Let me start by saying I think too much introspection is unhealthy. Better to accomplish something, anything, than to think too hard and hobble yourself. Do something even if it’s wrong is my motto.

I was considering this morning how people who create, be they musicians, actors, artists or writers, often have a tough time getting out of their own heads. Early on in a career it can be a matter of questioning whether they can even do this thing, finish this novel, find the heart of this painting. But the question of whether there’s even any value to what they’ve created never really goes away. Am I saving a life? Effecting change in the world? Is it enough to simply entertain people, and am I even doing that successfully? Waaay too much thinking!

The infamous writer’s block is tied up in that self doubt. Only time and experience teaches the writer that the best way to destroy it is to keep on writing until she or he comes out the other side. Don’t be afraid to get input from critique partners when you’re stuck on a plot point, a logic lapse, or character issue. There’s no shame in taking advice from a helpful friend. If you still worry the finished piece is a steaming pile of dung, have your editor help whip it into shape, or if necessary, shelf it completely and move on.

But always move on to something else. Never give up–even in the face of crummy reviews or lackluster sales. It’s a take no prisoners approach that will move you forward not only in your career but in life, IMO. My belief is none of us should take ourselves too seriously. And when we start to fret or think too much, the prescription is to spend time with a pet. Dogs and cats don’t plan ahead. They just exist, content in the moment as we all should be.

Remember this wise advice from Stuart Smalley.

I’m excited to join Bonnie (and you!) today for a chance to share a free book from the SHIFTERS FOREVER series.

Without further ado, here’s a little bit about Seduction!

I’m a big fan of the horror genre, though I’m so jaded now that it’s hard for a movie to creep me out or startle a jump from me any more. I’m fascinated by the psychological twistedness of killers, like a car accident I can’t look away from. I’m sure this fascination with serial killers is tied up with the idea of mortality, the inexorable approach of death for all of us, and other psychological stuff I don’t care to try to untangle. Long story short, of course I had to watch the Psycho based series Bates Motel, now in its third season.

After some missteps IMO in the second season, it continues to get better and more involving. Vera Farmiga as Norma and Freddie Highmore as Norman are stellar. The little homages to the original movie are fun; certain lines or images will pop up randomly, reminding the viewer of how this is all going to end. The present day setting has a retro vibe inside the Bates house, mostly due to Norma’s wardrobe and the furnishings, which seems disorienting during the first few episodes (are we in present day or the sixties?) but actually works perfectly.

You might think, why watch a prequel to something we all know the end to. Answer. Because it’s a wild, fun ride these characters take you on, and because the world the writers have created is just so cool. I highly recommend it.

Summer Devon has a book out May 5^th – a contemporary m/m shapeshifter story, the third in the series, though each story is stand alone.

 Releasing the Shifter

Solitary Shifters, Book 3

 To save his love he must face his monster and—worse—be nice to people.

Montag is a monster. He doesn’t know what sort of creature he would turn into if he ever let himself shift, but he knows it’s something predatory and lethal. He fights back the urge to shift every day of his life, and has never dared get close to anyone—not that they want him to. He can literally smell their fear.

 Kevin’s not scared of monsters. He works for the SSU, the agency in charge of tracking shifters—particularly the dangerous ones. When he and his young niece are kidnapped by her scum-bucket dad, he’s grateful to be rescued by Montag, whose curmudgeonly defenses can’t hide the kind man beneath.

 As they work together to protect Kevin’s niece, attraction sizzles between them. But their relationship may not survive if Montag learns who writes Kevin’s paycheck—or if Montag dares to confront the inner monster he hates and fears.

Warnings

Contains a grouchy virgin shifter (and we mean virginal in all possible ways), a hero with a back pocket full of secrets, and a couple of jerks.

Here is a link to the story: https://www.samhainpublishing.com/book/5419/releasing-the-shifter

So, this weekend I caught up on an HBO show I’d missed, True Detective. Talk about somber and depressing. Like so many of the darker shows I perversely enjoy, the cinematography is  beautiful in its starkness. Other cases in point: Hannibal, Penny Dreadful, The Killing (in which it never stops raining), and the merciless sun and isolating open spaces in Breaking Bad–just as effective as gloom and clouds.

Setting a mood in writing is tricky. I don’t want to bore the reader with too many details or paint in broad, cliche brushstrokes. Somewhere in the middle is the sweet spot, providing just enough in-the-moment sensory description to make the reader feel there, to not only see, but experience the place.

Summer and I were happy to have several critics point out that The Bohemian and the Banker was like taking a little Parisian vacation. The Paris we all imagine and probably nothing like the actual city was at the turn of the century. But hey, we sent our readers someplace and that’s good to hear.

Currently I’m enjoying the rainy, gray spring weather outside as it’s perfectly setting my mood to work on a gothic romance. The Tutor is kind of like Jane Eyre meets the Sound of Music, the Secret Garden, and every “true hauntings” show I’ve watched on TV.  A young man, passing himself off as a tutor with forged credentials, travels to teach twin boys at an isolated estate. The kids are odd. The master of the house is  moody. The servants are all a little off and the house itself oozes an aura of menace. Good times!

I really love spooky stuff, was weaned on Stephen King, and hated that the ghost of the week in Scooby Do was always some dude in a costume. I’m having  a ball working on this story and hope I can really pull off the creepy atmosphere. Readers can expect it….sometime. Hey, maybe in time for Halloween. That would be cool.