Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Release Me

This blog is more or less a compilation of places to have featured PR and the like about my novel, Heart Trouble, thus far.  I'd like to thank everyone who has taken the time to share and peruse the varying press, not to mention reading the book! :)



http://www.crimsonromance.com/new-release-romance-ebook/heart-trouble/


A guest blog I wrote for the Crimson Romance website:  http://www.crimsonromance.com/featured/happy-endings/

A listing in the USA Today HEA blog: http://www.usatoday.com/story/happyeverafter/2013/07/29/contemporary-romance-romantic-suspense-new-releases/2594811/

A nice review from Satin Sheets Romance:  http://satinsheetsromance.blogspot.com/2013/07/review-of-heart-trouble-by-tommie-conrad.html

Monday, July 29, 2013

Heart Trouble AKA Get Lucky


As I write this blog, my friend Josie is celebrating the fact that she received a tweet from one of her favorite actresses after quite a bit of trying.  Today my first-ever professionally-published novel is made available for the masses—or at least anyone with an e-reader—to see.  I had only been writing novels for a year when I received that offer from Crimson Romance to publish my novel.  Indeed, many others have tried for years and failed to receive a publishing offer.  By that same token, I have also been trying to find a real, honest-to-goodness job for more than two-and-a-half years.  Writing has become my only income even if it was initially a foolhardy hobby.  Why do good things happen to us?  Are they a reward for our suffering or simply the byproduct of days, months, and even years of hard work?  Do we simply just get lucky?

Food for thought:  you increase your chances of being lucky by simply trying.  You may endure countless rejections, and be ignored or otherwise snubbed, but if you never take that first step, you will remain in exactly the same place.  You can self-publish, or you can solicit the help of an agent, or simply go straight through the publishing house.  If you hide your talents away and never allow anyone to see them, you won’t get rejected—you won’t get anything.

Why do good things happen to us?  Because we’ve tried?  Because we’ve earned it?  Or maybe, just maybe, for no reason at all, but because we needed a little magic in our lives.  Take your pick, choose your own adventure, but, first and foremost, do.
 

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Heart Trouble Pre-Order Links

This blog is primarily concerned with the links to purchase my latest novel, meaning its more in line with commerce than deep thoughts.  I’ve done this before, though, so if you follow me you should be used to it.  Heart Trouble will be available for Nook, Kindle, and iTunes, as well as any devices that support the software utilized by the latter two. Links are below.  I hope that if you enjoy the novel you’ll leave me a good review on Amazon, Goodreads, or the Barnes and Noble website.  Thanks for reading, thanks for caring, and most of all thanks for your support in my career as an author.




Crimson Romance page: http://www.crimsonromance.com/upcoming-releases-romance-ebook/heart-trouble/

Friday, July 19, 2013

All I Can Do

I think as a writer that you develop certain characteristics, traits, and a comfort zone—but at the same time, you strive to avoid repeating yourself.  I know I have repeated myself—as the first person who edits my novels, I have a pretty good handle on what the content is.  At the same time, you hope that you’re saying something different and unique, that each book is forging its own path and means something to a reader.

Additionally, the pre-order links for my novel have finally come in! :)
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Heart-Trouble-ebook/dp/B00DV0XJ7M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1373634941&sr=8-1&keywords=heart+trouble+tommie
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/heart-trouble-tommie-conrad/1116059074?ean=9781440571466
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/heart-trouble/id672327811?mt=11

Monday, July 15, 2013

Easy

After a two-month hiatus from writing, where my primary task was editing Heart Trouble, I have ventured forth with another novel.  The idea for this one has been recorded on my computer dating back to last year, but I never had the confidence to tackle it.  Truth it, I’m still not sure I can do the idea justice, but plot and characters are mine alone.  If I don’t give them life, no one else will.  So far it’s going well; let’s hope I continue to feel that way tomorrow.  I’m shooting for the kind of book I put out easily when I first starting writing, something around the 75,000 word mark.

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Not Again

Nothing lasts forever, except maybe love, and computers are no exception.  I have a dubious relationship with the most important invention of our time.  I have used up and worn out two desktops and two laptops, which isn’t something I’m proud of.  Flashback to Friday when a virus infiltrates my computer and renders it unusable.  I am in the process of the final edit on my novel, Heart Trouble, and unsure about what to do.  Luckily I finally had the sense to Google the problem on my phone browser.  After finding a solution, I had to draw on my graduate school learning (thanks, Prof. Miller—I should’ve paid more attention in your class) and somehow I was able to rescue this computer, yet again, from the fire.  There’s a lesson to be learned here—next time an invader comes to me via wi-fi, shut down the computer and go home.   By the way, I completed my edit.  T-minus four weeks until its release.

Friday, July 5, 2013

Pretty Place

I don’t consider this blog a travelogue, but I have written on several occasions about various sources I have utilized to inspire my fiction, and locations are chief among them.  Last weekend I was fortunate to attend a wedding at the Pretty Place Chapel near Cleveland, South Carolina.  I had not Google’d it beforehand and therefore was amazed, in the best way possible, when we arrived at the venue.  The wedding was incredibly beautiful as well, really a lovely ceremony, but I still can’t get over the chapel.  It was built literally on the edge of a cliff, high above a valley below.  One of those “On a clear day you can see forever” deals.  There is something undoubtedly spiritual and soul-stirring about an open-air house of worship placed within the clouds.  It is a memory I will carry with me for a long time.  Anyway, even before seeing the chapel I thought it might make a good setting for a novel, and I still feel that way.  I just have to synthesize some of my ideas into something cohesive.  Personal stress plus the inevitable worries that come with publishing have led to a prolonged writer’s block, although I haven’t started a new novel and thus the block only exists in the metaphorical sense.

Dorothy:  “You have to have written to have writer’s block.  Otherwise we all have it!”