This holiday season, I got a Christmas card from a friend in England. It was handmade, with a cartoon drawing of two characters from a TV show we both used to watch (and was the reason we first “met”online). While the show was running, she created a series of cartoons based on the characters that became a YouTube sensation, even coming to the attention of one of the actors involved in the storyline.
I first started watching this show because another friend, who lives in Beirut, tweeted me about it when a new actor was hired. “He’s fantastic!” she told me. “You have to watch it!” (For the record, the show was As The World Turns, and the actor was Eric Sheffer Stevens, who played Dr. Reid Oliver.)
Over the course of the eight or so months I watched ATWT (up until its last episode on September of 2010), I discussed it with viewers from the UK, Germany, the Philippines, and all over the US. It’s currently airing in the Netherlands, and I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to relive the experience with viewers there.
And when I was getting ready for the ebook release of Take a Chance on Me, I asked my cartoonist friend in England to do the book trailer for me.
One of my favorite things about the internet is how it makes the world bigger and smaller at the same time. I’ve met some of my favorite people via the internet, connecting with them over shared interests and mutual fangirling. When the aforementioned actor landed a new gig on a sitcom, a group of us from all over the country flew to LA to watch the pilot being filmed. It was fun seeing the filming process (and meeting the actor), but even more exciting to meet each other in person after spending so much time together online.
Writing can be a solitary process, but the internet has helped alleviate that somewhat for me and, I suspect, many others. It’s connected me with readers, other writers, and fans in various fandoms around the world. I’ve discovered soap operas in Germany, England, Spain, and the US. I’ve made friends in Europe, South America, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Lebanon, and the Far East. And I’ve re-learned that despite our differences, there is far more that connects us.
So what’s your favorite experience on the Internet? Who have you met/what have you discovered that’s made a difference in your life?
Kate’s latest release, Take a Chance on Me, is now available in print. If you’d like a trading card for TACOM, just email your address to kate AT kate-davies DOT com.
I’ve been hooked on writing ever since my third grade teacher singled out my desert island story for praise in front of the class. (Lots of palm trees and coconuts, plus a quirky monkey for comic relief…) And my mother is fond of reminding me that she still has my first self-published effort, a personal picture book from around the same era titled, “When Mommy is Cold, I Have to Wear a Sweater.” Since then, I’ve dabbled in everything from poetry to playwriting to short stories to personal essays. For a while, I even wrote copy for an online shoe company from time to time. Sadly, free shoes were not part of the contract. But my heart belongs to romance.
I’m a member of Romance Writers of America, both National and my local chapter. I’ve served as newsletter editor and president, and was thrilled to receive the first-ever Lucy Award, given for consistent pursuit of a career in romance writing. (And getting a contract four days after earning the award was icing on the cake!) I can’t say enough good things about RWA. Not only has it been an amazing source of industry information and craft knowledge, but the friends and mentors I have met through RWA are ones I truly cherish.
On a personal level, I live in the Pacific Northwest with my husband and children.
Happy New Year! May 2012 be all you wish for and more…
Some things change and some things stay the same in life and it’s no different on this blog. So, with that being said, I thought I’d jump in real quick and give y’all an update on what we have going on.
Guest blogs. This started yesterday. We’re (Brandy and I) are going to try and fill some days with authors and bloggers. Some you may know and some you may not. This will bring new readers over here and it will ease up on my guilt of not having something going every day. And yes, there is guilt. I think it should be fun to have new people come in and say hi and talk about their books or their writing or whatever they want to talk about. If you know anyone who would like to guest blog or if you yourself would like to do so, let me or Brandy (bray829 AT gmail DOT com) know.
A newsletter. Yes, I am finally going to jump on this. Sometime here in January, I’ll be putting out the first newsletter. I have no idea what I’ll be saying it yet, but I’ll figure out something. People have been asking on and off for about 2 years for one, so I caved and said yes. If you haven’t signed up for it yet, go for it!
Self publishing. There will be more of it. More M/M and more M/F. The next release is later this month: Trouble in the Making.
And next month will see the release of Book 3 in my Blue Jeans and Hard Hats series, Forever In Blue Jeans. Kendra Egert, the fabulous cover artist who designed the Twisted Up cover and the Trouble cover, and who has been designing author Melissa Schroeder’s covers of late, is working on the Forever cover. I can’t wait. I think y’all will love it!
Publishers. I will still be writing for them.
Coffee. I will still be drinking it on a very, very regular basis.
Conferences. I am currently signed up for Authors After Dark in New Orleans and will be signing up first thing tomorrow for Lori Foster’s Annual Reader and Author Get Together. I love Lori Foster’s event. It’s small and intimate and people there actually know me. Authors After Dark is like a shot in the dark for me, but I am going. Those are the only ones I’m planning to attend. Romantic Times is out of the question for a variety of reasons.
Writing. There will be more of it this year than in 2011.
Books. I will be reading a TON this year. Probably not as much as y’all do, but I’ve gotten back into reading so…
Readers. I need more readers. I need the current readers I have. I know I often say ‘we’ and ‘us’ but without you, my readers, I couldn’t do this. We ARE in this together. I am more thankful and grateful and happy to have you than I can possibly say. Without you, I wouldn’t be able to pursue a career in writing and without me, well, y’all wouldn’t have Vinter, or Jaz, or Buck, or Cam, or Justin… 😉
Snippet Saturdays and Six Sentence Sundays. I’ll be trying to do these more regularly.
Contests. We’ll have more.
Website. There’s going to be an overhaul. There will be a color change, a header change, the bookshelf will be rearranged and better laid out. I will be working closely with the fabulous Dee Tenorio on it. She does amazing work and any updates and changes you’ve seen over the last year have been from her.
For those of you who’ve stuck by me, I am humbled and so appreciative. For those of you who’re new to me, welcome and get comfortable. I have a Facebook fan page now for anyone who would like to go over there and Like it. If you buy your books from Amazon or Barnes and Noble or All Romance eBooks or wherever, if there’s a Like button, please click it. Not just for my books, but for other authors you like as well. It does help us gain notoriety with other readers. And if you’re of a mind to, leave a review or at least a star rating. These help authors as well.
I do think that’s all for now. If there’s more, I’ll let you know.
I believe author Kate Davies will be on the blog tomorrow so please come check her out!
Writing can be a solitary process, but the internet has helped alleviate that somewhat for me and, I suspect, many others. It’s connected me with readers, other writers, and fans in various fandoms around the world. I’ve discovered soap operas in Germany, England, Spain, and the US. I’ve made friends in Europe, South America, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Lebanon, and the Far East. And I’ve re-learned that despite our differences, there is far more that connects us.
Happy New Year! May 2012 be all you wish for and more…
