Greetings and salutations, readers!

Sarazen's Betrayal has been released!
In the wake of this exciting new world, some questions have been answered, some new characters revealed, and a whole new set of questions have arisen! Like they do.

If you have NOT YET read Sarazen's Betrayal (srsly?) read no further because I'm about to answer a few of those questions!

************Semi-Spoilers Below*********

So I've gotten a lot of the "when's the next book coming?" and "hurry up with the next book"
....I love you guys and I'm so appreciative of your eagerness for more of what I got cookin, but this stuff takes time to percolate! Lol!

And I posted it as a mild joke, but for true. I've only been published since last June, and I've cranked out FIVE BOOKS.

Five. Five books in just over eight months.

So, love you for realzies, but that might not always be my speed and y'all need to chill. LOL!

I probably could release 10,000 word short stories/chapters every couple of weeks, at a dollar a pop, which monetarily would be great for me...but not so good for you and my goal is always to make it good for you.

I introduced some new characters, and a lot of you have commented about Ilaria. She was SO much fun to write, and the second I conceptualized her character, I decided she would have her own series.
At this point I couldn't tell you how many novels will be in her series/part of her world. Definitely not as many as the Sarazen Saga. Although I say that, and I could discover after chatting with the characters in her circle, that there will be way more. I never can tell until I get in the thick of things.
But yes.
Ilaria will have her own little world.

When is the next Perdition novel coming?
I don't know. I've completed 3/4s of Ripley and Saint's story, but some of you might not know, a lot of what goes on in those books is inspired by real life events.
Like Top having cancer.
It's been an interesting few months since I published Athena's Raid, and it's just taking me more time to decide which of the unbelievable events to use in Ripley and Saint's story, and which to save for the next few Perdition novels. Trust me, I've not forgotten about Perdition, and there will be at least three more of those novels on the horizon.

The last question has been asked by a good handful of you, via facebook or private email, asked in various forms along these lines:

"I love your work! I'm so jealous/inspired, I've got all these ideas but I've never been able to write them all down or do anything with them. How did you start writing?"

First of all, I say it often, but I sincerely mean it. Thank you, so SO much. Every comment left, every time I open up my author dashboard and see the number of books sold, I'm so grateful to all of you readers who are making it possible for me to have this dream job. Legit. I wouldn't have been able to become a full-time writer without you.

Second, I don't know if many of you know or noticed this about me, but I'm a fairly blunt person. I write. I don't run a bakery, so get your sugar coated delights, elsewhere! <3
 Those of you who have asked me how I started writing, you're among good company. So, let us begin!

How do I do it-

The laundry list of ingredients that make up my personal writing style, will never be the same as someone else's. There will be similar components, a general formula all writers share.

Ingredients:
A story you want to tell.
HONEST friends to discuss the meat of the story with, who'll tell you 'babe, that shit sucks.' or 'HOLY HELL YES!'
A vivid imagination with no bounds or limitations.
Thick skin.
Determination.
Patience.
Passion.

No doubt there are some of you thinking, it can't be that easy.

Others are thinking, Shit, that sounds hard!

It is that easy, and it is hard.

Writing isn't a magic spell. Getting published isn't some luck of the Irish what requires the blood of a virgin and a password six millon characters long, with an uppercase letter, two lowercase letters, a symbol and a prayer to Satan.
It really is a question of, how bad do you want it?

I hear this a lot, from friends of friends, and from readers-
"So, Isabel, how did you start writing?"

My answer-

I was a very privileged child, and I got the chance to travel to some really amazing places, which meant amazing experiences. But having privileges, didn't mean my childhood was some fairytale. It actually sucked balls in a lot of ways.

From my baby-baby years, my mom read to me. It was our quiet time together before naps or bedtime, and thinking back, those were some of the more peaceful moments in my house.

I grew up voraciously reading, and when I was 13, I picked up a book by Virgina Henley called, The Pirate and the Pagan. If you've never read any of Virginia Henley's books...you're missing out. Big time. They're historical romance, but unlike any I've read to date, and at 13, my eyeballs were bugging out of my skull to read the steamy sexy parts. I was shocked. I'd had no idea this cool looking book held such salacious content, and I knew if I mentioned it to my mom, I'd never again be able to read any of Virginia's stuff.

So, I was at that point introduced to the idea of fantasy and romance, at a time when my life was anything but stars and roses. I was the nerdy kid not part of the cliques, unwelcome in the already established social pecking order, and my escape from all that was to read. Or to sit down and write out some fantasy where my mind could travel backwards or forwards in time, to a place where I was safe, welcome and happy.

I was secretive about my writing the way an artist is secretive about their unfinished painting. I didn't want anyone else to read my work, because it wasn't ready, but mostly, because that was MY world. MY sanctuary, and I wasn't ready to share it.

I'll never forget the day my mother stumbled across one of my daydream writings. I'd never been so crushed and so pleased at the same time. Mom was horrified, berated me for writing 'smut' (#crushed)
She was horrified, not because I was writing "smut" but more so because she read it and actually felt like she was there. Immersed in the reality of my fantasy. (#elated)

I'm sure she thought I was out having sex left and right, but the truth was that my imagination was soaring. I'd never even kissed a boy at this point, but what teenage girl doesn't want attention from the hottest guy in school? I didn't ever get that attention from him, so I wrote stories where the heroine got swept off her feet and into the sunset.

(Confession: I haven't let my mom read a single page of any of my writing since that day. She knows how I'm making my living these days, and I'm sure as I'm an adult now she would approve of the content. But still not happening, lol.)

Writing became my recreational past time. My unwind after a long day. Other women go out after work and have drinks with their co-workers or friends.

I curl up at the end of the couch and write or read a steamy novel.

You've no doubt seen me mention my friend, Shelda, in posts or the acknowledgment of Claim. She's one of my dearest friends, and for a time we worked together in a quiet setting where we could bandy our creative thoughts about.
(She's written a fabulous erotic poetry book, Sky Woman's Daughter if any of you are interested  https://www.amazon.com/Sky-Womans-Dau... )

So one day, Shelda asks me the big question. She says,
"Do you know how much money there is to be made in the Romance genre? You've got all these writing projects, have you ever thought of publishing them?"

I was leery, to be honest. My brain went back to that terrible day my mother discovered my 'dirty books.'

"I've never actually finished anything. I just start writing, and stop when I get to a certain point." I say.

Shelda makes a non-committal sound. "How many books a month in the romance genre, do you read?"

I was embarrassed to tell her. A lot. Like, A LOT.

"Do you like all the books you buy and read?" she asks.

"No. About three in five are terrible." I answer.

"Do you think your writing is as bad as those three that are terrible?"

Scoff! "No. But I'm biased."

We continued to have this conversation for a while. I tell people that Shelda pulled a Spock and logicked me out of any excuses, and she did, but the simple truth was, I was ready to hear it.

People can tell you all day long, how fabulous a writer you are. How you should stop wasting time and just publish a book. I did a workshop recently in an effort to answer everyone's question of,

"How did you do this?"

And I told them what I tell you now-

I got on Amazon, I scrolled down to the bottom of the page, clicked on the 'Publish' tab, and filled in the blanks.

That's literally it.

"Well, okay. If it's that simple, why didn't you do it sooner? You've been writing for years, do you regret not publishing sooner?"

I wasn't ready eight years ago. Or even two years ago. I didn't have the experiences I have now, to use as emotional information I could convey in such a way as to make someone else feel what I felt.

Sure, I had dreams of someday quitting all my nine to five jobs, and becoming a writer full time. But I wasn't ready to take that leap of faith and say, "I can make this happen."

If you read my books and are inspired to write your own, I'm flattered and I'm thrilled for you. Truly.

But understand, you might not be ready yet to share your stories, and that's not a reason to be jealous or get down on yourself about "why haven't I done this sooner?"

I tell you honestly, not to garner compliments or flattery, no shit, I was TERRIFIED when I hit Publish, and Never Ever was sent out into the world for all to see.
Looking at the number of units sold, I had a moment of, 'what have I done? All those people are inside my imagination. All of those people are reading my thoughts. Holy shit.' Those were my private thoughts, a fantasy world I created. Would anyone read it? Was I any good? Would people hate this book?

People read it.

I was pretty good.

Some loved it.

Others hated it.

I learned very quickly that I could tell a great story, but my punctuation and grammar sucked. I needed an editor, badly.

How did I learn this? I obsessively stalked the comments on Amazon, and you, readers, told me where my strengths and weaknesses lie.

There were comments that brought me to tears, because I was stunned you all liked the story I had to tell.

There were other comments that lit my ass on fire with indignation, and Shelda heard all about it for days. She laughed, she listened, we commiserated, and I eventually was ready to understand that despite the nasty comment, there was value in it for me as a writer. A definitive place where I could improve.

The comment was still nasty as hell, and unfortunately, that person(s) may or may not wind up a brutally murdered victim in a book of mine...but even in that, in my anger or hurt, there was value.

Another experience, another emotion for me to be able to convey to the rest of my readers.

So in reality, there is no bad feedback. But, not everyone can take that nastiness and use it. Some people will let that one horrible comment, ruin their desire to keep going.

Thick skin, and how bad do you want it.

Those are two of the most important writing ingredients.

Yes, I get to create worlds, characters, fantastical escapes and get paid for it.

But I also am human. I get my feelings hurt, I feel pressure and stress in this 'job' like any other human being. I feel weird about the compliments sometimes. I write 7,000 words and hate every single one.

It's a process, and it's normal.

So if you have story ideas, fantasies, memoirs, journal entries, that's great. Sit down every day and write 500 words. Doesn't matter what you write. Doesn't matter if you like or dislike those 500 words. If you want to publish something, that's how you start. Write shit down, every day.

Will you be afraid?
At first. But I bet you, you're not alone.

Will the publication sell?
Yes. Someone will buy it. I can't promise you a thousand people will buy your book, but you won't know unless you try.

What if people hate what I wrote?
 No matter what you do, there will always be haters. You could win the Nobel Peace Prize, and someone will shit on you and say you didn't deserve it. That's just how it goes. Also, if they hate it, try another genre and see what happens.

 I thought the Perdition novels would sell out the roof because at the time, I was reading biker romance and I loved it. Color me shocked when the Sarazen Saga BLEW THE FUCK UP.

I was shocked. I really was. I honestly didn't think the sci-fi in me was up to snuff. But look what happened. I tried two different genres, and found I'm stronger in one, than the other. So where have I been putting my extra effort? Into creating more fantastical, boundless worlds. But I wouldn't have known that if I hadn't tried something new. Something I didn't think anyone woul like very much.

When I posted about the passing of my dream horse, it wasn't to garner sympathy. I wanted to share the beauty of her with everyone. Because she was amazing, and she was a daily, visual reminder of life and dreams.

One of you very kindly told me that my horse had also given me the gift of being a writer. It made me cry a little more, in a very sweet way. But I was a writer before I ever got that mare. The gift that horse actually gave me, was confidence and a drive to make my dream of writing as a profession, reality. My hope when I posted about my dream horse, was to remind everyone that dreams do and can come true if you want it bad enough.

Every single human in the world could have walked up to me, told me being a published author was a dream I could make happen, and I still would have doubted it.

Why?

Because I wasn't ready to hear it, or believe it. Believe in myself.

Friends in my circle have walked up to me and straight up told me how jealous they are of what I've accomplished. You know what I do? I don't try to tell them not to be jealous.

I laugh.

Not out of spite or ridicule, I laugh because it's not me or my success they're jealous of. It's not even jealousy. They're just not ready, and I laugh, because the only person stopping them, is themselves.

In any walk of life, whether it's writing, science, sports, climbing Mt. Everest or visiting every other country in the world, it's not that you CAN'T do it. It's not that someone else is better than you and able to do all the things you want to do because they're better. It's not that they have more money, or more time, or more support.

They're simply, ready.

Ready at a different time than you, and that doesn't make them or you, any better or less.

Yes, obviously if you have physical limitations, you might not be able to climb Mt. Everest or travel or whatever. But even if you're bedridden, there are things MENTALLY, you're not ready for today, that might take you a few years to become ready for.

I started writing when I was 13 years old.
I published my first book at 30.
17 years. It took me 17 years to be ready. To want it. To gather up the courage to quit the stability and drudgery of a bi-weekly paycheck. To take a risk. To let thousands of people into my imagination.

So how did I do it? I took my time.

And when I was ready, when I was ready to listen, to absorb, to let those shitty comments about my writing roll on by and take the positive from it as best I could...while still plotting literary murder in the future (#writersperogative)....I made it happen.

Jealousy? That's okay. Jealousy simply means you're not ready yet. You don't want it bad enough, yet .

Fear? Worry? Uncertainty? That's even more okay. It means you're not ready.

When you ARE ready, you grab your dream, whatever 'your thing' is, by the balls and you don't let go until you get what you want.

That's it. That's my magic spell. That's how I did it. I grabbed it, my fear and dreams, by the balls and told it who was boss.

However, the only reason I'm SUCCESSFUL, is because of you. The person reading this. Reading my stories. My fantasies. Shaking your fist over my adoration for improper periods and sentence fragments.

(Segue: When you're speaking to someone, do you speak in full grammatically correct thoughts and feelings? I don't. I've not met a single person who does. I'm sure they're out there somewhere, weirdo unicorns. But that's how I convey thoughts and feelings of a character. Fragments, just like how we speak in real life. Test drive it today and see if you're one of the weirdo unicorns, or an average speaker :p End segue)

I think some day when I'm in the mood for Non-Fiction, I'll write a book about grammar.
Comma Momma Drama...maybe.

I know now that I can tell a great story. But it's only great when someone reads it and feels it in their gut.

So, it's been good for me. Was it good for you too?

Theme song of the day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfQFU...