Hey again!! I have another guest over today!! I hope you will help me welcome Rachel Lyndhurst. She writes contemporary romance for Entangled Publishing's Indulgence line. She's here today to talk to us a little about how she survives doing a full-time job in part-time hours.
At the end of the post is a giveaway! Fill out the form to be entered to win an ecopy of Kidnapped by the Greek Billionaire!
Also, look for my review of Kidnapped by the Greek Billionaire to be posted soon!
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Hi Natasha! Thanks so much for having me on your blog today.
When I read about you and discovered you were a full-time library clerk, part-time student, book blogger, wife, picture taker, crafter, baker, candlestick maker and mom to three cats I figured it was a sure bet you were a busy lady! And I know what that's like. I'm sure we're not alone either, in striving to achieve a reasonable work/life balance to make the most of the things and people we love.
I'm a relative newbie to being a published author, and thought it might be useful to pass on a few of the things I've learned along the way up until now. Kidnapped by the Greek Billionaire has been launched, but that's just not the end of it. Oh no, no, no, if I want a successful career as an author I will be on the hamster wheel of deadlines and around the clock promotion for a very long time.
So the key for me is to be prepared.
You know work-related stuff is going to happen at some stage in the future, there's no escaping it; your book launch, the promo, blog tours, and the school holidays for example. So plan for it like a war or like the arrival of a new baby. Here are some of my top tips:
Do your grocery shopping online if you can. You'll spend less money (especially when doing revisions – cut, paste and edit that basket!). You'll save time, on average about two hours, that's a lot of words you could have written. You also won't risk injury to your hands, shoulders and neck lugging all those bags about. If you can't shop online then treat the expedition as part of your exercise quota – do it fast and make sure you're out of breath by the end of it.
Domestic necessities. If your precious ones are old enough to moan about it or care, they're old enough to do it for themselves (not necessarily applicable to males over forty or cats though.) This applies to washing, ironing, bath time, rabbit hutches and food. Naturally if you can afford a cleaner, cook, chauffeur and general dogsbody get them immediately and buy them regular presents so they don't leave.
Cook in large batches during the quiet times and freeze a load. You'll be glad of that homemade stew when your eyes are on stalks and your hands are shaking with keyboard/mouse fatigue. There's a lot to be said for a spot of frozen Thanksgiving dinner in February too – you can only live on crisps for so long …
Call in those favours. It's payback time. We're talking things like school runs, babysitting, blog posts, proofreading and some hearty retweets. Don't be scared to ask, it'll be your turn again soon enough!
Have a deadline contingency plan. For example, what would you do if you lost your internet connection, computer and laptop within the same two days and were also snowed in? Back everything up regularly. Everything. Twice. And get a fancy phone that uses a different service provider to the one you've got at home.
Get a spare set of house and car keys cut and make sure a trusted (and local!) friend or neighbour has a set. Then try not to throw the originals out with the recycling again …
And in the middle of all the madness try to take a break away from being an author, even if it's just for ten minutes. Sit down and have a glass of wine with your significant other, make the hot shower last a little longer than necessary, find a flower and savour its perfume. Or just look at something really gorgeous for a few minutes and forget everything else …
The cover of my latest Indulgence release does it for me! Here's the blurb:
Kidnapped!
Or that's what it feels like to Kizzy Dean when a business disagreement with arrogant Greek lawyer Andreas Lazarides leaves her no choice but to accompany him to the Greek Isle of Rhodes. It doesn't help matters that this sexy brooding stranger, who is unaccustomed to the word No and the very idea of commitment, shows her what it feels like to be truly desired.
Amidst the ancient myths and alleyways, tensions run high as Kizzy feels an immediate attraction for the man she wants to both ravage and strangle.
Accustomed to gold-digging women, Andreas is mesmerized by Kizzy's feisty nature and Gypsy beauty. Guilt and sorrow have been his only bedfellows since his sister's death, but Kizzy stirs up a desire he's unwilling to succumb to . . . until she makes him an offer he simply can't refuse.
Rachel now writes full-time when her children are at school, but is still proud of her law degree and accountancy qualifications. She has worked in the space industry, pharmaceuticals, insurance, a supermarket, a bus station, a railway depot, and a lingerie department.
She lives with her daughter, son and The Exec in Fareham, Hampshire, on the south coast of England and can sometimes smell the sea from her back garden. When not working, her hobbies include rummaging through antique shops, talking to her chocolate brown Rex rabbit and popping into Sainsbury's. She also has a fondness for wine and expensive lipstick.
You can read the first chapter of Kidnapped by the Greek Billionaire for free here: http://bit.ly/wLZEAC
Buy Kidnapped by the Billionaire at:
Observing how the artists designed the makeup for all the fantasy characters gave me the idea for a heroine, Tabby Rogers, who is a makeup artist on a fantasy movie. And what could be more fun than to make the hero the sexy stunt man doubling for the lead actor? The first scene jumped into my head immediately—Tabby’s arrived on the movie set and the assistant director takes her to meet the main stunt guy she’s going to be making up, and he’s wearing a huge white wig, with red lenses and black, crooked false teeth! Tabby’s immediately attracted to his wit and warmth, but she has no clue what he really looks like. Although of course, she finds out that beneath the makeup he’s undeniably gorgeous. The first line of the book is "I had sex with an orc once." I think that sets the tone for the rest of the story!
I had such fun writing this book, not in the least because I decided I had to watch Lord of the Rings again (for research purposes of course). It’s no coincidence that the hero, Eli Black, looks like Craig Parker (who plays Haldir). I think the guy on the cover does a fantastic impersonation, don’t you?
