it was my mother calling. Instead, it was her manager. My mother had showed her my article and she wanted to check out my book. She was looking on Amazon and she couldn't find it. I know why she couldn't find it. She and everybody else that knows me are typing in my real name, because they don't know I go by Queen B. Besides, I don't think my titles pop up when you type in Queen B or What it Took to Get Her. You actually have to type in Boss Bitch Chronicles to find them. Anyways, I told her how to get to it. I'mma be honest, I told her not to read the first two preview chapters, because the entire time I was thinking about the masturbation scene at the end of chapter 1. I called her back and she loved it. She said, "I don't discriminate. She was impressed and tickled." Then she told me she was going to buy a copy to finish reading it. I said, "Well, it gets worse in part 2." She responded by simply saying, "Don't say worse, say better or deeper or something else like that. I'm a big girl. I can handle it. Besides I've already went through all of this before." That's when she told me, "I'm going to buy a copy for the library too, because I know a few people who likes to read these books." I was speechless. You know, in a past post, I told you guys about the time I was in Wal-mart with my mother and we were looking at books. I put my arm around her and said, "I want to she my book on the shelves next to my favorite authors." Well, the library is a far cry from being in stores, but it is definitely a start. Having my book in my local library puts it in the system for all the rest of the Desoto Parish libraries. Now that's what's amazing. Even if my books don't make it in stores within the next few months, I am genuinely happy...for now.
Until next time, why don't you tell me what you think.
Queen B.
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