The Glamorous Real Life of the Romance Author

The other day, my son's Occupational Therapist mentioned she'd heard I was a writer. "What do you write?" she asked. "Romance," I told her. This earned me a look of surprise, like I'd just confessed to a secret life. I get that a lot when I tell people what I do for a living. The "glamorous" real life of a romance author is...not so glamorous.

Yes, it's true. I'm a wife. I'm a mom. For the next two months, I'm a home schooling mom, which means I spend my mornings overseeing reading, writing, and science experiments. I cook, I clean (sort of...mostly, my house is just a mess). I have even been known to bribe my son with the promise of ice cream if he will entertain himself quietly while I take a call from my agent or my editor in the other room.

And then every once in a while I get to dress up and be Rachel Lacey, romance author, for a little while. In fact, this weekend I was in Charlotte, North Carolina, for a workshop and got to spend time with my good friend and critique partner, Anna Rains. In July, we'll be attending the Romance Writers of America Annual Conference, where we'll attend classes, go to parties, book signings, and award ceremonies. Not too far in the future, I'll even have book signings of my own!

But most days, I'm just regular me. Rachel, mother of one wonderfully exhausting five-year-old boy, wearer of t-shirts and jeans, juggler of many things.

Speaking of the glamorous side of being an author, something very exciting happened for me this week. I have my very first cover to share! My debut, Unleashed, will be released on October 28th, and it's available now for pre-order. That's right, I'm on Amazon! Crazy, right?

I am living a dream come true, and I wouldn't change a single minute!

Rachel Lacey writes contemporary romance that tugs at your heartstrings. Her debut, Unleashed, will be out this October. She blogs on this site on rotation with the other Ever After Foxes. You can find her online at www.rachellacey.com, or connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest.

LIGHTNING FAST GIVEAWAY!

To celebrate the mass market release, Forever Romance is doing a HUGE giveaway of FIVE copies of Hard to Handle as well as a prize pack of books from Ever Afters Rachel Van Dyken, Erin Kern, & Shannon Richard.

What do you have to do?

Enter--and don't dillydally, either. This contest ends MONDAY, MARCH 24th at 11:59 p.m.!!!
Here's the rafflecopter link (right here on our own EVER AFTER giveaway page)

Best of luck to you!
~Jess :)

Music Mondays: Going Back A Little...But Not That Far

So I've been working on I Run To You, the very first manuscript I ever wrote...

The. Very. First.

I spent two years editing this bad boy before I decided to start off fresh with a new story (Undone). In revisiting it, I've noticed that it's going a little bit more smoothly.

Or maybe I just haven't hit a really big bump in the road yet...we shall see how it turns out.

BUT since I've been delving into my old manuscript, I'm listening to music from I Run To You's playlist. Some songs are probably going to change, but the following are here to stay...


1.) Snow Patrol "Crack The Shutters" & "Run" - These are the 2nd and 3rd most played songs on the playlist.




2.) Coldplay "The Scientist" - This song corresponds to the very first scene that I ever wrote in the book.




3.) OneRepublic (feat. Sara Bareilles) "Come Home" - It's the ending of the book...it still makes me a little emotional.




4.) Ingrid Michaelson "Die Alone" - Love...just love. This song perfectly describes Mattie and how much she loves Emmett. PERFECTLY!




5.) Lady Antebellum "I Run To You" - It's the title song, it isn't going anywhere. I have a fondness/love for this song that I really can't even accurately describe with words.

Why book releases make you lose your mind...

The blog was blank for the week...

And it's all my fault. 

*hangs head*

My excuse? 

Well... a while ago I thought it would be a REALLY good idea to release two books within five days of one another. Not really sure if this thought occurred after a few glasses of wine or if I really was of sound mind when I made said decision, point is, we're lucky I still know my own name ;)

Book releases can easily take a calm, controlled, happy-go-lucky person, and send them to the madhouse. Things always seem to go wrong, from uploading the wrong file (yeah totally done that before), to forgetting what blog I'm supposed to be guesting on, to forgetting to upload files to createspace for print (yeah, been there done that too).

Anytime you release a book, it's absolute madness. Will people love it? Hate it? Hate me? I've done over 24 book releases and I still want to puke every single time a new book comes out. If I'm being completely honest, theres something absolutely terrifying about hitting #1 on the New York Times because you seriously wonder if you will ever do it again. There are always expectations, ones you put on yourself needlessly, or your publisher puts on you, or even your readers. And as an author you want so badly to make sure you aren't letting anyone down--even if its at a cost to your own sanity and health.

So my blog post? Totally forgot about it, but Im almost glad I did because now I get to give out some advice to authors everywhere---both new and old. It never gets easy. But I think if we wanted easy, we'd be doing something else entirely, don't you? The things that terrify us the most are the ones we need to be doing. When you put a book out there you're going to get rejected--you can't please everyone. Publish it anyway. We do what we do, because we love it. The deadlines, the blood, sweat, tears, all of it.

I may be stressed--but I wouldn't change it for the world.

My book series, Ruin, is all about doing things afraid. It's about conquering your demons and living---I think sometimes I need to take a dose of my own medicine!

Until next time!
Hugs,
RVD

Reliving Childhood Memories

Instead of reading to him at bedtime, lately my five-year-old son has been asking me to tell him stories about when I was little. Preferably, really silly stories that make him laugh until he's hiccuping too badly to fall asleep.

Many of my tales are about me and my little sister, Julie. My family moved a lot when we were little, so Julie and I often served as each other's best friend as well as sisters. When we shared a bedroom, we would get in trouble for staying up too late talking, so we devised this complicated system of patting our hands against the pillow to talk. One pat meant "are you still awake?" Two pats was "yes." Three pats was "no" (haha). We went all the way up to about fifteen pats. I can't remember what they all were but we "chatted" at night by patting the pillow for YEARS and my parents were none the wiser! :)

My son loved the story about the time I decided to play a joke on my mom on our way home from the park. She was pushing my sister in a stroller, and I ran ahead to the house. Instead of waiting for her on the front porch, I decided to go around back and crawl in through the doggy door. How hilarious would it be when my mom got home and found me already in the house?! It might have been funny (for me at least) had I not gotten stuck in the doggy door. My poor mom ran all the way home, pushing a stroller, completely panicked when she didn't find me waiting for her at the house.

I don't know how long it took her to find me, still stuck halfway through the doggy door, but by that time both of us were crying, and no one thought it was funny. I was five. As the mother of a five-year-old now, I can only imagine how terrified my poor mom was when she couldn't find me!

But my son's favorite of all my childhood stories is from the summer I was eleven. My best friend at the time, a girl named Annie, lived right up the street, and we were at each other's houses all summer long. So often that one night I got up in the middle of the night and sleepwalked out of my house, across the street, and most of the way to Annie's house. Luckily, my mom was still up and heard the front door open. She caught up to me and brought me home. To my knowledge this is the only time I've ever sleepwalked. Annie and I laughed about it for the rest of the summer, what would have happened if I'd rung her doorbell at midnight and asked "Can Annie play?"

What about you? What are some of your funniest childhood memories? If you have kids, do you enjoy telling them stories about when you were little?

Rachel Lacey writes contemporary romance that tugs at your heartstrings. Her debut, Unleashed, will be out this October. She blogs on this site on rotation with the other Ever After Foxes. You can find her online at www.rachellacey.com, or connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest.

What I'm WEARING Wednesday

Hi Gang!

Usually I dedicate Wednesday to what I'm reading or what I'm watching, but, well I had to share my new threads.

How cute is that shirt?!

This picture (with author Toni Blake) was taken 2/8/14 at a book signing at a local B&N. Lori Foster, Jules Bennett, Melissa Landers (Macy Beckett) were all in attendance.

I signed Tempting the Billionaire for people who wanted their brand new books defaced. (So weird, right?) ;)

I think this shirt should be required wear for all our foxy Ever After girls, don't you? Target. $14.99. Just sayin.

What about you? Buy any awesome clothes lately?
~Jess :)

Jessica Lemmon writes sassy, sexy contemporary romance with a squeeze of humor. She blogs on this site on rotation with the other Ever After Foxes. You can find out more at www.jessicalemmon.com, LIKE her at www.facebook.com/authorjessicalemmon, and tweet her in 140-character bursts on Twitter: @lemmony

Freaky Flashbacks

We've all had those moments. You know...when we do something colossally stupid that we wish we could bury into that subconscious part of our mind.

I've got more than my fair share, but there's one in particular that stands out and goes above and beyond colassal.

I was about seventeen at the time (and yes, the age alone is part of the whole reason for "stupid"), and my boyfriend (who is now my husband) and I decided to do a late night run through In-N-Out Burger. Because, really, who can resist that place? Best shakes evah!

Anyway, I hadn't had my license that long (I took my test three times before I passed, which makes the rest of the story make much more sense), but I thought I knew it all. In other words, I thought a few months of driving experience was more than enough for me to be like, "Yeah, I've totally got this whole driving thing down."

Needles to say, I was completely clueless and really didn't know what I was doing. After I pulled up to the window to pay, the car ahead of me eased forward. And this is the part where I was supposed pull my own car forward. I mean, it shouldn't have been that hard.

Take foot off break pedal (which is the really BIG one on the left), idle forward, then replace foot on break.

Easy enough, right?

Apparently not if you're seventeen and a little ditzy and distracted. Because the part where I was supposed to replace my foot on the break pedal? Yeah, I kind of screwed that part up.

My foot, which apparently had a mind of it's own, slammed down on the gas pedal. This totally senseless action caused my car to lurch forward and slam into the car in front of me.

And my boyfriend was all, "What the hell are you doing?"

What I wanted to say was, "Gee, I don't know. I guess I wanted to throw a little crazy in my evening," Instead I made some odd noise that sounded like a cross between a dying cat and a choke.

And the worst part? (because being gawked/laughed at by the people in the building and the drivethru guy wasn't bad enough). I was in my dad's car.

 Which went from being in perfect condition to having a dented front bumper in a matter of about ten seconds.

Pretty stupid right?

I dare you to top that, and tell me something you did that's worse.

What I'm Looking Forward To In The New Year

Music
Who? Eric Church
What? The Outsiders
When? 2.11.14
Why? I love this man. He's scruffy and southern and wonderful and his song "Springsteen" single handily inspired Unforgettable, the fourth book in the Country Road series. It also had a massive influence on forming the hero Nathanial Shepherd. I can't wait to see what other stories Mr. Church will inspire.



Who? Adele
What? 25
When? Sometime in 2014...but the first single is rumored to be released in March 2014.
Why? I love her. Plain and simple.

Movies 
What? Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Who? Chris Evans
When? 4.4.2014
Why? I think that was explained in the who. Chris Evans...have you seen him??? Have you??



What? Divergent
When? 3.21.2014
Who? Theo James is hot...just sayin'.
Why? Okay, I haven't read the books yet...I'm on the waiting list to get them on audio from the library. I know, I know not everyone likes listening to audio books, but I love them.  I haven't read that much YA since my Hunger Games binge, but I think this series is right up my alley. And I will listen to the books before I see the movie.

What? The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
When? 11.21.2014
Who? Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, & Liam Hemsworth
Why? Because this series is one of my favorites. I've been happy with the movies so far in comparison to the books and I think that Catching Fire was a massive step up from The Hunger Games. Though I'm preparing myself now for how they're going to split this movie up...let me tell you how much I don't like cliff hangers...I don't like them. At least I already know how it ends, but that's only a little bit comforting.

Television
What? Downton Abbey 
When? 1.5.2014 (so it already started and I've had a couple weeks of heartache)
Who? I love almost all of the characters, which makes it that much more painful when they kill someone off.
Where? On the couch clutching a glass of wine to help me cope.
Why? My love for Downton cannot be explained with words. It's pleasure and pain. Apparently I have masochistic tendencies.

What? Game of Thrones
When? 4.6.2014
Who? JON SNOW!!!!! I also love Daenerys...and her awesome dragons.
Where? I'm sure there will be alcohol involved in the viewing of this show as well. So. Much. Angst.
Why? Okay, I'll admit to not having read this series...I think the books would probably be too much for me to take given how I react to the show. Nevertheless, I can't wait. It hurts so good.



Books
Who? Julie James
What? It Happened One Wedding
When? 5.6.2014
Why? Read a Julie James book and you will understand. This woman is in my top five favorite authors and her heroes are beyond swoon worthy.

Who? Jodi Ellen Malpas
What? This Man Trilogy
When? They are all out now...so she's new to me, not new to this year.
Why? I'd heard good things and was very intrigued by this series. I finished the first book last week and promptly bought the other two. Ava O'Shea is feisty and loves her wine (we're already kindred spirits) and Jesse Ward is hot and broody...and complicated as all hell.

New Year Blues

It happens to all of us...


The New Year rolls around and we all make goals for ourselves...whether it be losing weight, reading a certain amount of books, going on vacation, eating healthier, discovering a new hobby...I mean the list really goes on. The problem with the end of January?

The list suddenly just...stalls.

Suddenly waking up at five thirty doesn't sound so fun...and eating healthy? Theres a realllllly nice looking pizza sitting in the freezer and you don't feel like cooking.

And five hundred books?!?! Who has that much free time?!

I think it's safe to say almost all of us hit a slump, so this post is here to encourage you guys to jump out of it. For me, the easiest way is to read! So here are a few of my New Years Picks! They are SURE to change your life and also take the calories out of all chocolate.

HAH kidding but I totally got you there. Right??!

The Mad Duke leaned in closer, his lips gently brushing her ear, and whispered, "I dare you."
She Can't Resist the Dare
Lillian Phillips could not imagine how her quiet, simple life had come to this. Blackmailed by the Mad Duke of Thornwood into accepting one wild dare after another...all because of a pocket watch. Desperate to recover her beloved father's pawned timepiece, Lily did something reckless and dangerous and delicious--something that led to a night she'd never forget.
He has a Reputation for Scandal
When Devon Grey, Duke of Thornwood, runs into a mesmerizing, intoxicating, thieving woman who literally stole from his bedchamber--with his new pocket watch--Devon plots his revenge. If the daring wench likes to play games, he's happy to oblige. After all, what's the ruse of being the Mad Duke if you can't have some fun? But the last laugh might just be on him...

Okay true story...I rarely read debut authors..but this girl? Holy crap. Let's just say she knows how to write a regency. The whole time I was reading all I kept thinking was PRAISE THE LORD Julia Quinn has a sister! Thats what her writing reminded me of, it will make you laugh out loud, gasp a little bit, and sigh ;) 

A New Adult novel from Erin McCarthy, the USA Today bestselling author of True.

Jessica Sweet thought going away to college would finally make her free of her parents’ constant judgments and insistence she play chastity club role model for their church events, but if anything, the freedom has made her realize she can’t go home and be a hypocrite anymore. Tired of dodging their questions, she stays at school over the summer and lands in an unexpected crash pad: Riley Mann’s house. 

Sarcastic, cocky, and full of opinions, Riley is also sexy personified with tattoos and biceps earned from working as a roofer all day. Not the right guy for her even if Jessica was looking for a relationship, which she is definitely not. But Jessica knows that Riley hides the burden of having to raise his younger brothers behind that grin and as she helps him get his house in order for a custody hearing, they begin to fall hard for each other, and she is forced to question what she’s hiding herself. 

Jessica has never had a problem getting naked with a guy, but when it comes to showing Riley how she truly feels inside, her fear of rejection may just ruin the best thing—the best guy—to ever happen to her… 

What started off as a typical NA book turned into something pretty amazing...I loved this book--heck I loved this series. If NA is your thing then look no further! 

So I'm curious what are your goals this year? 

Mine is to have a vacation...I have a really hard time taking time off...I don't really know what that is...my husband resorts to hiding my computer which I guess is fine, but i still sneak in my phone. At some point something has to give.

SO I encourage you readers/authors/bloggers keep at least one of the goals you made this year and see it through! You'll be happier that you did!

Until next time!
<3 RVD

Discovering New Authors

I confess: reading time has been limited for me lately. So when I do get a chance to indulge, I often find myself reaching for something by one of my "must buy" authors. Jill Shalvis, Julie James, and Lori Wilde, to name a few. But I also love to discover new authors, and I want to make it a priority in 2014, especially since I will also be joining the ranks as a debut author this year.

Here were a few of my new discoveries in 2013:

Debut Author: Shannon Richard

Yes, my fellow Ever After Shannon! I just loved this book. Shannon's voice is so fresh and fun! I can't wait to return to Mirabelle, Florida, for the rest of the series.

New-To-Me Author: Roxanne St. Claire

Wow, how have I not read Roxanne St. Claire before? This book was sexy and fun and full of emotional punch. If only I had time to sit down and devour the whole series right now!

New Genre: Historical Romance

Yes, it's true. This was my first ever historical! And I really enjoyed it. This is also the first in a series, and I can't wait to read the rest!

This year, I'd like to break out of my comfort zone even more. I want to expand my horizons. Debut authors, new to me authors, new genres. Bring it on!

I've already got Julie Brannagh's debut all loaded up and ready to go on my Kindle (now if only I had time to read).

And I've been told I need to add Robyn Carr to my repertoire ASAP.

Contemporary romance and romantic suspense are my usual poison. Who wants to recommend a new genre for me to try? A new author? What have you read recently and loved?

Rachel Lacey writes contemporary romance that tugs at your heartstrings. Her debut, Unleashed, will be out this October. She blogs on this site on rotation with the other Ever After Foxes. You can find her online at www.rachellacey.com, or connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest.

New Year, New Focus

Is it still January?

I'm not sure why, but I already feel like January is over...or should be. Maybe it's the side effect of being in an author. We talk in terms of our next book release, so I've been living in March (Hard to Handle's paperback release) and June (simultaneous e/paperback release of The Millionaire Affair).

While I didn't make any new year's resolutions for 2014 per se, I did pick a few themes for the year. One of them is to simplify. After living in a house for the last decade, the hubs and I have amassed A LOT of stuff. Too much stuff. In an effort to pare down, Mr. Lemmony and I spent Saturday afternoon cleaning out an ENTIRE CLOSET filled with items that had value, but no longer were needed. Rather than spend the next six months photographing, cataloging, and shipping said items after selling them on eBay, we decided to load the car donate all the beautiful things from my previous PartyLite business to Goodwill in exchange for a hefty tax write off.

Oh, yeah, giving those things up? It nearly killed me.

About four years ago, I ended my last year as a PartyLite sales consultant. Not only did I sell various candle holders and home decor, I romanced it. I wasn't simply selling a decorative hurricane to hold a pillar candle, no, no. I was offering the chance to own a globe with hundreds of hand-cut, hand-painted iridescent glass squares that, when they caught the sunlight just right, exploded light across your living room ceiling like a disco ball.

This is about a fifth of how much stuff I had.

And now that I'm thinking about it, I just had a pang of loss for that hurricane now in a pile of discarded things at Goodwill.

Why is that?

Most of my beautiful, precious candle holders had been in that closet, stored, not collecting dust or being enjoyed since I left my business behind in 2010 to pursue writing. Many, many, many boxes took up up space in my house and in my brain, never getting any use. Yet parting with them was one of the most difficult things I've ever done.

It got me thinking yesterday about perceived value. Sure, that gorgeous hurricane was "worth" $80 retail at to someone at some point. And for me, that piece represented hours upon hours of hard work in a business I'd managed to turn into a full-time career for nearly six years.

But my keeping it (and the 50 other boxes we loaded into the car yesterday) meant I had to clear out space for it. Pack and unpack it. Rearrange it when I needed something.

What is the cost of keeping something you don't need?

I'm not sure I have the answer to that yet. And it's a great theme to explore in my books. Letting go. Clearing out the past. That's what I'll be taking from this experience. That and the courage to continue in another room. Because, I'm not done! I'm on a rampage this year to get rid of "stuff" that doesn't serve me any longer.

I want my life filled with what matters instead of things that are no longer a part of who I am. Does that mean I can buy more books? 

What about you? Do you have a hard time getting rid of things you no longer need?

Jessica Lemmon writes sassy, sexy contemporary romance with a squeeze of humor. She blogs on this site on rotation with the other Ever After Foxes. You can find out more at www.jessicalemmon.com, LIKE her at www.facebook.com/authorjessicalemmon, and tweet her in 140-character bursts on Twitter: @lemmony

Bad New Year's Resolutions

I don't make New Year's Resolutions. Like, ever. Mostly because I totally suck at it.

And I don't mean I suck at following through. Because, yeah. That too.

I mean I make terribly unrealistic and stupid resolutions that stick with me for about 24 hours.

And then I go, "What was I thinking with that?"

Most people set goals such as:

Eat healthier
Travel to a new place
and so on and so forth

And those are good resolutions. And I think would be pretty easy to keep and maintain throughout the year.

Such is not the case with me. And here's why:

One year I made a resolution to buy a new pair of shoes every month. And not only is that fiscally irresponsible, but I don't have the closet space.

Another year, I said I wanted to stop cutting my hair. I know. Really stupid.

And then there was the year I promised to get my filing cabinet organized. And while this isn't really that dumb, or unrealistic, it didn't work. At least not as a resolution. That's more of a weekend chore when I have nothing else to do except stick bamboo shoots under my nails.

So there, you have it. Just some examples why I shouldn't be allowed to make resolutions. I'm horrible at it, and I don't have the self discipline to make it last longer than January 2nd.

Are you one of those who makes resolutions? And if so, do you stick with it?