Sloan Parker's Blog

“The time to read is any time: no apparatus, no appointment of time and place, is necessary. It is the only art which can be practiced at any hour of the day or night, whenever the time and inclination comes, that is your time for reading; in joy or sorrow, health or illness.”

-Holbrook Jackson

Hi all. Hope everyone had a great week.

I’ll explain the title of this blog post in a moment, but first a brief writing update:

As I mentioned on Wednesday I finished a new short story and sent it off to my critique partner. Now that it’s done (or close to it) I realize I feel like I’ve spent months with those two guys, writing a novel, not a short story. Hopefully that means something good. I don’t know.

Since then I’ve been focused on TAKE ME HOME. Now that I have all the revisions in place I’m working on another read-through to polish the dialogue and descriptions. Today I read the first 5 chapters, and I think they are ready to go. I still need to do my final checklist of common mistakes and get my critique partner’s input, but other than that, I finally feel like this book is close to submission-ready.

Now on to review the next 20+ chapters again.

Before I get back to it, I wanted to share a link. This week I blogged at Loose Ends, the Loose Id author blog, where I talked about the importance of having someone else proofread a story. The blog is titled: “Arrr! Lick Me Nipples” Or the Importance of Another Set of Eyes. I’m curious how much errors bother readers. I’d love to hear what you think. Feel free to leave a comment here or at Loose Ends.

Hope you all have a great weekend. My little baby nephew is getting married tomorrow. I guess that means he’s not a baby anymore. When did that happen?

If you haven’t checked out Goodreads or the M/M Romance group you should take a look.

What is Goodreads?
“Goodreads is the largest social network for readers in the world. We have more than 4,600,000 members who have added more than 130,000,000 books to their shelves. A place for casual readers and bona-fide bookworms alike, Goodreads members recommend books, compare what they are reading, keep track of what they’ve read and would like to read, form book clubs and much more.” (source: Goodreads)

What is the M/M Romance Group?
“The #1 resource on the internet for M/M Romance fans, this group has something for everyone.

• Book and Series Discussions
• Daily Updates on New Releases and Author News
• Book of the Month Group Reads
• Reading Challenges
• Author Info & Writing Discussions
• Erotic Photos
• Games, Contests & Quizes”

(source: M/M Romance group)

The group currently has 2700 members, and they estimate they’ll have 3000 by mid June. They are also the top 20th most popular group on Goodreads which totally kicks ass when you think about the fact that this group is based on such a small niche market. Definitely a sign that readership and love of the genre is growing.

As a reader of m/m romances, I only wish I had more time to hang out there. If you’re a reader of the genre, you should definitely think about checking out the M/M Romance group.

Sharing a couple links today…

• Earlier this week I blogged about my love of audio books at my RWA chapter blog. The post is titled What Else Can I Clean? I’d love for you to stop by and let me know what you think of audio books. Do you listen to them? If so, do you find you lose yourself in the story as much as if you were reading the book yourself? Or perhaps more?
• Author SJ Frost has written a fabulous article about the unsung heroes of the publishing world: the editors. Definitely all true, so I’ll take this opportunity to say another huge thank you to my editor at Loose Id, Antonia, and the line editors and proof readers who have helped with my stories. Your insights, time, and effort are greatly appreciated!

Read an E-Book Week is March 6-12, 2011.

Stop by the Read an E-Book Week website to learn about the history of ebooks, the advantages of ebooks, to enter to win an eReader, and more.

If you’re interested, here are some ideas to help share your love of ebooks (some are mine, some are from the Read an E-book website):

1. Tweet links to the ebooks you read during Read an E-Book Week using the hashtag #ebookweek.
2. Show your eReader and all its functionality to a friend or family member who doesn’t yet read ebooks.
3. Set up an ebook challenge on your blog.
4. Read only ebooks for the week.
5. Blog, tweet, or Facebook about why you love your eReader and ebooks.

I hope you enjoy the week reading a great ebook.
Sloan

Some folks from blonderland.com and ohkamp.com decided to organize their bookcase one weekend. They said, “It got a little out of hand…” (source: YouTube)

I don’t think I’ve ever had this much free time, but it’s a fun video to watch.

I’m talking at Book Lovers Inc. today about men & what makes a hero stand out. I’m also giving away a copy of Breathe. Stop by if you have time. I would love to hear what you like in a hero.

Giveaway ends February 19th.

Have a great week!
Sloan

I question my work sometimes, as I’m sure most writers do. I’m learning and growing with every project, both as a writer and a reader (in terms of what I enjoy reading and what I look for in a love story). This fosters questions as I move ahead in my writing career.

I recently read this article about voice (Voice – answering Jane’s Question), and it resonated with me. I think a part of me was holding back when writing lately. What is my voice? Can I repeat it? Do I want to? Do I want to change some aspect of the way I write? I’d like to grow and evolve as a writer, but in what ways?

As I’ve mentioned before, the good reviews can mess with your head as much as the not-so-good reviews. There have been some stellar reviews for BREATHE. In some respects those have been great for my confidence level, but I’m not sure I always want to–nor should I–attempt to write something as heavy as the theme/topic of BREATHE. Can anything else measure up? For me? For readers? Will something lighter and sexier appeal to readers who enjoyed BREATHE? Can BREATHE appeal to those who loved MORE? Should I be writing in third person or first? Where is my strength as a writer and how do I repeat that in subsequent stories?

Those types of questions weren’t a big distraction because I do believe in writing for myself first or I lose the passion for storytelling. But as I said, I think I was holding back when it came to my voice.

Kate Walker’s article helped me to relax and get back to the core of what I’m writing, why I’m writing it, and how I like to convey a story, the importance I try to place on the deep point of view of each main character. I was able to let my own passion and emotion flow through the words.

So far this week, I’m feeling really good about the revising I’m doing on HOME AGAIN. I’m still working on the first three chapters, but I’m writing with the love of this story and these characters, and that always feels good. I’m finding that place where I can’t wait to share these men and their love story with others.

Now, back to the manuscript…

Happy reading, everyone!
Sloan

Sharing a collection of links today. Some interesting, some fun, and some more meaningful.

“Why” M/M? And Who Needs To Know?
An interesting post by Jordan Castillo Price.
I will admit, I do get asked the why question and find it so very difficult to put into a few words.

And another about woman writing m/m

The Power of Slash (includes a not-safe-for-work pic)
From Nigel Puerasch, a bi man writing m2m fiction

For the writers out there…

Kimberly Hunter talks about a common problem among writers:
WIPlash ~ Diagnosis & Treatment

And for fun, who would you believe…

A Great Lover
This picture illustrates the difference between marketing, public relations, advertising and branding. For books, a recommendation from a friend with similar tastes holds a lot of weight with me, but not sure if I want to hear from my friends about a potential lover.

Who can resist cute cats getting married…

The Gay Cat Marriage in Manhattan and
A Special Bond Recognized

And on a serious note…

Read about the brave and courageous author Patric Michael and the anthology in his honor at For Patric…Wishing on a Blue Star

And this will bring a tear to your eye…

Against All Odds, a Beautiful Life
“…a little boy dealt a seemingly impossible hand, the two gay men who decided to give him a home and a life, [and] the unlikely spell cast by the only horse in Montclair.”

Oh, and I’ve joined a group blog for my writer’s group. Today I’m blogging about my reading goals this year…

Sloan’s 2011 Reading Challenge
Do you like to set reading goals? Do you have a goal for this year? Or do you find a goal takes the fun out of reading? I’d love to hear what you think.

Sampling of Sloan’s To Read List

Looking back on 2010 I’m disappointed in the number of books I read. Around 40 books (including novellas and an occasional shorter work). This number would be even lower if it weren’t for the two published contests where I served as a judge. Granted, I was incredibly busy. It was my first year as a published author, plus I finished writing/editing Breathe, outlined 4 novels, and wrote the first drafts for 2 of those.

The thing is, my writing and voice are much stronger the more I’m reading quality books by other authors, which means I need to keep reading, as much as I can. So I decided to make my reading goal public today.

For 2011, I’m determined to read an average of 1.5 books per week for a total of 78 books (I’m going to include novellas in that list, but not short stories. I’ll also be counting any audio books, otherwise this goal would be only 1 book a week or less). Yes, some of you are probably laughing at this measly goal, but I’m a slow reader and a slow writer. Usually my reading time is limited to just before bed and listening to an audio book while cleaning the house. My writing goals have to come first. Plus I’ve vowed to spend more quality time with my sweetie this year too. Oh, and there’s still that part-time “day job” that helps pay the bills. I’d love to read more, but I’m trying to keep this goal achievable without stressing myself out too much. Reading is one of my greatest joys in life, and I don’t want it to feel like a chore.

What about you? Do you have any reading goals? Or other resolutions for 2011 you’d like to share? I promise not to look back at this post come December 31 and bug you to see if you made it (well, maybe not…that kinda sounds like fun).

Happy Reading,
Sloan