FINALLY!!
My Boyfriend’s Back is free on Amazon.com. After a whirlwind ride in the UK, with my rank on the best-sellers list climbing to #2 in humor, #16 in fantasy/paranormal romance, #63 in all romance, and currently #77 in all categories, I’m THRILLED to see my US readers get their free download.
Currently #13 on the best-sellers in humor—thanks! Spread the word to freebie-indie-fun-loving friends!
Halfway through November, I have fallen a wee bit behind on my NaNoWriMo goal, but it’s cool. Since my novel is probably going to be short of 50K I’m probably still on target.
This year has been good for my writing. I put out a novella at the beginning of 2011 and switched from a pen name to my own name. In May I made the decision, after a lot of reflection, to switch genres, focus, and direction. By June I had written the first draft of my debut novel, which I delayed releasing to get it JUST RIGHT (or just write, as it were). That decision proved to be a good one, since it plunged me back into an active participation with South Shore MA Fiction Writers. It also spawned a new, solid, structured process that works.
By early December (possibly sooner, NaNoWriMo gods willing) I’ll have finished the second Maggie Gallagher novel. My young adult trilogy, which has been languishing for years, will also be done soon. The current schedule will be a staggered release calendar of a book every three months between now and January of 2013… alternating between adult books (the Maggie Gallagher Mystery titles) and young adult fantasy (my Echo the Minstrel series).
What is different about 2011? I actually did the things I’d planned to do. I put out a novella exactly when I planned. I finished a novel in a new genre and it will be out soon. I’ve nearly finished book two, and releasing it should be no problemo.
I’ve also realized that I owe a great deal of thanks to good friends. The 35 members of SSMAW have been amazing… and being able to offer my own cheering section, beta-reading, and anything else I’ve got in my arsenal to these amazing men and women has been incredibly rewarding. Every success they achieved drove me harder. Every accolade they were awarded made me proud. And each goal I crossed off my list was as much their accomplishment as my own.
I’ve also learned, when I was sick or had mad scheduling issues… or just had life jump up and down on me as it tends to do… my non-writing friends were just as supportive. I was struck by this today, in a moment of amazing grace and clarity, as I made the fourth trip to Jordan Hospital in Plymouth in 24 hours to take care of my mom. Things are often a struggle for me because of my own health. I do have more on my plate. And I guess I am asked more often than most “how do you do it?”
Ahmed. Roxy. Petie. Timmy. Allie. Aemon. Damiano. Gayle. Bill. Dennis. Angie. Dee.
And Ahmed. Yeah, I know, I mentioned him twice. He’s that good.
I am incredibly lucky. On good days it’s easy to remember how lucky. But it’s too easy to forget on the tough days. I don’t want to be the kind of woman who forgets on the tough days. So as this long, rainy, tiring day comes to a close, I am still grateful. I hope I remember to remain grateful. Because the people in my life who make it bearable also make it joyous, funny, and worth the long days.
In the words of Mr. Dickens, “God bless you, every one.”
My Boyfriend's Back
A Short, Sweet Romance
by Chrissy Olinger
Paranormal/Fantasy Romance only .99
15,826 words
Available on Kindle from Amazon.com -- BUY IT NOW
"Fear not! I bring you tidings of... DAMMIT!"
With those few words, Jack Lynch's world was turned upside-down. Once the nerd everyone loved to torment, he has returned to his home town for his twentieth reunion. Now a multimillionaire, Jack has everything but the one thing that matters: his true love. Twenty years ago he let her slip away. Now he's back, and determined to win her heart.
But screeching tires on an icy road change everything. If being temporarily dead weren't bad enough, Norman— an angel in training— returns Jack's spirit to the wrong body— the class bully, John Lydon.
With the rockin' hot bod of his former nemesis, the help of a nerdy angel, and his own wits, Jack has to get Rori to see him, love him, and bring about a miracle... without revealing this true identity. The clock is ticking, and he only has three days.
Jack's got the brains; his new body has the brawn; and Norman's got his back. What could possibly go wrong?
*This book contains some mild language, no strong sexual content, and an excessive amount of silliness.
When you spend as much time online as I do you get to know some spectacular people. I met my much-beloved Ahmed via the internet, and wrote online for a wonderful woman named Georgia Jones for many years. I even wrote a book via email with a partner named Elliot Grant years ago. So the interwebs are my friend, and many of my friends are on the interwebs.
Still, the generosity and joy I often find here in cyberspace amazes me. I've tasted the bad. It was worth having a psychotic stalker for years to stick it out. And as my life has changed, this digital world has become more and more important.
A few years ago I had just beaten cancer for the third time when I was diagnosed with Pulmonary Fibrosis. It is a disease with no cure, no FDA approved treatment, and it gets very little attention on the world stage of research and development. Most of us diagnosed live fewer than 7 years. PF slowly shrivels the lungs until we strangle to death. There are some promising developments in the distance, but most of us sit on lung transplant lists praying for miracles that won't reach us in time.
I have been lucky. Really, I have. I have a man in my life who is a brilliant physician. I never smoked. I sang and swam a lot in my youth, so I do more with the 2/3 of a lung I have left, functioning, than many people with a lot more. I carry canned oxygen with me, but use it sparingly. I force myself to stay active and positive.
And I have Gwen Hayes, too. The Talmud says that "every blade of grass has its Angel bending over it, whispering grow, grow." Gwen is just such an angel. This month her wonderful release, Oh Goddess, has received rave reviews. But Gwen will not be making money on the title, because she has donated the proceeds from this book to the Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis.
It would be simple for me to say I love Gwen for doing such a thing. We share some cyber-space together at Fictionistas, and rub shoulders daily at Romance Divas. But her generosity in giving this... the fruit of her soul... to a cause very few people even know of is heart-crushing. She has always been able to make me laugh. She has always been a fun person to know.
But this? Well, suffice it to say we will meet up this March at the New England Romance Writers of America Conference and she may not survive the hug. Poor angel... I may crush those wings to smithereens.
Buy this book. NOT because it will benefit those of us who are literally dying out here. But because it is a funny, wonderful, quick read that will touch your heart. And because Gwen Hayes is going to be a best seller in the very near future. You can say you discovered her ages ago, when she had only just gotten her wings.
Oh Goddess by Gwen Hayes
Read An Excerpt Online
Genre: Paranormal Romance
ISBN: 978-1-60504-367-8
Length: Short Story
Price: 2.50
Publication Date: January 27, 2009
Cover art by Tuesday Dube
*All author and editor proceeds from the sale of Oh Goddess will be donated to the Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis. You can find out more about the foundation at www.coalitionforpf.org.
Warning: Recent studies show that consuming beverages while reading this story can cause damage to computer monitors, clothing, and sometimes nearby walls. Reader agrees to hold both Samhain Publishing Ltd. and Gwen Hayes harmless in case of accidental spewing caused by laughter.
*VERY special thanks, too, to Samhain for being a part of this generosity.
Read An Excerpt Online
