Lisa Phillips's Blog

The second novel in my Crystal Lake series, Rivals in Love, is free this weekend in the Amazon Kindle Store!

http://www.amazon.com/Rivals-Love-Cry...

My women's fiction novel, Willow Row, is FREE in the Amazon Kindle Store now through Sunday. Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!
http://www.amazon.com/Willow-Row-eboo...

I don’t know a single writer who has never been plagued with that dreadful, consuming insecurity at least once. Okay, twice. Fine, all the time! If you tell the whole world writing is your passion, what you feel you were born to do, then it would follow a certain amount of anxiety regarding the worth of your words is part of the deal. However, here’s what I find interesting, as well as fuel for this neurotic writer’s obsessive breakdowns. Concerning my first trilogy, the book I was worried was the weakest of the three I am overwhelmingly told was the best by professional reviewers and readers. Huh… Go figure!

The hero I thought was the best out of the three? Nope. I get messages all the time to counter my opinion. The favorite heroine of most readers who have shared with me? No, again. Not the one I would choose if pressed to do so. I love all my characters, and if I wasn’t happy with the story for the most part, I wouldn’t waste my editor’s time. But, there are always those nagging doubts, those things about even a story you love that make a writer stare up at the ceiling in the dead of night wondering…and wondering… Until said writer finally gets up, and starts tweaking a plot or character dialogue. Again!

Given all of that, I am beginning to think a writer realizing they do not always know might not be such a bad thing. Like many things, reading is subjective. I have friends who love one genre of romance and others who hate them. I have fans who tell me they aren’t so into vampires, but OMG, I LOVE Lizzie in Willow Row! Other fans write, when are you going to write another vampire novel? Maybe the best thing for writers to remember is we don’t ever know for sure which characters or plots might work for some readers, and not for others. Maybe the insecurity and rewrites and edits and edits and edits make us work harder to yield a better book, but what touches a reader could be something we almost nixed from the story.

So, no, I don’t think this writer always knows. But, I do know the surprise is sometimes the best part.

I clearly remember the first message I got from a reader. My debut novel, Obsession Everlasting, released in 2009 had only been out a couple of months. Janie from Savannah, GA, where my vampire story unfolds, wrote me to say she liked the story, but most of all she appreciated me highlighting her beloved hometown. I printed that message, and still have it to this day. The first message from a reader ranks right up there with signing your first publishing contract, and seeing your name on the cover of a novel for the first time. Yes, writers want to impress agents, publishers, editors and professional reviewers. They are all important aspects of building any author’s career. However, it is the all important reader every author desperately wants to connect with.

I got other messages from readers after Janie in Savannah, GA. By the time my second novel was released, I was getting more messages. I read each and every, and responded as diligently as I did to Janie’s message. Even those who messaged me to say they didn’t like this or that about my novels, I read carefully, and responded to as well. I figure if a reader takes the time to contact me personally to tell me what they didn’t like about a story, their effort should be as appreciated as those who had only good things to say. Some of those not so glowing messages have made me a better writer.

Today, with five novels on the market, I fortunately spend at least a couple hours a day responding to emails and messages from readers. They range from those who have read my novels asking advice for their aspirations of becoming authors, to an 83 year old woman in Virgina, who wrote to tell me after reading my novel Willow Row, she lived a life similar to my character Grace’s life. She said having lived through the difficulties of race relations in the South, she also had fond memories of her time working for a family who never treated her as anything but family. It was important to her that people know even given our struggles there are always examples of love and respect throughout all the world. I printed that email out too!

When you hear or read an author stating it is readers who inspire us, that is not just a marketing ploy. Today with email, private messages and public posts on Facebook and Goodreads, and literally millions of other sites all over the internet, authors are hearing from record numbers of readers. Never in the history of the written word has it been easier to connect with our readers, and especially to learn from them. And it is often that connection which inspires us most of all.

My boys are back in school, which means I can write without somebody announcing they are hungry for a blissful seven hours a day! I've been working on the follow-up to Returning to Love, my contemporary romance from Black Lyon Publishing. I'm having a blast with ornery Ryan and hard-as-nails Ava! Y'all can take a peek at the first chapter on my site, and as always, HAPPY READING!

http://lisa-phillips.com/whats-next/

http://www.theromancestudio.com/revie...

Bitten By Books reviews the Everlasting Trilogy!

http://www.bittenbybooks.com/author-l...

You can read other reviews and excerpts of all my novels at www.Lisa-Phillips.com

And Thank You BBB for giving my vamps some love!

Beginning Friday, June 15th through August 15th you can enter to win one of the three signed copies of my novel, Returning To Love, here on Goodreads. Also, my women's fiction novel, Willow Row, will be free in the Amazon Kindle store Friday, June 15th through Sunday, June 17th.

I wish you all Happy Summer Reading!

My new women's fiction novel, Willow Row, is now available in the Amazon Kindle Store. An excerpt is also up on my site www.lisa-phillips.com on the Willow Row page. Later this month, my new contemporary romance, Returning To Love will be released by Black Lyon Publishing.

Happy Reading All!

http://www.amazon.com/Willow-Row-eboo...

"FBI agent Julian Montgomery returns to his small hometown in the foothills of E TN to find a serial killer is stalking young women with a striking resemblance to the love of his life. The murderer is out to settle a score with him. He only has so much time to stop the grisly assaults before the death of the ultimate target robs him of his only chance at a destiny he isn't sure he deserves." That is called a blurb. But, I still need a title... Any suggestions? Signed copy to whoever comes up with the best one! And hurry. Release date is in May!