Stacy Alesi's BookBitch.com™

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I’m a long time admirer of author Kate White, hailing back to my days of reading Cosmo, prior to her books. So I was just delighted when she offered to do a guest blog for me, and then this arrived; a personalized piece, a gift to be treasured! And for all you aspiring writers bitten by the procrastination bug – I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

BookBitch Guest Blog
by Kate White

I love “The Book Bitch” and find it a great source for new books to devour, but it wasn’t until I was invited to submit a guest blog that I clicked on the nav bar’s “about” button and really read up on the fabulous bitch herself, Stacy. I was delighted when I started the sentence that began with, “My dream is to write a book that will be published one day…” but then dismayed when Stacy went on to say that she lacked the 3 D’s: drive, determination and discipline.

Stacy, I can sooo relate. Though I had a great career in magazines, I longed to write fiction, too, but for years and years I just I dragged my heels. I’d set aside entire Saturdays to work on my first novel but would end up spending the entire day avoiding the task and instead puttered endlessly, occasionally attacking noble tasks like organizing my underwear drawer or cleaning out my wallet. I was convinced it meant I wasn’t meant to be a writer. But then finally, when I was in my forties, I adopted a new strategy and ended up writing my first book…and then another…and another…. My ninth mystery, Eyes on You, just came out this month. I really feel that many would-be writers who are stuck actually have the drive and determination. What they lack is only that third D, discipline. And that, I believe, CAN be remedied.

Stacy, I want to share the little trick that made all the difference for me, a trick that I bet will work for you, too–as well as for other aspiring writers. (Excuse me if I’m starting to sound like Dr. Oz hyping a “miracle weight loss herb,” but this strategy definitely is a winner.)

When I was trying to get a handle on my procrastination problems, I came across a very helpful book by a time- management guru named Ed Bliss. He said that we often put off meaningful projects because we make them too darn daunting. He suggested cutting down those kinds of projects into small slices or steps, the way you might slice up an unappetizing chunk of salami to make more presentable (thus the reason for the name: “slice-the-salami-technique”). That way you are far less likely to avoid the project. The bigger discipline is as an issue for you, the smaller the slices need to be.

(Interestingly my fitness and yoga instructor told me something similar. She said that after the Christmas holidays, the people who sign up for three classes a week are far less likely to still be working out in May than those who signed up for only one class per week. The bottom line: don’t bite off more than you can chew.)

After years of being a lard ass about my writing, I decided to apply the salami technique. I told myself that rather than putting aside a whole Saturday to work, I’d write for only 15 minutes—and I’d do the same on Sunday. There was no way I could resist. And a funny thing happened. Over time the pages piled up. And I gradually learned to write more frequently and for longer stretches. For instance, I worked on Eyes on You for at least four hours a day, seven days a week.

Stacy, I sense you have a fantastic idea inside you bursting to break out and you truly do have the drive and determination. So just try slicing the salami and you will conquer the third D.

And one other discovery I made. I’ve come to believe in something I call “the writer’s cocktail,” a mix of ingredients that make the whole process smoother. For me, the cocktail means writing early in the morning on a flat, empty surface. With this approach the words flow so much better than they did when I tried to write at night on a roll-top desk. Experiment. Find your cocktail!

I can’t wait to read your book!!

About the author:

Kate White is the New York Times bestselling author of nine works of fiction—six Bailey Weggins mysteries and three suspense novels, including, Eyes on You (June 2014). For fourteen years she was the editor in chief of Cosmopolitan magazine, and though she loved the job (and the Cosmo beauty closet!), she decided to leave in late 2013 to concentrate full time on being an author.

Her books have received starred reviews from a variety of publications and she has been covered everyplace from The Today Show to The New York Times. Her first Bailey Weggins mystery, If Looks Could Kill, was named as the premier Reading with Rippa selection and soon shot to number one on Amazon. (And it’s now being made into an opera!). She is published in 18 countries around the world.
Kate is currently editing the Mystery Writers of America cookbook, a selection of recipes from many of the top-selling authors.

Like many mystery writers, Kate fell in love with the genre after reading her first Nancy Drew book, The Secret of Redgate Farm, and she still admires those cliffhanger endings that “Carolyn Keene” created.

She is married and the mother of two children, and once had her daughter stalk her through the woods so she could better describe the sounds of someone being followed.

Kate is also the author of several very popular career books, including I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This: How to Ask for the Money, Snag the Promotion, and Create the Career You Deserve, and Why Good Girls Don’t Get Ahead but Gutsy Girls Do.

Website: http://katewhite.com
Blog: http://katewhite.com/blog
Twitter: @katemwhite
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KateWhiteAuthor

Check out the Win Books page to find out how you can win a signed copy of Eyes on You!

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I am delighhted to welcome one of my favorite people and favorite author, Mary Kay Andrews. Read through to the end to find out how you can your own copy of her latest (and my new fave!) SAVE THE DATE.

INSPIRATION POINT

by Mary Kay Andrews

It’s probably the number one question I get—the question all writers get—where do you get your ideas?

Sometimes I jokingly say I find them under the sofa cushions. Or at an outlet mall just off the interstate.

The truth is, I never know when inspiration will strike. But as a writer, whenever an idea occurs to me—or an image stops me in my tracks, or I have a recurring dream, I know it could be an idea for a book.

Take the inspiration for the “meet cute” way the protagonist meets her eventual love interest in SAVE THE DATE. Years ago, a friend in Savannah (where the book is set) told me how she’d met an eccentric neighbor after her dog escaped and she spotted an elderly woman dragging her dog down the street by a piece of string. The woman had mistaken my friend’s dachshund for her own dog—and it was only after Sue followed her all the way home and showed her that the woman’s own dog was in her garden that the woman admitted the mistake. They later became fast friends. As soon as I heard that story, I knew I’d use it someday.

So—in SAVE THE DATE, Cara Kryzik, a florist who happens to live in a fictional townhouse on the same block my friend lives on—meets a handsome stranger when her golden doodle puppy runs away, and the stranger mistakes her for his own missing golden doodle.

Sometimes the idea for a book comes from deep within my subconscious. Or is that unconscious? I can never keep them straight. Anyway, I had a recurring dream that I was sitting in church, and an attractive woman was sitting in the pew in front of me. After a couple nights of the same dream, I started wondering if maybe the muses were offering me an idea. So in my dream that night, when I was back in the same church, I tapped the woman on the shoulder and asked her what she was doing there. “I’m watching my ex-husband get re-married,” she said.

The next morning, I knew I had a great premise for a book, which turned out to be SPRING FEVER. The book opens with the protagonist, AnnaJane, sitting in a beautiful church on a spring day, watching her ex-husband, standing on the altar, dressed in a charcoal-gray Armani tux, waiting for his bride to float down the aisle.

The wedding march plays, the bride starts down the aisle, and AnnaJane, who’d convinced herself she was so over him, realizes she’s still in love—and wants him back.

The premise for LADIES’ NIGHT came about because I had a title I loved, but didn’t know what the story would be. I started thinking about a group of people in a therapy group—who all meet at a dive bar, after their sessions, for the real therapy. I knew I wanted to have one very reluctant male in the group—who feels threatened by all the free-floating estrogen in their sessions. That morphed into a book about a group of people who meet through divorce therapy.

All the members of the group have been betrayed by their spouses and have “acted out” in outrageous ways to get their revenge. Where did I get the ideas for all their awful behavior? Lots of them came from “crowd-sourcing.” I have a very active, fun Facebook page, and I asked my followers to tell me about their worst/best revenge stories.

Boy, did I get some doozies! Some of the stories were so scary the fans private messaged me their stories. One story in particular triggered something in my imagination. So when my LADIES’ NIGHT protagonist Grace, catches her husband being pleasured by her young assistant in the husband’s expensive sports car, Grace reacts in a murderous rage—driving his Audi convertible straight into the family swimming pool.

I never know when the next idea will end up in the lint trap that is my imagination. Some of my best ideas come on long, boring car rides, or in the shower. Or while I’m watching Seinfeld re-runs. My inspiration could be anything at all.

It might be an overheard conversation at a bar, an anecdote shared with an old high school classmate—or, as is the case with the title of next summer’s book, it might be the title of an oldies song. And no, I can’t share. You’ll just have to wait til’ next June to find out about my latest inspiration.

If you’d like to win a copy of SAVE THE DATE…

Send an email to contest@gmail.com with “SAVE THE DATE” as the subject. You must include your snail mail address in your email.

All entries must be received by July 15, 2014. One (1) name will be drawn from all qualified entries and notified via email. This contest is open to all adults over 18 years of age in the United States only. One entry per email address. Subscribers to the monthly newsletter earn an extra entry into every contest. Follow this blog to earn another entry into every contest. Winners may win only one time per year (365 days) for contests with prizes of more than one book. Your email address will not be shared or sold to anyone.