Writing is awesome. I love it. I get to sit at my desk and make up stories and have snacks and coffee while I work. But it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Life as a writer can be hard on our health and bodies, unless we’re proactive in taking care of ourselves.

So far, I’ve been fairly poor at this. I’d like to improve my health and thought I’d share with you a few steps I plan to take. Of course, this isn’t to be considered as medical advice, and you should definitely consult with your health professional. I am only sharing my own (able-bodied) experiences.

Movement
The more I write, the more I weigh. It’s pretty easy to see why. Writing is, for the most part, a sedentary career. Currently, I have what I fondly refer to as Author’s Butt – meaning it’s big. In my case, it’s my own fault for slacking off in my physical activity and exercise.

What can I do to help combat this? Get up and move! I’m building the habit of writing in forty-five minute increments. After that I get up and move around for a few minutes. Sometimes I take the dogs out with me to check the mail. Sometimes I’ll go and fold a load of laundry and put it away. But most times I have a little dance party. I’ll put on a favorite song, and booty pop to it for a few minutes. It helps get the blood flowing.

I also go for a walk during my lunch break. And I’m working exercise into my schedule. I don’t have room for a treadmill desk in my apartment, but I’ve heard great things from those who use one. That might be something I look into one day. Just do what you can to get your body moving throughout the day.

Eye Health
For the past few months, I really thought I needed glasses. On some days my vision would be so blurry it was hard to see, and I kept getting headaches. I went to the doctor for an eye exam and to my surprise she told me I didn’t need glasses. All of my problems seemed to be from eye strain. Which means I need to take better care of my eyes since I’m on the computer all day. A few tips:

1) Drink water and stay hydrated!

2) Use eye drops to keep eyes moisturized. Dry eyes were a problem for me with my little space heater blowing hot hair in my face during Houston’s admittedly short cold season.

3) Wear tinted computer glasses. I’ve owned a pair of these for several years and they definitely help me. They cut back on the glare from the computer screen. On days I don’t wear them, I tend to be prone to squinting and headaches.

4) Set up the computer screen for optimal viewing. Make sure it’s at a height so that you don’t have to strain your neck looking either up or down to see it. I’ve got my monitor set on top of stacked Buffy graphic novels because it was so low I hurt my neck looking down all day. I’ve also adjusted the brightness so that it’s comfortable for my eyes. And as an alternative to the computer glasses, anti-glare screen covers are great.

5) Take breaks from the computer. A good rule of thumb seems to be looking away from the computer every twenty minutes and focusing on something off in the distance for twenty seconds.

6) Get off the computer when tired! There have been far too many nights I’ve pushed myself staying up late into the night to write and my tired eyes were never happy about it.

If you’re having any issues with your vision, be sure to start with an eye exam to rule out other possible causes.

Hands
I won’t even pretend to know anything about serious issues like Carpal Tunnel. But I do know that healthy hands are important for writers! Wrists rests for both the keyboard and mouse pad are great for keeping your hands at angles that don’t strain your wrists as you type. You can also do wrist exercises to keep them strong and limber. A Google search will lead you to a few like ball gripping (heh-heh), flexing, etc.

Back
TAKE CARE OF YOUR BACK. This is so important. Twice I’ve strained my back writing while sitting in kooky positions. Once I ended up having to write laying on the floor for nearly a week the pain was so bad.

If possible, try not to write hunched over sitting on the floor, or slouched over to the side in an uncomfortable chair. The side slouch is what got me. Yowza those spasms were painful! An ergonomic chair with arm rests is probably the best option. But those aren’t cheap and we aren’t made of money.

You can try a slip on back rest made to go over the back of your chair. I've seen them for about $20-$25. Or do whatever works best for you, whether that’s a rolled up towel or pillow stuffed behind your back. The point is to be sure you are sitting in a position that’s good for your back and helps you have good posture.

Another option is to have a standing desk. Since those aren’t always a possibility for everyone due to cost or space, there’s cool lectern-type portable setups. I’ve had one on my wish list forever and eventually I’m going to go ahead and purchase it. And of course, don’t forget to get up and move throughout the day to help keep your back and backside muscles active.

Those are my tips! A few things that might help to keep our bodies healthy as we create stories for our readers to enjoy. Thanks for reading!

Love,
Christa
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It's National Novel Writing Month or as the cool kids call it, NaNoWriMo. If you're reading this blog, you probably already know what Nano is. If not, let me give you a quick breakdown.

National Novel Writing Month is when writers across the globe - budding, published or otherwise - commit to writing 50,000 words in the month of November. It's a challenge to help writers get those words down with the goal of having a (semi) finished novel at month's end. My friend Monica first hipped me to it back in 2010.

Now I know what you're thinking. Christa, you're already published several times over. Why do you need to participate in NaNo? Well my friend, the answer is two-fold. First, I want to work on my writing speed. I can finish a book, but I take too long to do it. I'm hoping that by participating in NaNo, I can get focused and write straight through, without stopping to ponder and agonize over my draft for a month.

I also want to participate because I'm writing something vastly different from my published books. I'm finally, finally FINALLY writing the historical fantasy that I've been wanting to do for several years. Since I've only published contemporary so far, I almost feel like I'm starting over. So I've got all the nerves that go with writing a first book.

So what's my WIP about? I'll tell ya. Last week I did a Twitter meme: 1 Like = 1 Fact about My NanoWriMo Work In Progress. I'll share them here as well.

1) I changed the ethnicity of one of my main characters because I wanted to use gorgeous Willy Carter as a muse.

2) I have to research birds for this WIP even though I'm terrified of them & don't even like to look at them. I'm already regretting this decision.

3) I came up with the idea for this story four years ago. I gave Hero #2 two swords because Lancelot looked cool with them in King Arthur.

4) This WIP is trope-tastic! I researched tropes like Body Guard Babes, Big Heroic Run & After Action Healing on TV Tropes. It's gonna be a total popcorn fest and I already love it.

5) The geography of the kingdom is based off the bluffs that Cahokia Mounds & later, St. Louis, Missouri were built on.

6) I'll be writing my first on-page deaths of named characters. I'm already in mourning for them.

7) I latched onto Sheith from Voltron as an OTP (One True Pair) ship because they fit the Tol & Smol dynamic of my WIP's main characters. They also share a lot of their tropes. I've got a whole blog post on this coming later.

8) I was originally going to have the king's posse all with shaved heads. But decided later that was boring looks-wise.

9) My cast of characters is very diverse.  In my WIP's world, people travel, settle & marry without regard to race

10) I'm researching cults & mass suicides like Jonestown. The series will get a little dark sometimes.

11) Hero #1 is straight-forward & naively expects everyone around him to be the same. He also wears tight, black leather pants. Meow!

12) Much to the disgust of warriors, battle & death often influences the fashion of the court.

13) I'm writing this in multiple Point of Views - three or possibly four. Eeeeek!

14) I almost named a character after one of the dudes from Jodeci but decided to name him Cornelius instead. I'm not actually sure that's better.

15) I'll be writing my first on-page lesbian couple. I plan to give them their own book in the series in the future.

16) Hero #2 is demisexual, which influences his 'warrior monk' personality.

17) I haven't discovered the character flaws for Hero #2 yet. So far he's perfect. And perfect characters are usually boring, so I'd better find out his issues STAT.

I only made it to 17 on Twitter, but I'll do a few bonus facts here so I can have a nice even Twenty.

18) I'm considering doing another story within a story type deal. Like I did with the Supreme Might of Love. We'll see. I'm still pondering.

19) The opening scene arose from a tweet I posted several years back, where I joked I was going to write a fanfic spin on The Hunger Games with the men oiled, sexy & fighting in loincloths.  My OG OTP were going to be the main characters in that fic. If you dig you can find out who that is. Or if you've been around me since 2012 you already know.

20) Throne Sex.

And that's it! I'll be checking in this month with more news on my Nano WIP. And hopefully by November 30, I'll have 50,000 words to start my first historical fantasy.

Wish me luck and thanks for reading!
Love,
Christa

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Book pirates. No, these aren’t guys and gals in flowing, open-necked white shirts sailing the high seas with books tucked into their sashes instead of a cutlass. Book pirates are people who take copies of books and illegally upload them to be shared on the internet. Every few months, there’s a new internet explosion as authors find out about a site or group that is hosting their books for free and without their permission.

There are a couple of author schools of thought on book piracy. Some authors despise it, and go after every site they come across that has their book with a request that they be taken down. There are even services that authors can use that will do the work for them. Other authors feel that it’s not worth the hassle and pretend they don’t see the online sharing.

For the people who host the pirate sites, they rationalize it as free publicity. They feel a reader would never have heard of an author if they didn’t see the pirated book and now that they’ve read it for free, they’ll go and buy it and an author’s back list if they like it. I’m not sure I buy this theory. I know people who have scads of free music on their musical playing devices. If that’s the case, why would they bother to buy music? I have a feeling the same holds true for pirated books.

On the reader side, many feel that they should get free books because they can’t afford to buy them. On the one hand, I feel your pain. When you’re a voracious book worm, that $3.99 habit can add up fast. But on the other … if you were low on funds and you really, really wanted to see a movie you wouldn’t go into a theater to see it without paying. And if you did, you’d have to be sneaky and pray you didn’t get caught because you know you’re stealing. Same thing applies to books. It’s just easier to get away with the sneaking online because there aren’t any movie theater staff watching to make sure you came in the front door with a ticket.

Unfortunately, books aren’t always valued as worthy of paying to read. Part of the problem is, many people don’t understand the labor and cost that goes into producing a book. Never fear, your Friendly Neighborhood Author is here to break that down.

First, let’s cover the labor. Let’s say an author has a 60,000 word book and they write at a rate of 500 words per hour. If we give that author minimum wage for their labor, they would make $870. But wait, they also have to edit the book. If they do it in two weeks working the typical eight-hour work day, that’s $580 in wages. A week of rewrites would net $290 and three days of proofing earns $174. That’s $1,194 that the author needs to recoup in book sales in order to pay themselves. (I’m over simplifying this to umm… keep it simple. Also, complicated math makes me itch)

After the book is written, come the costs that a self-pubbed author has to pay out of pocket. First, the editor. That’s probably going to be about $600. For a book to be taken seriously, a professional cover design and a few graphics to advertise the book are necessary. Lowball price for that is $300. If an author isn’t tech savvy and can’t do the book formatting on their own, they’ll have to hire someone. That’s $150. A promotional book blog tour is helpful to get the word out, so we’ll need to add another $150. Ads on relevant sites? That’ll be about $70 each. Now if we add all that up to the author’s wages and carry the one, it comes out to about $3,384.00.

So! As you can see it is not free for authors to produce a book. Yes, the final uploading to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, etc. is free, but before we get to that point we’ve already shelled out a few buckaroos. And authors need sales in order to cover those costs and hopefully make a little profit.

Okay, so maybe after reading this, people might feel a little bad for taking free books, but still aren’t able to pay for them. Well, my friend, don’t despair! I’ve got a Top Ten List of Ways You Can Get Free Books. Wait, no. I couldn’t think of ten things. I’ve got a Top Eight List of Ways You Can Get Free Books!

1) Become a reviewer! There are sites like The Romance Reviews, Romance Studio and blogs like Two Chicks With Books & Eye Candy that are often looking for reviewers. You get a free book, and in exchange you’re required to write a book report. It doesn’t have to be as in-depth as a New York Times review. Just state what you liked and/or didn’t like about the book and try to keep it spoiler-free.

2) Join an author’s ARC group! Most authors have opportunities for a core group of fans to get a copy of their latest in advance of release. In exchange, they ask you to post a review to sites like Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.

3) Swing by Goodreads and sign up for book giveaways. I have lots of books on my Goodreads TBR list. Whenever there is a giveaway for one, Goodreads sends me a little notification. I sign up, and one day I’m going to win!

4) Shoot on over to Library Thing and do the same thing. Library thing is a little harder to navigate. But they do allow ebook giveaways, so that makes it easier for authors to give away more copies of their book babies.

5) Join a genre ARC group. In these groups, authors come in, state what their book is about and how many they’re giving away. If you’re selected, you get a free book and in exchange you write and post a review on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.

6) Volunteer as a beta reader. Lots of authors periodically call for beta readers to help them out. What does a beta reader do? They read for the author, giving them their perspective on the book as a fan of the genre. Their role is not to be an editor, but to let the author know what did and didn’t work for them about the story. Some authors just ask for a read and general feedback. Others (*cough* me *cough*) have handy-dandy sheets that break down the things they’re looking for feedback on.

7) Go to the library. I know what you’re thinking. A lot of self-published books aren’t available through library systems. But some are. And if they aren’t there, you know what would be cool? Asking the library to carry them. If librarians know there’s an interest in a genre and/or author they might make more of an effort to get those books. I know I was ecstatic when I saw that Alexis Hall’s ebooks were available through the Harris County Public Library system.

8) Join Facebook groups, Like authors’ pages, and sign up for their newsletters. These are the ways that authors usually reach out in order to give away free books. It works both as a way to build some buzz, and to say thanks to those who have become our fans.

All of those methods require a little effort on the reader’s part. But in exchange you’re getting that free book. That seems more than fair. It’s a win-win for author and reader. Reader gets the free book, author gets another review which is helpful for sales.  

For me, I don’t agree with book piracy. I’m the nerd who buys all her music from Google Play and pays to rent movies on VUDU. But, I don’t go after book pirates either. Unless it’s a huge and blatant site – then yes, I’m sending a take down notice. I want everyone to be able to read the stories that they love, but I also want authors to receive payment for their labor.

In closing, I shall put my books where my mouth is. Or however that saying goes. Go to my Giveaways Page and enter to win a copy of my latest, An Officer’s Submission. Yay! Free books! Also, feel free to share this post. And if you have additional and LEGAL ways to get free books, please add them in the comments.

Thanks for reading!

Love,
Christa

Visit my website: www.ChristaTomlinson.com
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“You’re black. Why do you write about white people?” I’ve been asked this question in one form or another by several people, both white and black. I can answer that question in photographic form.

Let me break down my photographic evidence. When you go into Barnes and Noble and head to the romance section, the vast majority of the books feature Caucasian characters. But wait, who’s that down there in the bottom of the last picture?

Oh hi, Ms. Beverly Jenkins! I’m so glad she’s there. And a few spaces over is Brenda Jackson. Both wonderful authors who are responsible for giving me hope for myself and my characters. But yikes, out of all those rows of books only two authors of color featuring main characters of color. Apparently, that’s B&N’s quota. That pretty much answers the “why do you write about white people?” question. But keep reading, because change is a comin’.

Romance has always been my favorite genre. I’d go to the library, thrift shops, and later when I had my own money, to the bookstore, always looking for new romance titles to read. And those titles nearly always featured Caucasian characters. As an adolescent reading romance, I just assumed those were the only characters that were published.

I remember the first time I came across a romance with a black hero and heroine. I was in high school, and it was one of those contemporary Harlequin type books, maybe Kimani or Arabesque. I immediately checked it out and was excited to read. But boy was I disappointed when I got to the end. The main characters both ended up scarred and paralyzed because of a horrible car accident.

I didn’t get it. All the romances I’d read up to that point ended with the scrappy village girl married to the duke and she gave him adorable babies and became a well-loved chatelaine of the manor or whatever. Not once did any of them have something so harsh happen to them. At that young age, I thought the book was saying that black heroines didn’t get the perfect happy ending. It hurt, and it turned me off from reading any more from that line for a long time.

That’s not to say there weren’t any books by black authors and featuring black characters. There are. But in book stores, books featuring African American characters are usually African American lit, which isn’t romance. And even if they aren’t AA lit, they are all lumped together in the African American section by themselves away from romance.

That’s not what I wanted. I wanted to read romance. When I started writing, I wanted to write romance. And I wanted my books to be grouped with all the rest of the romance novels. So when I wrote my first little novella, I wrote white characters. Based off what I’d seen of publishing so far, I assumed that’s what I had to do in order to be published where I wanted to be published.

When I wrote my second book, I was still in that mind-set even though I was self-publishing. Why? Swing by Amazon’s best seller page for romance and check it out. Or I can just tell you. The majority of the books feature white cover models. You have to specifically type in African American romance in order to get black characters. Am I wrong for just wanting to be in the freaking general romance category?

I got away from that mind-set a little bit when I wrote the Bad Boys series. Each of those books features a POC hero. Joseph is Persian, Kevin is biracial (with black and white parents) and Max is black. Each of those books features the “bad boy” of the pairing on the cover. Of the three bad boys, Max is the only one of color. And let me tell you, there was some fear that Max wouldn’t sell as well because there was a black man on the front of the book.

Why did I have that fear? Well, let’s just say I have seen on more than one occasion, a reader saying something along the lines of “I can’t relate to a black character.” Also, whether consciously or not, readers sometimes pass over books that feature a non-white character on the cover. And again, I’ll refer you back to the Barnes & Noble shelves and Amazon Best Seller pages.

Thankfully, my fear was unfounded. Readers loved Max. And he made it to the Best Seller page for his category on his release day. Yay! That proved to me that many readers are happy to read a story that interests them, regardless of the race of the character. Double yay!

Now that I’ve been doing this for a couple of years, I’ve gotten over those fears. And to be honest I don’t care anymore. I’m not going to erase my own ethnicity and ignore others because people might not buy my books. If someone chooses not to read a story because of the race of the character, that’s their issue. Not mine. And I know that regardless of what the Barnes and Noble shelves show, there IS a market for romance novels featuring every kind of race or ethnicity. But that was something that I had to learn and accept on my own.

Going forward, I have two Mexican American heroes, Hector and Miguel, in my next book. And the majority of the books that I have planned after that feature at least one main character who is a person of color. My characters will be black, Latino, white, Pacific Islander and more. And they’ll be chosen based on the story that needs to be told, not on an out of date system set up by the Big Five Publishers.

Publishing needs to change. It’s starting now, with authors and readers alike pushing for more diversity. And in m/m there are some great books featuring POC characters that readers are happily devouring. It’s wonderful that it’s begun, but the change won’t happen overnight. We all – and yes, I include myself in this – need to realize why it’s important to have a multitude of races and ethnicities in our books. Think of pre-teen me, a scrawny little dark-skin girl loving to read romance, but assuming that she could never be the girl who got the HEA because she never saw herself represented.

So maybe next time you’re scrolling through Amazon looking for a new read, type multicultural romance or African American romance into the search bar and try out whatever catches your eye. Your sale just might be the one that helps an author get her multicultural book pushed into a slot where more readers can see it.

Need help finding multicultural romance? Try these great resources!
Women of Color In Romance
Romance Novels in Color
Multicultural M/M Romance List

Want to read more on this topic? Check out this beautifully written post and excellent discussion thread from 2013: An Open Letter to Harlequin.
 
You can also read my post on Writing POC Characters without using stereotypes.
Thanks for reading!

Love,
Christa

Visit my website: www.ChristaTomlinson.com
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This blog post was originally posted in 2017. This is a 2023 update written because an unpleasant human has attempted to use this post to co-sign their hate-filled and bigoted agenda. Not on my watch, buddy.

The conversation regarding non cis gay men writing m/m romance is one that I no longer engage in for several reasons. 1) It's a cyclical discussion that comes around over and over again without any possibility for resolution. 2) Too many people use it as an excuse to put down authors and readers who are women, trans, bi and pan sexual, questioning and discovering. 3) It is impossible to have a nuanced discussion about legitimate concerns through various social media posts because social media doesn't allow for that, especially when tempers are raised, bad-faith actors get involved, and people fail to read or misunderstand what they read. And the conversation is simply too large to keep up with everyone's posts.

However, since as I said above, someone used my blog post in their dumb ass on-going crusade against m/m writers or whatever the hell they're doing, I'm engaging now. I do NOT agree with that person. I didn't when I originally wrote this post and I don't now. This post was written for me to work out my own thoughts on me as an m/m author to ensure that I wasn't being exploitative. And the conclusion I reached back then is this:

"I think determining if m/m is exploitive or fetishizing depends on the individual author and how that author is handling their books and role in the genre and the community. And because I believe in the general goodness of people, I believe that most writers of m/m romance simply want to tell stories featuring characters that they love and are inspired by."


In case that wasn't clear. I think the viewpoint that the m/m romance genre is fetishization is bullshit. I think Westerners calling East Asian BL art pedohilia or incest are racist. While there are always going to be bad apples in any bunch, I think the m/m romance genre as a whole is open, welcoming, supportive and understanding. I think the genre allows for people to discover more about themselves. I know plenty of people who realized they weren't straight women and reading/writing m/m romance was a part of that.

And that's all I have to say. This topic is tired and I've been over it. So I'm going to go back to ignoring it and the latest clown who kicked this hornet's nest. And no I'm not going to type their name and help their SEO.

Buy my books, they're awesome. Peace out.

*******************************************

This is a thinky-thoughts post. As I sit here typing, I don’t know if I’ll post it, or just keep it in my documents folder. If you’re reading it, that means I decided to post it. So what am I thinking about? I’m wondering if I’m being exploitative of gay men by writing m/m romance. Before I delve in to it, let me back it up to some of my earliest favorite romances.

I used to love reading historical romances featuring Plains Indians heroes. One, because I’ve always been a giant history nerd, so historicals appealed to me. But also because the heroes and the settings were so romantic to my adolescent brain. Strong men with gorgeous golden skin, long black hair, living wild and free on the prairie? I was all about it.

But as I grew older, I saw the problems with this genre. One, the heroines were nearly always white. Out of the dozens of Plains Indian romances I read, there were only two which featured non-white heroines. Both were bi-racial daughters of the Native and white main characters from earlier books in the series. That left a bad taste in my mouth. It made it seem as if blue-eyed blondes and green-eyed redheads were the only women beautiful enough to inspire the passion of these Native heroes.

Also, as far as I know, none of those stories were written by Native authors. And those books often had a romanticized version of a lifestyle that was destroyed through genocide. And that pushes the novels into fetish territory, since I’m fairly positive not much was done to give back to the communities who inspired the novels. With that in mind, it started to feel icky reading those books. So I let them go. I still have some that I’ve owned for years but I don’t buy them anymore. Actually, I don't think there are many novels being written in that genre these days.

So, looking at the ickiness I felt towards the Native hero/ww trope, I can’t help but wonder if I’m doing the same thing writing m/m. Because I’m not a gay man. Yes, folks, the pictures I post are me. I am a black woman. And I don’t consider myself to be a member of the gay community either. Sure, I’m attracted to men, women and non-binary people. But in the past I’ve only dated cis men, and currently I don’t date at all. So I don’t feel I have the right to claim bi or pan. I haven’t lived the experiences of someone who’s had to come out and/or is in a same-sex relationship.

Would I consider myself an ally? Not really. I donate when I can to various LGBT causes, report abusive posts on social media, sign and share petitions for gay rights, embrace my LGBT friends and family, and if I see anyone being harassed yes, I will help. But that just makes me a decent human being – not capital letter A ally. So, am I being exploitative?

Am I fetishizing gay men by creating and consuming their stories? Am I as bad as men who only want an Asian woman because they lump them all together as submissive porcelain dolls? Am I as bad as people who only want to see black men in porn because of the BBC kink?

Me, thinking all the deep thoughts.

Perhaps looking at why I write in the m/m genre might help.
1) I got bored with m/f.
2) I think dudes are hot.
3) I write and read fanfiction which is heavily skewed towards m/m, which in turn heavily influences the stories and characters that bloom to life in my head.

None of those really do anything to help the gay community. Or maybe it does. I want gay romance to be seen as healthy and mainstream as hetero romance, and I think the m/m genre can help with that. Sort of the same way including black actors in American commercials and TV shows has helped African Americans be seen as mainstream members of American society.

Let’s look at it from another direction. What if I were to only write m/f stories? Then I’m not being inclusive and I don’t want to be that person either. What a conundrum!

I think for ME (bolded & capitalized because everyone’s experience is different), the best thing is to actually be an inclusive writer. I will go with the characters that pop into my head for a story regardless of their gender. That means I’ll be writing m/m, m/f and f/f. Which is what I originally planned to do anyway – I’ll post later on why I drifted away from that plan. At some point, I will have to do my research so that I can include characters that we see even less of in mainstream fiction, such as trans and gender fluid persons.

Will I fuck it up in my first attempts? More than likely. I can promise you that I won’t write a lesbian sex scene where the heroines both have long nails. But just as in m/m, I’ll be writing outside my own personal experience, and I’ll probably get a few things wrong as I learn. I’m not afraid to do this. Kidding! I’m a little afraid but whatever. I’m going for it anyway.

In conclusion (Okay, now I feel like I’m writing a high school essay) I don’t think there is a right or wrong answer to the overall question. And my thinky-thoughts aren't meant to influence, shame, or judge anyone in the genres mentioned. They are me, working through my own issues on the subject. I think determining if m/m is exploitive or fetishizing depends on the individual author and how that author is handling their books and role in the genre and the community. And because I believe in the general goodness of people, I believe that most writers of m/m romance simply want to tell stories featuring characters that they love and are inspired by.

Or maybe I’m just thinking too much. I do that a lot.

I don’t normally post a disclaimer. But I know this is a hot button topic. Honest discussion is welcome. Hate speech, bashing, trolling will be ignored.

Thanks for reading!

Love,
Christa

Visit my website: www.ChristaTomlinson.com
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Let me paint a picture in your mind. You wake up, ready to start a day of writing. You fix yourself a hot cup of coffee. Sweetened with caramel macchiato creamer of course. You settle down at your computer and log onto Facebook or Twitter to see what the world is up to and BAM!!!
HORROR! AND OUTRAGE! AND INTRIGUE! AND MURDER! AND ABUSE!

Now log off and go write a book. Have fun! Yeah, no. Not happening.

Me, reading my social media feeds.

I know that I’m not the first creative type to blog about this subject. But it’s important enough that I think it warrants repeat posts to further the subject’s reach until every creative is aware of it. Creative Types – Writers, Painters, Musicians, Dancers, Actors, etc. – it is okay to step away from news of current events in order to protect your creativity. I literally could stop there and I think everyone would understand what I mean. But I’ll get a little more in-depth, otherwise this would be a really short post.

The world we live in has never been perfect. There has always been turmoil, war, discrimination, and a host of other issues. But I think we can all agree that 2016 and continuing on into 2017 have been particularly rough politically. It's amplified by the fact that we have instant and constant updates on every major event. Social media is awesome for keeping us informed on what’s going on in the world. But it can also be emotionally draining.

Some days, scrolling through my feed there will be status after status or tweet after tweet on the latest scandal/incident/protest/bill passage/firing/death. My anxiety ratchets up super high every time I see the word BREAKING. Reading those statuses and tweets every day can take their toll. You might start to feel helpless, wondering what you can do to get involved. You might feel guilty for “frivolously” creating when there seem to be so many more important things going on. You might feel hopeless and think the world is going to continue being awful, so why even bother? And once you have those thoughts in your head, it can be extremely difficult to disengage from them and continue on with your creative work. And that’s why it’s important to step away from social media.

Listen. Your work is important. It’s important to you of course, because it is your baby. But it’s also important to others. Your book or piece of fan or original art or hilarious video might be the thing that brightens someone’s day. We all need to consume fine arts and other things we enjoy in addition to keeping up with current events. So do what you have to do in order to keep your creativity healthy and active. Filtering your social media to keep certain topics from showing up is a great start. Here are a few ways you can do that:

1) On Twitter, you can mute words, accounts, hashtags & phrases for specified periods. You can only list one at a time, so it’s a little time-consuming, but it’s worth it. Go to your Settings & Privacy and select Muted Words to use this feature.

2) If you use Chrome, there are a few extensions you can use to filter the topics that appear on your feed for both Twitter and Facebook. Social Fixer for Facebook and Vital for Twitter are two examples.

3) Get off social media altogether. Believe me, I know how hard this can be. Social media is super addictive. But you can use an add-on like LeechBlock, which will block whatever sites you specify during certain times of the day, days of the week, etc. It’s also great for staying productive when writing in general.

The above methods can be very helpful in blocking out specific topics so that you can continue to use social media, without feeling overwhelmed by the world. In writing this post, I’m not saying that I don’t want to be informed. I do. I want to keep up to date because I feel it is my responsibility as a citizen and just for my own general awareness.

I also don’t expect people to stop sharing the things that they are passionate about. But at the same time, I don’t want to wade through a seemingly never-ending sludge of awfulness every time I log on to my favorite social media sites. I want to consume politics and other current events on my terms. So I’ve taken steps to filter my feeds and will check on the news at my convenience.

I love creating and I need to be in a positive mind-set in order to do so. If you’re also a creative (or any person who feels overwhelmed by social media) give yourself permission to block/hide/regulate anything that prevents you from doing what you love. You’ll thank yourself for it.

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Christa

Visit my website: www.ChristaTomlinson.com
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Book IV of the Cuffs, Collars and Love series is now available.
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Writing is awesome. It’s also incredibly difficult. It requires you to pull what only exists in your head out and on to the keyboard or page. There are lots of things that help make this process a little easier. A good outline is beneficial. As is a giant mug of coffee. But for me, the most important thing to help me get in the write (get it?) head space is music.
But not just any music. I have to have songs that match the mood of the scene I’m writing. For example, when I was writing Bad Boys Need Love Too, I listened to a lot of Joan Jett, Peaches and Garbage. Bad Boyfriend was actually the inspiration for that story. Those songs all had a raw, gritty feel to them which perfectly matched the roughness of bad boy Gage as he corrupted I mean errr… persuaded Joseph into letting his hair down. Here’s the playlist if you’d like to check it out.

I also have a list of five go to songs for setting the mood. I pull these out when I need a song that’s proven to get me where I need to be. Or, when I’m too lazy to look for new musical inspiration.

1) Smexy Sexy times:  Stroker Ace by Loveage
2) Rough sexy times: Tainted Love by Marilyn Manson
3) Anger:  Shitlist by L7
4) Heartache: The Scientist covered by Willie Nelson
5) Happy Fun Times: Twerk by Three 6 Mafia

My playlist for An Officer’s Submission was angsty and sexy. Two of my favorite songs for that playlist are from movie soundtracks. I wrote the Shibari scene to Silk Road from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Eptesicus from Batman Begins. I loved the way both songs are soft and floaty and airy. They really helped put my head where I could “see” Logan concentrating on binding his submissive and Clay sinking into it until he was rope drunk. Le sigh…

Anyhoo, I’m always on the lookout for new writing music. Want to help me out with that? Comment below with a song to fit one of my writing mood categories: Smexy times, Rough Sexy Times, Anger, Heartache and Happy Fun Times. One comment/entry per person please. I will randomly select two entrants to win an An Officer’s Submission swag pack. Winners will be chosen next Sunday. Be sure to leave your email or social media contact info in the comments OR turn on the Notify me of replies option so you'll get a notification if you are a winner. You’ll win a signed copy of the book, as well as a book mark and dog tag featuring AOS’s cover art. You know you want it. So hit me with your song recs!

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Christa

Visit my website: www.ChristaTomlinson.com
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Book IV of the Cuffs, Collars and Love series is now available.
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Tropes. What are they? They’re what helps us recognize what a story will be about. They also help us identify whether or not we’ll like the general plot that the author has created. Or as Wikipedia says: The word trope has also come to be used for describing commonly recurring literary and rhetorical devices, motifs or clichés in creative works. Here’s a small sample of tropes in the romance genre. I bet you’ve read or can recognize them all.

Secret baby
Friends to lovers
Enemies to lover
Office romance
Opposites attract
May/December
Amnesia
Billionaire
Mistaken Identity
Fake Engagement

Tropes get a bad rep, especially from outsiders to the romance novel world. People set them up as a way to show how romance novels are all the same. But I disagree. First, although the general idea may be the same, no two novels are alike. You can ask five different authors to write you a secret baby romance, and you’ll wind up with five very different stories. One of them might have an alien baby. One of them might have a single dad. One of them might have a woman who found an alien baby abandoned by its single dad.

Second, tropes are everywhere, not just in romance. Good looking fella who goes on a quest for treasure and artifacts, facing danger along the way? The Mummy. Or Raiders of the Lost Ark. Or National Treasure. Or Three Kings. Or… well, you get the idea. 

For creative types, tropes are a great way to build the foundation for the book, movie, or play that will spring forth. For readers, they offer a sense of familiarity. They let us know if it’s something we’ll enjoy. For example, when I’m book browsing, I can tell right off from the back cover copy if it’s the type of story I like or like to avoid. Some of my favorites to read are hurt/comfort, friends to lovers and forbidden love. 

As I plan out my stories, I definitely think about what tropes will be included in the plot. Because I love tropes. I'd roll around in them like a puppy in clover if I could. If nothing else, they at least give me a starting point to build from.

What are some of your favorite tropes? Which do you think are over-done in the romance world? Are there any you'd like to see more of or wish would disappear off the face of the earth? Let me know in the comments! 

*Repost from 2014

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Christa
www.ChristaTomlinson.com
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Hello and Happy Sunday! If you’re anywhere in the US, I’m sure you’re dealing with some chilly weather. I’m in Houston and it’s a rare cold day in March. I’m not pleased, I prefer it when it’s warm. Okay, enough about the weather. I wanted to do a small post on book series today. I thought it appropriate since I’m about to publish book 4 in a series (and the nerves are starting to hit!) and because the Romance Writers Chat Topic this week is book series. If you’re on Twitter, follow @RWChat and the #RWChat hashtag Sundays at 6 pm CST. It’s a lot of fun, you’ll get great tips and connect with other writers.

First things first. Series. Why do readers like them? I can’t speak for all readers, but for me, I love them because I enjoy getting to be in a world for more than one book. It’s nice to finish a story and know that I get to revisit characters and further explore settings in following books. Some series focus on one couple, like Kate Aaron’s Free Men, while others stay in the same world but tell the stories of different couples. I like both formats. Annabeth Albert’s Perfect Harmony series is one that I enjoyed that has different couples in each book. 

As a writer, they’re great for several reasons. First, when we come up with story ideas we often end up with ideas for secondary characters. Writing additional books in the series gives us a chance to set all those ideas free. Sometimes we have a secondary character that gets really loud in our head, or one that needs to be redeemed, like Ryan in The Detective’s Pleasure, and they won’t shut it until they get their own book.  

Another reason writers love series is because it can be easier for us to write them. We already know the world and have some background on the characters, so the research and creation part can go a little faster. And of course, writers love series because we already have a built-in audience. If a reader enjoys book one in the series, she’s probably going to want to come back for books two and beyond. There is some danger in that however. 

I’ve experienced series fatigue with a couple of authors. It gets to the point where I’m just ready to move on and try something new. Or in series where there is an overarching series plot, it can take too long for the author to get to the point. I’ve had to tap out on a couple of series like this. I do love series where the author gets in, writes four or five amazing books, then gets out, leaving me with nothing but good thoughts for the world they created. 

Writing series can definitely be awesome for authors. So if you’re thinking of writing a series, or you’re smackdab in the middle of one, here are a few tips for you.

1. Start a series bible. Do this immediately. Do not pass Go and do not move on to the second book without a series bible. Record character’s names, physical descriptions and backgrounds. This is super helpful. You’ll think you remembered correctly that Mike has brown eyes, only to get an email from a reader asking what happened to his gray eyes. Record those facts, a summary of each book and other important details so that you can easily find them. You can create an Excel spreadsheet, a table in Word or go old school and have a binder full of info like me. 

 2. Have book covers that relate to each other. Your book covers don’t have to be identical. But they should definitely be similar. So if book one is painted art with a purple and gold background with a red dragon on the front, book two shouldn’t be slick black and white photography of a guy in jeans. Try to stick with a similar theme, style or color scheme. It will help your readers identify the books, and they’ll look super pretty when they’re all lined up together. Kate Aaron’s Free Men series has lovely coordinating covers.

3. Have the same general tone to each story in the series. Every couple is different and has a different story to tell. But if books one through three are about happy-go-lucky couples who fall in love after a meet cute, book four shouldn’t be a tragic love story where h and h are reunited after one goes to prison for ten years. That switch is jarring for the reader, and they’ll wonder what the heck happened to their beloved bubbly couples. 

4. Don’t let characters take over stories that aren’t theirs. Readers want couples and characters from book one to make cameos in book two, etc. It’s like saying hi to old friends. But when a new book in the series becomes more about the characters from previous stories, it’s a problem. Some characters are loud and full of life on the page. It’s the writer’s responsibility to keep ahold of them and make sure they don’t steal page time from characters who are trying to find their own love story. 

5. Know when to cut bait. There will come a time when you have to let a series go. Maybe you’re burned out on that world. If you are and don’t have any fresh ideas to share, let it go. Readers will pick up on it if you’re phoning it in. Or, maybe the readers just aren’t there for a series anymore. If you notice sales and readers for a series have dwindled to nothing, put that baby to bed. There’s not much sense spending the time, money and effort on something that you won’t see a return on. You can always revisit it later if interest is renewed. 

There’s lots more information out there on writing series. If you have any tips or thoughts to share, feel free to post them in the comments. I’d love to know what both readers and writers think about book series.

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Christa
www.ChristaTomlinson.com
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Since I mucked out my work space today, I thought I'd share a few pics of it with you. I just moved into this apartment in October and I've had to make a few adjustments. In my old house, I had an entire room for my office. Now, I only have a dining area that I commandeered for writing. I thought it'd be hard to concentrate, since I wasn't behind a closed door like I'm used to. But once I have coffee in my belly and my headphones on blasting music (this week I'm all about the Yuri On Ice soundtrack), I'm in my own little writing world.

When I first moved in, I had plans for making my "office" into one of those Pinterest worthy spaces. You know what I mean, matching white furniture - with the desktop strangely devoid of any work, French bulletin boards with prettily patterned backgrounds, and elegant artwork. I got as far as the white furniture. Then I laughed and put up my Captain America art, crammed my glitter notebooks onto the bookcases and got to writing. My work space might not be Pinterest pretty, but it's mine and I love it.

 I'm something of a notebook hoarder. I can't stop buying them! But I at least put them to good use. Each story idea gets a binder and matching notebook. I record my thoughts there and when it's time to write that book I'm already organized and ready to go! #NerdLife

 This is Chunky. You can't see it, but there's a little space heater behind her. It's supposed to be for me to stay warm and toasty while writing. But the dogs are always laying in front of it, so I never get any of the warmth for myself. Poor me.

This is as neat as you'll ever see my desk. I always laugh when I see those lovely pictures of desktops that are completely bare with the exception of a keyboard and monitor. Where are all the ink pens, empty coffee mugs, candy wrappers, and piles of paper? #WritersLife

Ah, bulletin boards. I love them, but can't hang one straight to save my life. Maybe my vision is crooked. Or I should stop being lazy and use a level...

And that's my work space! A warm (when there isn't a dog in front of the heater) and cozy little writing nook.  =)

P.S. Check out my previous blog post, my Top Ten Reads of 2016. I'm giving away a $25 Barnes & Noble gift certificate for one lucky reader. All you have to do is comment on that blog post with a book recommendation for me. Ends January 11th. Good luck!

Thanks for reading!
Christa
www.ChristaTomlinson.com
Follow me around the internet! Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads
View my titles on Amazon