Virtual Book Signing for Touch Me Gently

Hi all! Well today was my release day! And I am so excited and happy! :D Just waking up to the knowledge that my book is out there for others to read was like the happiest moment of my life!

I wanted to post on here, and let you know that I am going to be having a virtual book signing tonight between the hours of six pm and nine pm. Dreamspinner Press Blog: Touch Me Gently Virtual Book Signing

There will be a couple of contests and lots of information about me, my characters, and excerpts from the book. ^_^

I hope you'll come and join me!

Release Date

I finally got my release date for Touch Me Gently! I am sooo excited! It's September 3rd! The day right before my birthday! How awesome is that?

Link to My Page on Dreamspinner Press!!!!

Funny part is, I found out from a friend that saw the book on the Coming Soon page on Dreamspinnerpress.com LOL. That's the second time she's pointed out my stuff on there. I guess Im not so good with keeping up with things. I was thinking that Elizabeth or Lynn from DSP would be notifying me of the release date but I guess that isn't how it works!

I just sent back my second round of edits. :D So hopefully that's the end of those. I have to say editing is my least favorite part of the process. I love spinning the tale but going back over it is difficult for me sometimes. Depending on what has to be changed. >.< I did however enjoy this second round a bit more than the first because there wasn't quite so much to change. HA. And it is a good thing that I went through all of this because now I know what is expected of me and I learned a LOT of what I need to watch for while I'm writing.

I tend to use the word was too much, and eyes. *sigh* I apparently like my characters emotions to reflect in their eyes way too much. >.< But I think the eyes are the windows to a person's soul, and no matter how they may appear outward, you can tell a lot about a person inside by looking at their eyes.

Well, I guess I shall sign off for now. Need to grab a drink and get working on my Advent Calendar short story submission. Still not entirely sure where I'm going with that one. LOL.

My Cover Art

Okay so today I finally got my cover art and I am absolutely in love. It's beautiful, and amazing! I was so happy when I saw it. When I gave them a description of what I thought would be an awesome cover, they werent able to do it. Which I totally understood. So they asked me to pick out some of the covers from their existing books. I picked six. Ironically, five of the six were the exact same artist. I was sad to hear that she was going to be out of the country in Italy until the end of August. Then it turns out that they managed to get the artist to do my cover right before she left. I am ecstatic that she took the time to do so!

And whoever the blond cowboy is, he is GORGEOUS! And soooo perfect for Logan. I can hardly wait to have the paperback in my hands. It just seems even more real now than it did before. I could hardly believe it when I opened the email. I was totally out of it for the rest of the day and thank GOD it was after four pm already so I was only useless for firty minutes. >.>

Long week, new story, and insomnia!

This week has been similar to last. Insomnia hits me from time to time and I get a mere two to three hours a night. The benefit to it is that I manage to usually get some writing done! Spent the past two weeks editing an older story that I wrote a while back. It truly needed it. *shudders* It was littered with grammar and punctuation mistakes as well as repeated words. I read that story so many times that I don't care to read it again for a while! Ugh! But it was extremely polished (imo) by the time I submitted it to Dreamspinner Press. Now I am on to the waiting game all over.

The insomnia has made these last two weeks seem to take forever! I try to snag some sleep when I can but it always leaves me feeling sooo groggy! Ever get to the point where you are so tired that you feel punch drunk? Like you are walking around in a fog that never goes away? That's how it feels right now. But I lay down and can't sleep. I know exactly how many dots there are on my ceiling! Well, I exagerate but still...

Just found this new website if anyone loves to RPG and has been published as a GLBTTQ writer before. Haven Falls If I didn't already have enough on my hands with my writing, I'd probably join since I love to rpg but I am not sure I could keep up at the moment! lol. But it looks like its a lot of fun!

So Dreamspinner Press has sent out an open call for a short story between 3500 and 12k words pertaining to mythical and magical creatures. So far I think it is turning out pretty good but I am not so sure I'll be able to stick within those amount of words. I'm already over a thousand and barely touched the story. >.< I just have this tendency to give my characters depth and a past that needs to be explained enough to where the reader isn't left with a million and one questions. I figured I'd write it out completely and then go from there.

Off to write some more....XD

Second Story Sent!

Just submitted my second novel to Dreamspinner Press tonight! Woot! Now the waiting game begins again. I just hope they like the story! ^_^ Work starts tomorrow on my short story for the mythical creatures anthology submission call. Already have my main storyline plotted out in my head. Now it's down to the tiny details, ha! Just gotta keep it under 12k words, >.<

Sorry this is so short but its almost two a.m. and unfortunately I have to get up in the morning for work, bah! So I bid you all a goodnight. At least anyone who is reading, haha.

The Long Process of Editing...

I realize now that I did not know what the hell I was doing over the last few years of writing. I cringe at what the editors of Dreamspinner must be putting up with as they edit my story. >.<

I'm currenly editing a story for submission that I wrote back around the time as the one that Dreamspinner is publishing. It's got potential. But it needed some MAJOR overhauling in many ways.

It's taken me DAYS to get to where I'm at. Mostly because I hate editing when it's to the extent it is for this story. I don't mind if its editing actual content of the story, but this is almost like re-writing the whole story in a lot of ways. It is almost 72k words, and 190 pages. Last I checked I was on page 121. I also do not tend to insert chapter numbers when I write a story so I have to do that as well.

Long process!

I also have two beta readers looking over the story that I need to look at their notes and suggestions as well once I am done editing it on my own. Then it should be ready for submission. But I still need to write a synopsis! >.< At least I know the story inside and out, lol. It shouldnt be too hard to do that!

Currently insomnia is a great thing!

So much to do....

Since the day I received the contracts from Dreamspinner Press it seems like I have been on a non-stop roller coaster of things to do and people to talk to. Not only have I set up a blog, a twitter, a facebook, and a gmail account, I am currently looking into creating a website for myself! Oy! How to keep up with it all? I need to pay someone to post for me. Only thing is, who would know what to post for me? lol.

The gmail account was easy. Twitter was pretty easy too. Facebook has been a bit of a challenge especially without the cover of my first book and all. Also setting up my blog took a while. I'm a Virgo and therefore extremely picky about things. If it doesn't look how I want, then I end up having to edit it until it's at least mostly what I look for.

Anyone with suggestions on how to set up a website I could manage myself? I have a couple of suggestions from the people at my job but I prefer to research my options before I decide. I want to make sure I get the best deal.

Today has been about updating all of the above sites and chatting with some of the other authors from Dreamspinner. I was hit with the idea of a story this morning though. I have so many ideas stuck in my head that sometimes it seems overwhelming trying to think about writing them all out eventually. One thing is for sure, I will never run out of ideas! lol.

It has begun....

This will be my first official Blog post. Hello, all. I am J.R. Loveless. I am a lover of all things m/m and I write my own worlds where I can enjoy it to the fullest of my imagination.

I recently submitted one of said stories to a publishing company called Dreamspinner Press. They certainly are the spinner of dreams because they have made mine come true. They have accepted my story at the beginning of June and if there are no major hiccups in the process it will be out in September.

I am extremely excited to see it happen! Writing is all I have ever wanted to do. I love to entertain people, to make them see what I see inside my head as I write the stories. I always hope that my stories bring joy to all who read them.

A true spinner of tales can make a person laugh, cry and love their characters as the story progresses. I can only pray that you all find my characters someone that you can relate to, someone that you can cry with and someone that you can fall in love with.

I will try to update with each new detail that comes along so you'll be involved in the process with me! It'll be great to have everyone along for the ride.