Roxy Matthews's Blog: Roxy Matthews

Anthologies. A word many do not know. The non-reader has no idea. The reader may or may not have stumbled upon one. The writer is supposed to know, but I'm ashamed to admit I didn't for the first decade of my writing career. Truthfully, I stumbled upon my first, the Beyond The Dark anthology, in a local second hand book store where I picked it mainly because of the teal color of the cover. Nothing like confirming the need for an amazing cover in my industry. *Eyeroll* Anyways, said copy, not only opened my eyes to shorter stories and new writers but turned my eyes onto one my all time favorite authors, Von Jocks. Her paranormal romance story, Haunt Me, blew me away. A story that I remember to this day. Amazing. Since reading that anthology, being inundated with so many stories by so many talented new writers I'd never heard of, not only did my eyes open to new voices aside from Dean Koontz and Stephen King, but it also sent a yearning to my author soul. I wanted to be in an anthology. I would never stop until I did. And that was when I realized the wonderful world of Novellas. Before that first teal anthology in the used book store, I'd only read or wrote full length novels. After all, that's what the big names in the Top 5 did. But looking that far ahead was keeping me from seeing the path to get there. My name, my stories. If I found someone that amazing from one anthology piece, even going so far as to buy every book, online and off, with her name on it, why couldn't I be someone's 'Von Jocks'? To this day, Von Jocks holds second place in my library collection. First, is the talented Sharon Sala who I own close to 80 titles of. Check out Von Jock's website here... http://www.yvonnejocks.com/?fbclid=Iw... So, I spent years writing, learning, failing, and perfecting my craft until I was finally confident enough in my ability for short, emotionally driven work and I entered my first anthology. When that email came saying 'Congratulations for being selected as a participant' I was so excited, so overwhelmed and nervous I didn't see the red flags as they started to emerge weeks and months later. I'd risked it all, spending cash I didn't have to secure the seat. But all I saw was that it was where I wanted to be and nothing in life is smooth or perfect. Sadly, my dream of anthology fame lit from one corner, spread until nothing was left but the ashes of my lost cash. Sigh. Sniffle. That's when 'stay in your pj's, no shower, your hair in some nasty messy bun while you berate your stupidity out loud for two days' mode kicked in. When I was done being mad, sad, hurt, and beat down, I forced myself back to work. After all, if I let one downfall in my writing career take me down, I'd have never gotten past the first month. Now, almost twenty years later, this was just another groove carved into my wooden desk. So, back to work I went. Learning, writing, and trying again until I hit pay-dirt...Naughty Nights Press Valentine's Day Anthology. Of course, I was terrified that yet again my dreams would be hampered by others beyond my control. The task would not be an easy one, especially trying to rein in my multi-genre ways for pure romance, but I pushed forward anyway and stepped out of my comfort zone. What came of it was a story I am proud of. I do feel there is more to this story, and may one day revisit these characters, but only time will tell. For now, I am just pleased that I achieved one of my writing goals and that was getting my name and my story into an anthology. I give you, Perfect Stranger in the Sweeter Than Chocolate: A Valentine's Day Anthology LIVE TODAY!! Check out the anthology here... http://mybook.to/STC Check out my author interview for Perfect Stranger here... https://naughtynightspress.blogspot.c...

In my many years behind the keys, I have learned much, some epiphanies I've posted on Facebook, tweeted about on Twitter, and LinkedIn to the vast network of social media. However, in that time I have also learned by doing, losing, failing, and pushing through. One of those things has been the power of the first draft. Oh yes, that dreaded first draft. The one where you ride an emotional roller coaster from start to finish. Every meme known in the universe can confirm this visualization, however never fully contextualize what it truly feels like to put those words together, stream the perfect sentence knowing that one day someone will eventually read it. Even if it is just your favorite aunt Cindy, or little cousin Marky. All this stress and I haven't even mentioned the true test of faith; in creating your characters, naming them, plopping them in a scenic spot, and throwing in some juicy narrative with this killer story you 'squee' over just thinking about. It's gold, dammit, pure bestseller gold. Oh wait, back peddle a bit...did I mention you still have to make it all work together, and not bore even you as the author? No? Okay, that's for another day. As for the first draft, this is where you spew your story. One you've planned, notes scribbled on post it notes, the outside of envelopes, even used napkins from the local bakery. You feel the glory of those first few words, revel when your screen moves onto a new empty page. It signifies a stepping stone surpassed, a new one only inches away. And as the keys click, pages pass, and word count rises, the story changes, morphs into something you did not jot down in a sleep induced haze. Instead it has become its own entity. Something you've pulled from a OUIJA board, hoping to summon everything otherworldly in the hopes of success. And you go with the flow. Hell, why not. You can still make use of those now coffee stained notes, right? Definitely. But be prepared, because your baby will grow, will learn to talk and walk, then run, and what you once had will become something so much better. Because it is with this first draft, this foundation laid, that the true power is released. Chunks may be pulled, others rewritten. Your characters voices tweaked, their personalities fine tuned to make your story everything you believed it to be in the beginning...pure gold. With that being said, I give you an excerpt of Dead Nor Alive, in it's first draft. I show you this now because by the time I have finished this story, this piece may no longer exist. Maybe it will be tweaked, sentences rewritten. Or it will be just what it was meant to be...a single stepping stone. Dead Nor Alive Excerpt... Everyone wishes, whether it be on a falling star, pennies tossed into a mall fountain, through prayers, or over a turkey’s wish bone. All the same—wealth, fame, and love. In that order. But not Macey Lindrow. She wished for something much more precious than any of that; time. To her, wealth was only temporary, fame the same. But love, family, that was the stuff true dreams were made of. As for love, she didn’t need to wish upon a star for that, she had had it in the handsome Danny Lindrow. Just the thought of his smile first thing in the morning when he rolled over and looked at her as if she was the most beautiful thing in the world, sent a pang of grief through her. With a heavy sigh, Macey stepped up the final rung into the attic, one hand flailing above her head searching blindly for the pull cord, disrupting cobwebs in its wake. With a tug, the light that blasted above illuminated floor to ceiling boxes, stacked haphazardly as if whoever left them cared little about ever coming back up. The thought sent goosebumps to her flesh, had her scour the deepened shadows brought on by the boxes. Who, was the question that fluttered through her mind. Around her, whispered voices caught her attention, had her round in place, inspecting the shadows given by the stacks of boxes. But there was no one, just soft whispers that echoed around her. Her heart skipped, fear had her push through the maze to her destination; her and Danny’s Hope Chest. When she closed in on it, in the same corner it always sat, she rounded, her widened gaze on the shadows. Her ears perked to the muffled conversation going on around her. Her heart pounded against her chest, breathing shallowed, palms dampened. Macey exhaled her breath in a whoosh, wrung her fingers out before her. “You’re losing it, Mace,” she berated herself, using Danny’s nickname. For more excerpts, cover reveals, and updates on new Roxy Matthews releases, join my newsletter https://bluebaloo79.wixsite.com/roxym.... I look forward to sharing my journey with all of you. Muah. Roxy

By the end of Second Time Sam, Pale Bay, it's treasures, secrets, and destiny needed to be dissected. Hence the need to bring forth Drago's Destiny.
NAN, a world several solar systems away fights a deadly plague, one that will destroy the Vlargian race. To stop this deadly virus, one man, chosen by birth must pass through the nations of NAN to the cure hidden deep within the Mothers' chambers. The moment he steps beyond the communities he is forced to fight, not only for himself but the woman he loves. However, their quest is far from over because no more cures exist on their planet. The seeds they need are worlds away, on an unevolved planet...Earth. Now for the fun. I have a puzzle for you. The cover of Drago's Destiny. I will be giving the first person to complete and screenshot the cover a free copy of Drago's Destiny as well as a cutesie little package with some free bookmarks. Just pm me after you win and I'll get your information. Let the fun begin...https://www.jigsawplanet.com/?rc=play...

Pale Bay Treasures just couldn't stop after Numb's finale. Too much of the residents of the little town by the lake called to me. And so came Second Time Sam, the third in this series.
Death and personal destruction seem to follow Sam Doucet while voices of the dead terrorise Gabriella D'angelo. When their lives clash on a deserted highway, one vehicle upside down in the ditch, both will be forced to come to terms with the truth--that everyone deserves a second chance in life AND love.
Now for the fun. I have a puzzle for you. The cover of Second Time Sam. I will be giving the first person to complete and screenshot the cover a free copy of Second Time Sam as well as a cutesie little package with some free bookmarks. Just pm me after you win and I'll get your information. Let the fun begin...https://www.jigsawplanet.com/?rc=play...

The second in the Pale Bay Treasures series, Numb.
Numb is an emotional roller coaster. Lizzie and Johnny may love each other, but Lizzie loves her twin just as much. When she risks her life to drive through a snow storm to him, she unknowingly falls right into evil's sights. With Lizzie in grave danger, both men will need to stick together to save her before it's too late.
Now for the fun. I have a puzzle for you. The cover of Numb. I will be giving the first person to complete and screenshot the cover a free copy of Numb as well as a cutesie little package with some free bookmarks. Just pm me after you win and I'll get your information. Let the fun begin...https://www.jigsawplanet.com/?rc=play...

Part of my publishing journey has been with the Pale Bay Treasures series which I have written and published four of the five books.
McBride's Gem starts of our adventure with two damaged souls who meet on the side of a highway. One blown tires couldn't change their lives completely, or could it.
Hawk and Randi will work to wrench themselves from the grip of evil, and tighten their hold on each other, and take back what they both deserve...another chance at love.
Now for the fun. I have a puzzle for you. The cover of McBride's Gem. I will be giving the first person to complete and screenshot the cover a free copy of McBride's Gem as well as a cutesie little package with some free bookmarks. Just pm me after you win and I'll get your information. Let the fun begin...https://www.jigsawplanet.com/?rc=play...

Marketing, sigh. Need I say more? For anyone in any artistic field working to make a name for themselves, this word instils a feeling of dread, despair, and depression. You can search sites, blast your works in every medium, pay for ads, websites, even interviews and still come up with no more change in your pocket than you had hours earlier. Not only does the mounting frustration leave you feeling like a total failure, but the thought of even giving it another go brings elevated blood pressure. I wish I could say at the end of this blog you will have mastered the hell out of marketing, but you won't, cause I doubt many people 'master' it. What I can promise is that you'll see there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. I've been writing for over fifteen years, marketing along the way. Of course I always thought I was doing enough, but the more research I did, the more authors I listened to, I realised I was far from covering all I should be. I became frustrated. I pushed away from marketing all together and jumped back into writing. I wrote several more books after that, and with the completion of each one, I set out into the marketing hell we all know. I kept trying, kept researching, kept falling into despair. Yet, kept writing. Today I have seven self published works from a five-book novel series, a novella, short story collection, and two older works. I have entered contest after contest with my work and over the years have gained some minor wins, until 2018 when I came across a flyer at my local library. That Canadian writer short story contest would have me chosen as one of Canada's best writers of 2018. My marketing is still not as good as it could or should be, but I am making my way one word at a time. I still research, I still add to my growing list of ways to market, things to do, and I will continue to do so because marketing success, or not, I am doing something I love. I don't have to make six figures or sell that multi-million dollar movie deal, I don't have to be as famously known as Nora Roberts or Dean Koontz, as long as I never let the downfalls outweigh the pride, the sense of achievement I get with every piece I finish. Roxy Matthews

Pale Bay, for those of you who know, is a beautiful little community surrounded by the life giving waters of Silver Lake. But the town is so much more. It lives and breathes, houses and feeds, loves and nourishes. Since Pale Bay's inception, I have had a map outlining where each character's home was, where every business sat along the thick oaks. Not only to one day have it view-able to all my readers, but so I would not lose track throughout each book. My plan was to have the map showcased in McBride's Gem, and each one thereafter, but was told it wouldn't fit. However today is a new day. Today, you will get to delve deeper into Pale Bay, to see what I see when I tell this story. You can now peek inside the world that your most cherished characters live in. Were you curious where Hawk and Randi live? What about the heart of the city, The Chatty Cathy's? Now you’ll get to pinpoint each life that touches yours as you make your way through the story that has plagued my mind for years. Roxy

For over a decade I've struggled to make myself through this writing industry, aiming for that elusive book contract. I foolishly thought that was my ticket, the only way to get hundreds, even thousands of readers. But I soon found out how wrong I was. Last November, I did finally reach that dream, and signed a 5-book deal with a small traditional publisher. Everything was roses and puppy dogs until we had a falling out on speed and contractual obligations. At that point I had to make a choice. Do I stay where it is comfy cozy, a publisher backing my writing skills and future, or do I go it alone, forging my way in self publishing. I chose the later, knowing full well I'd have to rebuild myself and my books. I would struggle once more to climb back up to where I was. I would have to learn to format my books on my own, edit the shit out of them, and publish them online. Marketing would now be my job, cover creation, promo materials, everything you can think of was now in my lap. I will admit, it took me about a month to get past the overwhelming sensation of it all. Could I really be everything I needed to still succeed in my quest to see my passion come to fruition? But once my head cleared and my determination resurfaced, I pulled my head from the sand and held it high. Because if anyone was invested in my dream, it was me. So now, almost two months later, I am back on the bandwagon, re-releasing my first novel McBride's Gem, as well as it's sequel, Numb. I pushed out a short story collection, From the Depths, of all the pieces I'd worked on over the past fifteen years and am now almost ready to jump into book three of the Pale Bay Series edits, Second Time Sam. It has definitely been a learning curve and one that has had its fair share of frustration, but I am still here, still moving onward and upward because it is what I know, it is how I have always seen my writing passion. A passion that was ignited so long ago, it's flame unable to be doused. One that will live on even when I am gone from this plain of existence. My words, my drive will be my legacy. #Storytelling, #SelfPublishing, #RomanceWriter, #WriteMotivation,
#WritersLIfe, #RomanticSuspense, #NeverGiveUp