Romance Blog Part II

Six years ago, I embarked on my blogging journey. “If you want to be an author,” they said, “you have to blog every day and develop a platform.” So I started.

But what was I going to blog about on a daily basis? My life certainly isn’t that interesting that everyone wants to read a diarized version of activities each day.

I was new to writing and didn’t consider myself a romance writer at the time. I could have done historical based articles, but then the audience of the blog wouldn’t have matched the audience of my novels.

The one thing I did know about, the one topic I could share from my heart, was my journey to become a published author. I know about setting high goals, breaking it down into achievable chunks, and doing the work to back up the goal.

Along my own path to success (which by my definition was publication), I shared my set backs, my successes, the revision of my goals, boundaries, and Tomlin's. I even created another blog to share spotlight my writing friends work (creating that community).

But lately something hasn’t felt comfortable about the content I’ve been sharing. I dropped off the email list for a couple of blog tour sites. I’ve had my own setback of about six to seven months of not working on my blog or my own dream journey. My goal is to do both. Not only do I want to promote my own romance writing and other great authors, I also want to continue to inspire others in their dream journeys.

So the choice is clear, it’s time to split the two blogs!

       

This blog has been renamed dean frech ~ lgbtqia+ romance writer. My tag line remains the same, Not the history you were taught. I chose to change to the lgbtqia+ designation because, although I only have MM titles published and in the immediate queue right now, I have some ideas for FF and transgendered romance. Who knows what else my twisted brain will come up with along the way.
I am moving the motivational stuff to a new blog, called How I Did It: 5 Easy Steps to Accomplishing Your Goals and Realizing your Dreams. I will also be establishing a new Twitter account and Facebook page for folks to follow me in my journey and use the tools I do to achieve their own dreams and goals. Although not ready to go yet, you can see the blog here:


How I Did It: 5 Steps for Accomplishing Your Goals and Realizing Your Dreams


In addition to my own content and news on my own writing career, I will be joining forces with some blog tour companies to help promote my fellow authors in the LGBTQIA+ fiction arena. Currently I am hosting for IndigoMarketing. I also take direct requests for promo spot, just send me an email to deanfrech@aol.com.

Note about review policy: I don’t reviews any more. As an author myself, I don’t want to muddle what could be a fun collaborative relationship with a review of book I didn’t like. Unfortunately,I don’t have the time to read all the books I want to, let alone try to get something done in time for a release or specific promo date. As the blog grows and expands, I may host a team of reviewers, but I won’t do the reviews myself. When I read a novel, I do so because I enjoy the author, as research for my own writing, etc.

Thank you for joining me today on a new leg of my blogging journey! I hope you return regularly for the latest from me, my Rainbow Snippets on Sundays, and the latest from the lgbtquia+ fiction world.

What do you like to see most from romance author blogs? I'd love to hear!

Change is Inevitable

Change is inevitable - except from a vending machine ~ Robert C. Gallagher

Did you realize that even if you didn’t choose to embark on a dream journey, inevitably your life would change?

Whether we want it to, or not, our lives and the world around us are constantly changing. Had I not quit smoking 19 years ago, who knows what my health would be like today. The world may have passed me over, had I not returned to school and finished my B.S. degree.

When I decided to write a novel, life was pretty good. I had been unemployed. The week I got the job offer, I found the characters and the story in my head that would become A Place to Call Their Own. My life has changed a lot since then, but how different life would be today without a hobby like writing to do every day? Without blog posts to write weekly? Without sales and reviews to promote? Now I write stories that (I hope) change other people’s lives.

If you’re wavering on starting a dream journey, remember your life with change. Hopefully your dream journey will help it change for the better.

How has your dream journey changed your life?

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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from Amazon US!

Can two men find love amidst the pervasive culture of  propriety, honor, and expectation of the 1960s?

My latest novel, Need Your Love is available from Amazon US! 

Gut Feelings

Here’s to clear gut feelings that spare us emotions and save us time ~ Jill Badonsky

The answers to all your questions about our dream journeys are deep within us. We each hold our own answers. Sometimes we just don’t know it.

When I found my story for my first novel, A Place to Call Their Own, something deep inside resonated that it would be my first novel. I immediately started working on notes and research, developing the characters, etc. It took me four years to write the first draft, but I knew Frank and Gregory’s story was the first I would tell.

Recently, my husband had the choice of two jobs. I told him he had the answers within himself. Even though he quit a job he had only just started, he took the job that was Monday through Friday at a small family owned company that he truly loved. Although he felt guilty about quitting the other job, we knew it was the correct decision for him.

I’d love to hear about a gut feeling you had about your dream journey and how it turned out.

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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from BookStrand!

Can two men find love amidst the pervasive culture of  propriety, honor, and expectation of the 1960s?

My latest novel, Need Your Love is available from BookStrand!

A Lump in the Throat

A poem begins with a lump in the throat ~ Robert Frost

Your dream journey usually also starts as a lump in the throat or an itch that one can’t shake. It’s an idea so that so ingrained in your being, it’s probably always been there.

For me, once I settled into my writing routines, I found writing a natural extension of myself. Getting up early in the morning, working for an hour before going to work, makes my day go much better. I much more relaxed, calm, and serene during the day when I get up, excercise, then write for at least an hour.

Working on my dream goal is a regular par of my day as eating or sleeping. When I don’t make the time to get up and work on my projects, my day seems lacking.

Tell me about a part of your dream journey that was easy for you.

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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from Smashwords!

Can two men find love amidst the pervasive culture of  propriety, honor, and expectation of the 1960s?

My latest novel, Need Your Love is available from Smashwords!

Coming soon from JMS Books: Disappear With Me!

The Answers are Within

Take full account of the excellencies which you possess, and in gratitude remember how you would hanker after them, if you had them not ~ Marcus Aurelius

After you discover your dream journey, there might be a time of hesitation before you actually get started. If you’re already in the chosen field of your dream goal, this just might mean that you stall progress. For those who haven’t begun…well we all know what that means.

If you’re in that position, don’t despair. Fear of the unknown is natural. Remember this: you have the answers deep inside.

Yes, you read that right, each of us has the answers inside ourselves for the questions we seek.

When I started writing, I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t even know the ending to the story at that point. I had the words in my head and I started typing them out on the blank page on the computer. Inside though, I knew I was going in the right direction.

I did seek out help through books and feedback from others, so the story that is published today is not the rough draft I first produced. I didn’t know everything I needed to know (do you ever?), but I had a gut feeling on where to start and how to progress.

You have the answers deep inside. Take a moment to listen and see what you find out.

I’d love to hear about a time when you figured out your own answers in your dream journey.

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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from Omnilit!

Can two men find love amidst the pervasive culture of  propriety, honor, and expectation of the 1960s?

My latest novel, Need Your Love is available from Omnilit!

Good Actions

Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others ~ Plato

When we moved to Kansas City on December 31, 2009, I made sure we went to church on that first Sunday. For a couple of years I had found Central Presbyterian Church  and knew they were an open and welcoming congregation. I had not been happy with our church where we lived before and was excited to return to my Presbyterian roots. .

That winter in Kansas City was snowy and cold. On that first Sunday morning, it snowed another four inches Saturday night into Sunday. (Later I found out that in ten years, the pastor had never canceled church!) I called the church office, and the message did not indicate that church would be closed, so we made the trek through the city to church that Sunday morning. I’ll never forget that first Sunday with our new church family. I knew that day that we had our found our new church home in Kansas City.

Later that month when we invited the pastor over for coffee, she told us that she was inspired by our story. Determined to start the New Year in a new city right, we traveled to church in the snow. Not only was it good for ourselves, but we inspired others that year.

I think it’s the same when you’re working on accomplishing a dream. In the beginning, the people in your life can act put off or hurt that you might be spending more time on your goals. But after just a little bit of success, soon they return to your corner, cheering you on. Then, as a result of your actions, you inspire them to reach for their own goals.

I’d love to hear about a time when you inspired others to act!

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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from Kobo!

Can two men find love amidst the pervasive culture of  propriety, honor, and expectation of the 1960s?

My latest novel, Need Your Love is available from Kobo!

2016 Resolutions - What Are Yours?

Here’s to having a fresh view take you by surprise ~ Jill Badonsky

I’m a bit late, but it’s my first post of the year! That means I need to share my resolutions for the year. If you’ve kept up with me the last few years, you know how important I think that resolutions are. Even though I can look back on many of these posts and see that I didn’t achieve what I set out to do, there are plenty of New Year’s Resolutions that I accomplished. Some of them include:

• Quitting smoking in 1997
• Going back to school to complete my undergrad degree in 1998
• Finishing writing A Place to Call Their Own in 2012
• Writing Disappear With Me in 2012
• Publishing 3 titles in 2015 (although 2 of them were 2nd editions…LOL)

So, in the spirit of both writing goals and sharing them, here are my writing goals for 2016:

• Write 3 complete novels and submit them to publishers
• Start a fourth by the end of the year.
• Self publish Disappear With Me when my rights revert on March 31, 2016
• Be more consistent with promotion

What are you working on in 2016? I’d love to hear!

_________________________________________________________

Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?
 
My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from JMS Books LLC!

It is also available from Amazon!

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural? 

  Disappear With Me isavailable from Amber Quill Press!

A chance meeting at a wedding in June, 1966, ignites a spark between Eron Lassiter and Garrett Emerson. Can they find happiness amidst the still pervasive culture of propriety, honor, and expectation in the 1960s?

 
My latest novel, Need Your Love, is available from JMS Books LLC!

It is also available from Amazon!

Disappear With Me has a New Home!

Time’s fun when you’re having flies ~ Kermit the Frog

I am excited to announce that Disappear With Me has a new home! I just signed a contract with Amber Quill Press for their Amber Allure imprint. I am excited that DWM has a home with a bigger publisher in the gay romance world. I’m also excited that it will sit along with other great gay historical authors and titles.

It looks like DWM will be also be released in May, more details to follow as I get them.

Here is a blurb about Disappear With Me:

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural?

In 1910, the United Kingdom was in turmoil. King Edward died after only nine years on the throne. The social class system that upheld British society for centuries was being chipped away by social, political, and economic unrest across the Commonwealth. Amidst this backdrop, Reverend Leander Norris is accused of sodomy. After discovering his own self-worth and unconditional love, Leander finds the courage to stand up for what he believes is right and pleads not guilty to the charges. Throughout the trial, Leander’s past is revealed, including the temptations that bring the accusations against him. By the end of the trail, Leander is once again reunited with a romantic interest from the past, but it may be too late to rekindle any love that might remain, given the circumstances of the era and Leander’s likely sentence.


Here’s a link to the Amber Quill’s website in case you are not familiar:




http://www.amberquill.com/

Defiance

Here’s to defiance when it leads to creative freedom - Jill Badonsky

Next Tuesday, the first quarter of 2015 will already be behind us? How is your progress on this year’s goals going for you?

For me, it’s been a rocky year so far. I got off to a slow start in January, but returned to daily progress on goals in February. Then the big news came. I went immediately from two nearly completed manuscripts to four in the blink of an eye. After a brief mourning period, I reviewed my manuscripts and sent them off to new publishers. APTCTO got picked up by JMS Books and will be published in May. I am still waiting to hear on DWM.

One of the hidden benefits of rereading my published manuscripts was reacquainting myself with my early characters. I had planned to do so later in the year, but it was nice to do it now. I also gained a new appreciation and respect for APTCTO, and therefore my own writing. Another benefit of releasing second editions of my novels will be the fact that maybe I’ll have four or five new releases this year insted of just two or three.

I’ve revised my scheduled three or four times since January. Although one revision was just about fixing the dates, it made a big difference in the overall plan. There have still been days when I don’t get as much done as I want, but I seem to be able to get caught up. Part of that drive this year is a determination to set boundaries between my day job and my writing job/goals.

Overall, it hasn’t been a bad quarter. I have one contract signed and soon I will have two manuscripts in submission piles waiting for contracts. While I wait, I’ll plug away at fourth nearly complete manuscript and get it done before July.

How is your first quarter going?

The Little Novel That Could

I could not at any age, be content to take my place in a corner by the fireside and simply look on ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Two years ago, I was basking in the glow of my first contract, getting ready to enter my first round of editing. Caught by surprise on Thomas’s birthday in 2013, Musa Publishing offered me a contract for A Place to Call Their Own. I had actually given up on my first manuscript and was working on polishing Disappear With Me in hopes that I could get better reception on that manuscript. In the end, APTCTO came through and hit the market first. APTCTO holds a special place in my heart. It’s my first novel, written during Thomas and I’s early years together. It’s very much an allegory of our lives at the time.

When I got my rights back at the beginning of March, I immediately set to work on polishing Disappear With Me. With advice from some writer friends, I attacked my WIP to do list starting from the least work need to the most. I sent Disappear With Me off two weeks ago, and still have not heard on that submission.

But, APTCTO, the little novel that keeps on going, was accepted today by JMS Books!  Once again, my little tale of two Civil War vets going west after the war will be the launch (in this case, a relaunch) of my publishing career with an expected release date in May sometime!

I have never given APTCTO the credit it deserves. Not just one, but twice it seems it’s the hands down favorite of others who believe in it the value of its story. Thanks JMS Books!

Here’s a reminder of what APTCTO is about:

Frank Greerson and Gregory Young have been discharged from the Army and are headed to their childhood homes. They both defied their parents in 1861 when they joined the Army. After battling southern rebels and preserving the Union of the United States of America, the two men set out to battle the Kansas Prairie and build a life together. Once they find their claim, they encounter common obstacles to life on the Kansas Prairie in 1866:  Native Americans, tornadoes, wild animals, and weather.

When a prairie fire destroys their crops and takes their neighbor’s lives, Frank and Gregory are instructed to find their young son’s aunt. Faced with leaving a destroyed claim, the railroad coming through their land, and dwindling funds, Frank and Gregory must decide whether to leave the place they have worked hard to make their own or fulfill their friends' dying wish. Is it possible for the two veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

Here’s a link to check out JMS Books:



http://www.jms-books.com/

Outside the Margins on the Prism Book Alliance

I talked about my process of rereading my first two novels on the Prism Book Alliance yesterday...stop by and take a look...

http://www.prismbookalliance.com/2015/03/rereading-great-books-l-dean-pace-frech-outside-the-margins/

Jingle When You Walk

My heart has been broken so many times, it jingles when I walk ~ Garrison Keillor

If you’re like me, this is not your first dream journey. Establishing a writing career is not my first stab at large goals. I did quit smoking and I did finish my BS degree. But there have been a lot of dreams along the way that didn’t work out.

I think that has made me more resilient this time, it could be age as well…LOL! Whatever it is, I get up everyday now with a plan and a goal and move forward with my dreams of the next published novel.

Do you think past failed dreams help you today? I’d love to hear!

The Day After Tomorrow

The day after tomorrow is the third day of the rest of your life ~ George Carlin

Happy Sunday! What are you working on today? Maybe you’re using the day to catch up what you didn’t get done last week or maybe you are trying to get ahead for the next week. Maybe you’re so caught up you can just take the day off, enjoy the winter weather inside, and watch movies.

What ever the case, use it wisely. Even taking time off from both day job activities and dream journey is using the time wisely to recharge and attack both on Monday morning.

What are you doing this weekend?

Close the Door on the Past

You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don’t let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space ~ Johnny Cash


If you’ve been following me, you know that as of February 28, my publisher ceased business and returned my rights to me. When I first read the news via email on Friday morning, I thought I was unaffected. Sure I would need to find new homes for my novels, but that meant an opportunity to remove some typos that didn’t get caught in line editing (I am a horrible proofreader, never hire me to do that, even if I offer!).

But then reality hit. I already had two completed manuscripts ready to polish. My 1960s novel, Need Your Love, just needs a couple of run throughs and final polish. The Higher Law, my 1930s Los Angeles movie industry story, needs rewritten. In addition to that, I am about 40% done with a merman fantasy novel, Sartin.  I realized I went from two nearly completed manuscripts to four in an instant. That’s when I got overwhelmed.

Thank you to everyone who has offered advice, either on hearing the news or from my asking. Thanks to everyone who shared their leads with me on publishers, especially ones taking previously published works.

If you’ve been following me lately, you also know that things have been really busy at my day job. Knowing that I no longer have a “backlist” out there has given me additional motivation to keep things caught up and in control so that time doesn’t spill into my morning writing time. I reworked my writing and publishing schedule to accommodate polishing the previously published works.

So what I am working on you ask? Here is my list (in my planned chronological order):

1. Comb through Disappear With Me for typos, word choice, etc.Send to publisher who will do second editions.
2. Finish polishing Need Your Love, send to different publisher.
3. Review A Place to Call Their Own and prepare to submit to a third different publisher, one who will do second editions.
4. Move on to rewrite of The Higher Law.
5. Then move on to Sartin the merman.

I have a busy year planned, but I can do it. It really is what I love to do.

Have you had to start all over before in your chosen dream field? I’d love to hear how you picked up the pieces and moved on!

Don't Let Anyone Rob You

Don’t let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity. It’s your place in the world; it’s your life. Go on and do all you can with it, and make it the life you want to be ~ Mae Jennison

After a six to eight month absence, I think I am back. It has been busy, crazy at work learning new tasks and re-adjusting my work life to handle all the new tasks on our plates. I let my dream work suffer and now I am about six weeks or so behind.

I am not letting that stop me. I resolve to get caught up this year. I make that goal every year, but I’ve done it before so now I know I can do it again. I used the last two weeks to get caught up at work and make a plan, so now I can spend my mornings back on my writing.

I can’t believe how energized I was on Monday. Even though I had plenty to do over the weekend, I only worked a couple of hours, but created a plan for the week. I was able to work on a finished manuscript and create a plan to get back into my critique group routine this week. 

I am back, and ready to get writing and publishing with a vengeance.

How do you like to return to projects you have set aside for awhile?

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Is it possible fora two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

 

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from Musa Publishing!

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural? 

My latest novel, Disappear With Me is available from Musa Publishing!

Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Use #APTCTO and #disappearwithme to discuss on social media!

Most Success Springs From Failure

Most success springs from an obstacle or failure. I became a cartoonist largely because I failed in my goal of becoming a successful executive ~ Scott Adams

In writing, this can be very true. I come up with a couple of great characters, a great plot, write a few chapters, and submit them to various people for their feedback. Most of the time, I think they are going to come back and tell me how wonderful and brilliant my writing is. Almost always, they help me find holes in my plot and inconsistencies in my characters. Then, what I revise usually turns out better than my original idea.

The awesome thing about perceived failure is the opportunity to rebound and make things even better than they were before, or go in another direction. Just because something doesn’t work out, doesn’t mean you can’t move on to other things. I thought I wanted to be a direct sales leader, now I know my calling is to be a writer.

How have you overcome perceived failure? I’d love to hear!

So excited to have Adrian Smith on the Book Reviews, Rants, & Raves blog today!

Book Reviews, Rants, & Raves!: For By Grace by Adrian J. Smith: Author Bio: Adrian J. Smith, or "AJ" as she is often called, is a part time writer with an epic imagination, sharp wit, a...

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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from OmniLit !

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural? 

My latest novel, Disappear With Me is available from OmniLit!

Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Use #APTCTO and #disappearwithme to mention on social media!

You Have to Love Yourself

Love yourself and everything falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world ~ Lucille Ball

Do you ever have feelings of self-doubt? That maybe the dream journey you’re on isn’t for you or not within your reach?

Stop that! You have to believe you are worthy and deserving of success, however you define that.

One of the best pieces of advice I got over the last year was about edits back from a publisher. As a writer, it can be a bit defeating and overwhelming to get your manuscript back from your editor all marked up for edits. I have been one of those people who opened the files, saw all the red, and then didn’t open it back up for two days. But an editor at RainbowCon gave the best insight into this self-doubt, “Your manuscript is already accepted, we just want to help make it better.”

How do you deal with incidents of self doubt on your dream journey? 

_______________________________________________

Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from BookStrand!

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural? 

My latest novel, Disappear With Me is available from BookStrand!

Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Join the conversation, use #APTCTO and #disappearwithme on social media!

Exactly Like You

Nobody can be exactly like me. Even I have trouble doing it ~ Tallulah Bankhead

No matter what your dream journey, there is almost always someone ahead of you to look up to. Nearly every profession has a prescribed set of success steps that one can follow to achieve success.

In the same respect, you also have to pick and choose the steps that feel right to you. For example, instead of writing the sequel to my first novel right away, I chose to move on to another time period and different characters to help build my writing skill. Now that I have almost five manuscripts under my belt, I feel like I can return to the first novels and do their sequels better justice.

What do you do that breaks the mold (and is successful for you) in your dream journey? I’d love to hear!

_______________________________________________

Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from BookStrand!

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural? 

My latest novel, Disappear With Me is available from BookStrand!

Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Join the conversation, use #APTCTO and #disappearwithme on social media!