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Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Adrenaline Junkie

No, it's not what you think.  I'm not a thrill-seeker; I got sick on the Scooby Doo Roller Coaster at King's Island when I was 6 years old (nowadays it's known as The Beastie); I can't even go down log flume rides.  The tummy rebels.  Violently.  I much prefer rides which spin round and round.  Yes, I'm a centrifugal force kinda gal.  But I digress.

A few weeks or so ago I read a blog entitled 'Why Authors Are Like Drug Addicts', and I whole-heartedly agree.  I had my latest release two weeks ago, and finally came down from the 'high' last week.

During the editing process, you're ready to tear your hair out or shake your editor (don't they get your words are perfect?  Don't they see the brilliant metaphor you've set up?  Don't they understand the meaning behind-what?  Oh, that's right...they can't read our minds!) while doing rewrites, finding overused words (in my case, it's 'as', 'then', and even 'and'), and the -gasp- your heroine's eye color changed from brown to blue!  Head slap....how did that happen again?  Oh yeah.....wrote chapters 1-5 six years ago and when I finished it, I neglected to take note of her eye color.

Then you receive word everything looks lovely and your release date is a week or two away.  You spend that time setting up a blog tour, pre-posting contest info, and getting promo items together.  And then the Big Day arrives.

You celebrate with friends, family, and get your ego stroked on Release Day.  Your friends retweet the good news.  Fans flood your FB, chat loop threads, and tweet 'congratulations!', and your publisher reports the site crashed, you had so many hits (okay, that last one is a stretch, but hey, it could happen!).

And in my case, I went with friends to a coffee bar in the next town and was asked by someone, 'Hey, aren't you that famous romance author?'


Thank you!  Not exactly famous, but my name is getting to be recognized as much as Molly's (I hope, anyway!).

And after that wonderful tidal wave of emotions, It's like a an adrenaline 'crash'.  The comments disappear.  Another author releases a book and all attention shifts to her.  The family demands dinner; it's time to return to 'normal daily function' and take out the garbage, deal with your kid's issues, or even wash a week's worth of laundry because you spent the previous five days glued to your laptop.  Doesn't anyone love me anymore?  I wrote a book, and people are reading it!  Yeah, yeah, yeah.  Time to play nice and share the spotlight again.  Go back to work, Kenzie.

Pardon the interruption:  Kenzie will celebrate her '5th birthday' tomorrow; forgive her pre-school-like emotions!  (MD)

Oh, all right.  It's my birthday tomorrow?  (Kenzie cheers up)  So it's now time to settle down, return the brain to Molly, and get back to work.  My next release doesn't arrive until May....and (looks around) shhhhh.....still can't talk about that yet.  You'll have to wait until April:)

You understand what I'm saying, right?  As authors, we get our 'fix' by the highs of completing a manuscript, acceptance letter from publisher, the awesome cover art arrives, and the email which states 'You're live!'.  The rush of Release Day/Week.  And then....crash.  Suddenly you realize it will be how many weeks until your next 'fix'?  I have to wait how long?  Why can't I write faster?

Patience, young grasshopper.  It's time to share the spotlight.  And be a good cheerleader for someone else.

But in the meantime, here's another glimpse of Class Reunion.  I've not posted this excerpt anywhere else.  Enjoy!

Warning:  R-rated Excerpt 


“Oh, baby…oh, what you do to me…Fuck me Brian…”
           
  Light suction attacked his tongue while hands moved over his body.  Gentle fingers stroked his rod while nails teased his balls.  More hands caressed his chest, and lips brushed his nipples.   He shifted to his side and curled his body around the naked body beside him, his cock eager to seek access to the wet pussy his own fingers stroked.  He ran his hands over the curve of her ass.  The mouth on his disappeared and he buried his face in the long hair which tickled his nose.  He nudged aside the locks to touch his lips to the sensitive skin at her nape, and skimmed his hands around her thighs.
           
 “I want to come inside, honey,” he murmured.  “Throw your leg over mine.”
            
He felt her leg shift, and he probed for her opening.  The hands on his groin guided his journey…what the hell?  Either Natalie had suddenly grown an extra set of arms and a head, or this was one dream he wanted to keep going.
            
A voice whispered in his ear, urging him on.  “Yes, baby….that’s it.  I know you like it…”A finger slicked inside his puckered ass. 

Oh God…he was going to come, even before he got inside…“Stop,” he mumbled.  “This is wrong…”
            
“Brian…”
            
He awoke with a start, his fingers buried in Natalie’s drenched pussy and his cock rubbing against her ass.  “What the hell?”
            
“Brian,” she panted.  “I can’t reach the condoms!"

18 comments:

Liz said...

great post! I get a buzz when people come into my beer bar and ask me "hey are you the beer wench?" Because I spent so much time and energy building that personna as the face of the company. Now that I get more and more "hey you write books too, don't you? I just bought one!" and yes, that is awesome. great post. well done and congrats on your many successes.

Harlie Williams said...

Great post and Happy Birthday!

Unfortunately, I experienced depression when my debut released. I've heard that this is also somewhat common. My debut was a hard fought battle from the beginning and it still is.

I still don't have people flooding the inbox, FB page or tweeting like mad for me. All my debut has done so far is make my review site more popular. WTH? Yep, I'm getting more and more popular on the review site. Most people don't care that I wrote something.

*sigh*

Marika/Harlie

Patrick Royal said...

Great Job! I deinetely understand what you were saying. I too get the high after a release and the lows once everything calms down. My fix right now is that I'm trying to reach my sales quata so my ebook will go to print. With over 3,000 friends on facebook, I didn't think it was going to be that hard to meet it; I guessed wrong. LOL Anyway, congrats and cheers to our next high.

Katalina Leon said...

Great post and Happy Birthday to Kenzie!

Kenzie Michaels said...

@Liz: Thank you! That buzz is wonderful when people begin to recognize you, isn't it?

@Harlie: Awww sweetie....I'm going to have to bump your book higher on my TBB list. I'm one of the many who nagged you-ENCOURAGED you- to keep writing, so maybe I've been lax as a cheerleader. Keep up the good work and maybe book #2 will be the 'Oh, hey look, it's Harlie! She's got another one out!' and everyone will rush over to you. I know I didn't quite get that 'buzz' until book #3, so there's still time! Don't give up!

Kenzie Michaels said...

@Patrick: I know what you mean; I keep hoping my Teacher's Pet will someday be in print, and I'm also hoping that once Off The Clock releases, all 3 in that trilogy (All She Ever Wanted, Class Reunion, and OTC) will be combined into one print book. And 'Molly' only has one book which meets the print criteria, but the sales aren't 'quite there' yet.

@Kat: Thank you:) And here I always thought I was 'born' in March. I've been celebrating my b-day an entire month LATE the past 4 years. *head slap* But then, hey....I'm 5 now. 'Bout time I learned to read, lol!

Nina Pierce said...

ROFLMBO ... Yep, that just about sums it all up doesn't it?

Janice Seagraves said...

Oh, yeah, I had that high with my debut book too. I have a new contract with a new book, so we'll see how it goes.

Janice~

Cara Marsi said...

Great post. I know all about the highs, and the lows, of being an author. The highs are great though, but for me they never last long enough. Too bad real life interferes. Best of luck with your new release. Hot excerpt. Happy Birthday, Kenzie.

Kenzie Michaels said...

@Nina: Yes it does:) Thanks for stopping by!

@Janice: Isn't it wonderful?

@Cara: Darn Real Life interfering with our 'high' (snicker). Nothing brings me back down to Earth with a thud more than 'What are you fixing for dinner?'

'Oh...I have to cook tonight?' (Sad face)

Melissa Keir said...

It is hard to deal with the rollercoaster of the life of an author. I'm trying but it's nice to know that there are others out there. My poor hubby is tired of hearing about my books and the dogs just fall asleep when I try to discuss plot points with them.

Now when I have some print books and am asked for an autograph... to dream!

Kenzie Michaels said...

@Melissa: I've bored many people by talking about my books pre-publication, and didn't recognize the glazed look in their eye as 'how can I get her to SHUT UP?' Unfortunately, sometimes now I tend to go in the opposite direction and not talk enough (hard to believe, right?). And yes, at the moment, being asked for autographs is fun:)

Liz Flaherty said...

Hi, Kenzie!

Linda said...

Being a writer and working with drug addicts for the last 25 years- I was complelled to read the blog...It gave me a chuckle. I can still remember what it felt like when my first book was accepted- it truely is a natural high that lasts...Happy birthday- and thank you for sharing your newest novel!
Linda Hadaway

Kenzie Michaels said...

@Liz: Hiya Ms Liz!!! Glad you made it over here:)

Kenzie Michaels said...

@Linda: I'm so glad I put a smile on your face:) Yup, nothing better than being 'high on life' the natural way:)

Margie said...

Kenzie,
Thanks for the link! I'm so glad--touched even, that something I wrote inspired you :)

Kenzie Michaels said...

@Margie: You hit the nail on the head:) And in a very timely post!

You're welcome:)

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