The #AMWRITING Project

On June 7, 2016, Pure Textuality PR will play publisher once again, this time as we release #amwriting, a charity publication to benefit The Wayne Foundation. 

And now, we need YOU.

#amwriting will be a collection of letters written by authors to their fledgling-writer selves:

Knowing what you know now of writing, publishing, and putting your art out into the world, if you could go back to the day you sat down to start typing in your very first manuscript, what words would you offer to yourself?  Words of encouragement?  Words of advice?  Caution against certain pitfalls?  Would you change anything about how you got to where you are today? 

The publishing community is so much bigger than it was before the self-publishing boom and it continues to grow exponentially every day.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t come with a handbook or support group.  The book is to provide words of encouragement or advice to those just starting out or those who have become discouraged in their art.  At Pure Textuality PR, we believe in supporting each other as a community, and we felt this project would be a good way to bring writers together and maybe give some new artists just the right nudge to keep going.

100% of the net proceeds of #amwriting will go to benefit The Wayne Foundation, a charity dedicated to offering aid and services to young women victimized by illegal sexual exploitation and the sexual trafficking of minors.  The Wayne Foundation was co-founded by Kevin Smith, writer, director, podcastic guru, and (as I’m sure you’re all *very* sick of hearing by now) my artistic hero. 

Would you like to contribute to #amwriting by writing yourself a letter???  All are welcome!!!!  The link to the commitment form is at the bottom of this post.  Please fill out that form to be added to the #amwriting mailing list (for deadline reminders only; see details below).

Who is involved???

As we are just announcing this, I don’t have a list yet.  I will be contributing under my pen name J.M. Gregoire and I have a wish list of traditionally published authors I am reaching out to this afternoon (my email has already gone out to Kevin Smith.....are you surprised?).  As authors commit to the project, we will update the list on the #amwriting page here on our website. 

Details, Details, Details!

- All overhead costs such as cover art, formatting, proofing, and marketing will be paid for by Pure Textuality PR. 

- All letters must be emailed to jena@puretextualitypr.com by May 16, 2016.

- A deadline reminder email will be sent out to all participating authors on 3/1, 4/1, 4/25, 5/9, and a final reminder on 5/16, the date they’re due.  Reminders will only go out to the authors who have NOT submitted their letter already.  Once you submit your letter, you’re removed from the reminder list.

- #amwriting will be available through all major ebook retailers and in print through Amazon and Createspace. 

- 100% of all net proceeds will be donated to The Wayne Foundation.  Since Pure Textuality PR is paying for all overhead production costs, there will be nothing held out from the sales. 

About The Wayne Foundation

Board of Directors  |  Financials  |  Podcasts

Mission Statement

The Wayne Foundation is committed to spreading awareness of CSEC (Commercial Sex Exploitation of Children) DMST (Domestic Minor Sexual Trafficking) occurring within the United States.

Vision Statement

The Wayne Foundation’s vision is for a world without child slavery. We are dedicated to providing direct assistance to those victimized by exploitation.

Drop in Center

The Wayne Foundation operates the third drop in center in Florida recognized by the Department of Children and Family Services. It is located in Charlotte County Florida, and serves clients throughout Southwest Florida. Our target clientele are young women aged 13-25. Our DIC is equipped to provide daily services that include, but are not limited to: Food, New Clothing, Access to Shower, Media Center, Mental Health Assistance, SNAP/ Medicare Benefit sign-up/renewal, Family Counseling, Education Assistance, and Transportation To and From the Center.

Shelter Services

The Wayne Foundation continues to have the goal of providing shelter services to young women victimized by exploitation or trafficking. This is our primary long term objective.

Best Wishes,

Jena Gregoire Owner, Publicist, Personal Assistant 603-568-7945 | jena@puretextualitypr.com | http://puretextualitypr.com | 40 Boston Hill Rd. Andover NH 03216

Pure Textuality  |  Smutty Little Sister  |  Pure Textuality PR 

How to Keep Your NA Novel Fresh

Natural Selection
by Amanda Lance

a New Adult Romance

from Limitless Publishing

“How to keep your novel fresh in a sea of New Adults Novels"

a guest blog by author Amanda Lance

 

With the rising popularity of new adult over the last couple of years, there has been an explosion of the genre. Swarms of new adult in all its forms, including romance, coming-of-age, and historical have bombarded the marketplace. This by itself has prompted a new love of reading for all those ‘twenty-somethings’ with relatable characters and everyday situation they can relate to.

But with the onset of new adult, how does a writer in the genre keep their work fresh, and interesting? Building up a large enough audience to create a following?

In order for a writer to keep the new adult genre innovative, there are several techniques a writer can cultivate included but not limited to:

1.    Eavesdrop—It may sound a little perverse, but listening in on other people’s conversation (particularly of those in their late teens and early twenties) can help to give you a better idea of what the average young person goes though on a daily basis. This also makes it easier to apply real life experiences to your work.

2.    READ. READ. READ.—Read anything and everything you can get your hands on. The classics especially can be helpful in getting back to your writing roots. They might have bored you to tears in high school, but even observing the different styles of the greats can be really beneficial to your craft.

3.    Avoid New Adult—The exception to the READ. READ. READ rule is to avoid ‘new adult’ in the literary world. While it never hurts to keep up on the competition, focusing on one author or a particular category of new adult can influence your work too much and lead to imitating a style that is not your own.

4.    Ditch your Laptop—Writing in shorthand instead of typing it out tends to bring out the creativity in people. (On a side note, it is a good way to avoid all the distractions the internet has to offer!)

5.    Give your characters a Facelift—New adult is peppered with a lot of familiar archetypes. And while we all love an alpha male or a naive schoolgirl, working outside of those archetypes can help create something memorable for the readers and help advance the genre.

 

Natural Selection

AMAZON LINK

Synopsis:

To ensure she would have the life she deserved, Kasper Zafar ended his relationship with the beautiful Emilia Ward, sentencing both of them to a broken heart and lonely life.

But haunted by the memories of the foolish girl who stole his heart, Kasper has determined himself to win her back—or kill himself trying.

It’s been a year since Emilia Ward left Iram manor, and when Kasper comes back into her life the walls she has constructed around her heart threaten to come down.

And she might need him more than she wants to admit. Yet as badly as she wants him back, she won’t let him get away with hurting her so easily. Kasper needs to learn his lesson, and Emilia thinks she’s just the one to teach it to him.

However, just as they renew their sensual affair, Kasper’s elusive past comes back to jeopardize their happiness.

If he’s not careful, he may just die fighting for her after all…

 
Author Bio:

A native of New Jersey and lifelong nerd, Amanda Lance recently completed her Master in Liberal Arts at Thomas Edison State College after her BA in English Literature and AFA in creative writing. As an avid reader of all genres, some of her favorite authors include Hemingway, Marquis de Sade, Stevenson, Bukowski and Radcliffe.

When she isn’t writing or reading, Amanda can found indulging in film noir or hiking with her other half and their extremely spoiled dog. She is obsessively working on her next book and trying to tame her caffeine addiction.

 Author Links:

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/alance07

Twitter: @alance07

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amanda.lance.378

GR: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6966605.Amanda_Lance

www.amandalance.com

What makes a Good Sex Scene?

 Writing Sex

a guest blog

by Noelle Adams

So, I just tried to count up the total number of sex scenes in the books I’ve published this year. I had to guess the number in a few of the books based on the number of chapters, but I’m definitely over eighty. Over eighty sex scenes in one year of publishing. I’m not sure whether I’m embarrassed or proud! I didn’t actually write all of those books in one year (Nameless, the oldest, is almost ten years old now), but that’s still an awful lot of sex.

I find sex the hardest thing to write in a book, but it’s also my favorite—since it’s such a challenge to keep it new and fresh and also genuinely part of character development. The actual logistics of the sex in my books are always quite traditional, so the newness has to come through the emotion. So, when I start to write a sex scene, I start by figuring out what needs to happen emotionally between the characters in the scene, and then I try to create a sexual situation that conveys it.

The thing that makes a good sex scene is the same thing that makes every other scene in literature good—how well it reflects authentic human experience. That doesn’t mean the characters can’t have sex that’s far better than the sex most of us have. Of course, they can, and we’d be disappointed if they didn’t. I mean that the way they experience sex has to feel real. Otherwise, all we have are bodies doing things in a scene, and to me that dehumanizes both the characters and the story.

There are two extended sex scenes in Playing the Playboy, and both of them are quite different. In the first, Andrew and Laurel are just starting to get to know each other. So the sex, while great, also has a sense of unfamiliarity, of revelation—with both of them surprised by the other in a number of ways. One of my favorite bits in the book is in this scene.

“I should have known you were a tease,” she complained, trying to sound dry despite her panting and squirming.

He chuckled against her breast and slid one hand between her legs. “Have you ever tried to go down on someone before you’ve done anything else?”

She gasped in pleasure when he slid one finger inside her, but she fought through the sensations to respond in kind, “You’re saying you’re not up to the challenge?”

He laughed again, joining his first finger with a second. “I’m saying it’s more likely to be successful when you know what the other person likes. Much less embarrassing groping and  fumbling around.”

I like this because, while it’s sexy teasing, it also feels real to me and gives us a really good sense of Andrew’s character. The second long sex scene in the book is much more intense and needy, reflecting their developing relationship and the desperation they feel in trying to stay away from each other.

 I’ve tried before to write good sex scenes out of the context of a story—based on nothing but an interesting sexual scenario—and I found it almost impossible. I’ve also tried to take sex scenes I wrote for one story and insert them into another story, to save myself the trouble of writing the logistics, but I end up having to completely rewrite the scenes anyway. I have to know the story, know the characters, in order for them to meaningfully get it on.

 Check out Noelle's Sexy Series 

Heirs of Damon

 Seducing the Enemy

Heirs of Damon, Book 1

Publisher:   Entangled Indulgence
Publication Date:  October 14, 2013

After being injured in a tragic accident as a child, Marietta Edwards has lived a sheltered life. Finally recovered, she wants to indulge in pleasures that are entirely new to her, so she begins by seducing a sexy, mysterious stranger. Only after their one-night stand does she learn their families have been embroiled in a fifteen-year legal battle and the man she’s given herself to is her worst enemy.

The heir to a vast fortune, Harrison Damon believes the unforgettable night he spent with Marietta in Monte Carlo is just a fling, an escape from his responsibilities. Then he discovers she is an Edwards—the family he despises most. He can’t quench his attraction for her, but he won’t let her use it against him. He won’t let her manipulate him to win money from his family. No matter how much he wants her, he won’t let her seduce him again.

AVAILABLE AT:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Playing the Playboy

Heirs of Damon, Book 2

Publication Date:  November 18, 2013

Laurel will do anything to save her Santorini inn from the powerful Damon family, and that includes manipulating Andrew Damon, the man they’ve sent to get her off the property.  Andrew might have a reputation for being irresistible to women, but she won’t have any problem resisting him. This is war, after all, and the Damons drew their weapons first.

Andrew has spent most of his life chasing women and wasting time, but he’s determined to do his duty by his family, even if that means ousting an infuriating (and gorgeous) widow from the inn that legally belongs to the Damons.  He doesn’t expect to fall for her. And he definitely doesn’t expect to discover that he’s been played.

AVAILABLE NOW:

Amazon:    Barnes &Noble:    ARe: 

BOOK TRAILER:

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Noelle Adams handwrote her first romance novel in a spiral-bound notebook when she was twelve, and she hasn’t stopped writing since. She has lived in eight different states and currently resides in Virginia, where she teaches English, reads any book she can get her hands on, and offers tribute to a very spoiled cocker spaniel.

She loves travel, art, history, and ice cream. After spending far too many years of her life in graduate school, she has decided to reorient her priorities and focus on writing contemporary romances.

Connect with Noelle:

Website: http://noelle-adams.com/Home_Page.html

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NoelleAdamsAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoelleAdams3

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6572847.Noelle_Adams

TOUR GIVEAWAY

Noelle is giving away the following prizes at the end of her tour:

GRAND PRIZE:   $25 gift card to Amazon or B&N and a custom Heirs of Damon mouse pad.

RUNNERS-UP:  Three runners-up will receive an eBook of PLAYING THE PLAYBOY

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

or visit:   http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/NDk3NGE1NDcwMTI3ZDNiOGM2NTQyNzVmNDFiMGJjOjE3Nw==/

Writing Turned Me Into Something I Swore I’d Never Be

InnerGoddess is excited to welcome back Author Jennifer James.  Jennifer is writing a series of guest blogs for us as she chronicles her writing career in the self-publishing world.  
Spoiler:  this next installment will have you laughing your socks off!!!  

Why Writing a Series Is Turning Me Into Something I Swore I’d Never Be 

By Jennifer James

You’re wondering what the heck I mean. It must be something bad, right. Something terrible. Something atrocious. Horrible. Despicable to the most despicableness of despicablenessest.

I’m becoming….a plotter.

*Gasp* I know! It’s true. It’s okay though. Really. I’m mostly fine. It’s nothing this giant container of Reeses Cups and a bottle of Jack Daniels can’t help me through. There’s no reversing it now. Once it creeps up on you, it can’t be stopped. There’s no inoculation. No anti-retro-viral thingie to take.

Plotter. The disease that shall not be cured.

When I first started out, I was pure Panster. (IE: Writer who never plans anything. At all. Gets an idea, sits down, and writes it till it’s done.) My good friend Marcia was a Plotter to the point that she rarely got any writing done at all. She spent all her time outlining and cutting pictures out of magazines of models and shoes and cars for the book she was going to write. Until she’d plotted herself right into boredom, and move on to plotting something else.

Then I moved on to being what I refer to as a Plantser. I Pansted, I Plotted, I danced around my office half naked while drinking spiked cocoa and swearing at my imaginary friends. My fear was (and still is) that I’d plot too much and pull a Marcia. Get bored with the project and never finish it.

But then I started writing these damn books with storylines I wanted to pursue further. Secondary characters I couldn’t leave when I’d only just met them. Main characters who had more story and adventure than one book could contain.

And I realized if I was going to write more books, I had to…plot. I had to. Otherwise I’d never be able to keep anything or anyone straight. As a reader, nothing is going to pull me out a book faster than if I’m reading along and hit a bump in the narrative where a character is suddenly taller (or shorter) than in a previous book. Or their eye color is off. Watch me get up, go find the previous book, and start combing through the chapters until I find the original description, just so I can figure out if I’m losing my shit or not.

Plus, what about when an author gets on a plot thread they don’t tie up, that is obviously going to continue into a further book, and then the next book comes out, and the next, and it’s never addressed again? I don’t mean something small. Something big. A big ole honker of a pink elephant comprised of dead characters/evil guys and gals/corrupt police/alligators run amok…you get the idea.

Only way to keep track of that stuff is to plot. Plot. Plot.

So here I am. Becoming a Plotter. One more thing I never saw coming in the craziness that is my publishing career. Can someone hold my hand? 

Covert Craving BLURB

 She just stripped in front of an NYPD detective...

The glow-in-the-dark water at Camp Sunny Woods left Chloe Saunders with the ability to disappear from sight.

Thirteen years later, she uses her “gift” to take out criminals when she can. If she’s got to be part of a freak show, she’s going to do some good while in the buff.

And he’s enjoying studying every luscious curve…

Color blind detective Jacob Greiff smokes to weaken the overwhelming messages his nose sends him. One summer camp trip was enough for him. His priority right now is busting the vigilante leaving burglars tied up with panty hose and women’s scarves.

He thinks he’s hallucinating when he sees a petite, bare foot brunette in an enormous trench coat at his crime scenes because for the first time in years, he’s seeing someone in full color.

He’s not sure he’s buying it, but Chloe sure looks great when she’s “invisible.”

Despite his own supernatural abilities and the raging lust between them, Greiff wonders if Chloe isn’t some kind of nut who gets off on public nudity. She insists she can disappear from view when naked, that he’s the only one who can see her when she’s in the buff.

Their shared past comes to a treacherous intersection when a man shows up at Chloe’s apartment and informs them at gun point it’s time to report for duty—or else.

LINKS:

All Romance Ebooks

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

 Covert Craving EXCERPT 

Chloe looked the detective over and rolled her eyes. She paused at her apartment long enough to chuck her purse inside. He followed her back to the elevator and she wished she’d put on a different outfit. One with underwear and a bra. The man was so hot most of her thoughts were consumed with taking clothes off, not keeping them on. And he kept looking down her top at her boobs. Part of her, the perverse part, wanted to yank up the tank top and flash him to see his reaction. She’d been naked loads of times in front of people, but they didn’t know she was there. It made the whole nudity thing seem mundane.

Except for where he was concerned. Every time she felt his gaze moving over her butt or breasts, hell, even the back of her neck, arousal curled in her belly and set goose bumps marching over her skin.

“So, what else do you have to get for your neighbor?”

“A pigeon and a cheesecake.” She glanced at him from beneath her eyelashes and caught him staring. He chuckled and shrugged. “You can buy the cheesecake as well, since I’m providing you with a peep show.”

“Can’t help myself.”

“Right. Look, if you keep doing that I’m going to have to insist on tit for tat.” They continued down the hallway, he with both hands shoved in his pockets, Chloe with her arms swinging freely.

“And what would that imply?” His voice dropped an octave, bringing the damned goose bumps out in force.

“Simple. I show you mine, you show me yours. Although, you’re in the red right now, since the subway incident.” The words thrilled her. She’d never had the opportunity to engage in this kind of banter. She should be on the road and headed for a new town and existence. Instead she was here, defying protocol, flirting with a hot-ass cop, and outright challenging him to a sex game.

“I disagree. If I accept your challenge, it starts now. We’d have to start over again, so technically I haven’t seen any naked body parts.” He pressed the button on the wall to call the elevator.

She glared down her nose at him and crossed her arms over her breasts. The effect didn’t work too well, since he was much taller, but she gave it her best impervious-haughty-queen bee try. His lips twitched and he stepped closer. She narrowed her eyes, fighting the jumble of excitement and nerves in her belly before taking a step of her own forward. The front of her flip flops bumped into his dress shoes.

“I think you’re trying to work the system here.” The heat of his body and the tingle of sexual arousal had brought her closer than she realized, and their chests collided.

“Maybe. I’m attracted to you.” He put his left hand on the wall next to her head. “I want to kiss you.”

“Yeah?” She ran one finger down his tie, tracing the pattern. The elevator bell chimed and the door slid open. A few steps to the right and she could be inside. The intensity in his eyes held her still.

“Yeah.” He brought his right hand out as well and stroked the exposed skin at her waist between tank top and pants with his thumb. “May I?”

 

BIO:

Jennifer James hates to talk about herself in the third person and has now started so many series books she’s wondering if she has a mental illness. A traditionally published author who recently dipped her toes into the oceans of Indie land; she’s finding the water quite nice and plans on sticking around. She loves Dirty Palmers in the summer, Spiked Cocoas in the winter, and Jack and Honey with Pepsi any time at all. Recent college grad, wife, mother, cat wrangler, and dog belly scratcher, Jenn spends a lot of time at her computer, frowning at the shenanigans of people only she can hear.

LINKS:

Website

Twitter

FaceBook

  Instagram

Contest/Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway