Julie, Julia and Me by Mackenzie Crowne

I’ve got a short but heartfelt post this month since I’m in Manhattan with family and there is a lot going on around me and, well, I don’t want to miss anything. So, last week, I found the movie Julie and Julia on the listing and settled down with an adult beverage and some popcorn to watch. I’d seen it before, years ago, before I was published, and enjoyed it. At the time, I considered it a movie about cooking, but watching it again, I was surprised to discover the publishing industry is a main theme…and how much Julia Child and I have in common. We both cook. Oh, wait. That's wrong. I don't cook. But I do drink, and so too did Julia, apparently. :-)     via GIPHY

Like me, Julia was a published author and it took a while for that to happen. Unlike me, however, Julia found major success, by industry standards, that is. But, back to the movie.

 As is the case with most movies involving writers, both Julia and Julie found their successful HEA’s in the publishing industry. Which brings me to the point of my short post. I’m here with a gentle warning to those would-be writers out there. You know who you are, the ones with stars in your eyes. And here it is: If fame, fortune, and fawning is the reason behind your writing mojo, you are probably going to be disappointed. Sad, but there it is.

That's not to say major success is out of reach. If it weren't attainable, there wouldn't be a NYT Best Seller list, would there? But, the space between publishing and that list may as well be a cavern. Many dream of spanning it - few achieve the crossing. The cold hard truth is, most of us hit somewhere much lower on the success scale than Julie or Julia achieved, but if you’re like me, and writing is compulsory, seeing your stories shared with others is, in itself, success. My most heartfelt advice for you is to write for the sheer joy of it. Write for yourself because there WILL be those out there who will not support your efforts. And lastly, write for the love of writing and you'll never go wrong.

When Mac isn’t in Manhattan having fun with her family, she keeps herself busy doing what she loves. Writing sensually romantic stories with a side of sass like To Win Her Smile, the latest in her Players Series from Kensington Publishing.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation by Mackenzie Crowne

Twenty years ago, when Dad was diagnosed with leukemia, my siblings and I had long since left the nest and had scattered all over the country. With an eye on time, we didn’t want to waste any of the precious moments we had left with him, so we booked a couple houses on the Outer Banks in North Carolina and experienced our first family reunion. The beach in Destin followed two summers later and we converged on the gulf shores of Alabama a few years after that.

Since then, we’ve kept up the tradition, gathering every other summer in various locations across the country like the mountains in New Hampshire or Utah’s Lake Powel. Sadly, we lost Dad several years ago and Mom has since followed. Our beloved brother, Tim, joined them in heaven three springs ago. 

But my parents’ legacy to us all is the abiding love they left behind. My sibs and I still get together as often as possible. Every time we do, the time apart drops away beneath the laughter and fellowship of people with diverse lives who genuinely like each other.

This summer was no different, although we were missing a few faces as we gathered this past week in Branson, MO. We spent the days racing across the lake on tubes, eating too much and sipping adult beverages as the next generation got to know their cousins a little better. As usual, our time together passed too quickly. This morning, we said our teary-eyed goodbyes and went on our separate ways. I’m literally on the road travelling home at the moment, rejuvenated by the time spent with my sisters and brothers, nieces and nephews and all the grands that have sprouted throughout the family, and already looking forward to the next time we’ll be together — which will include a wedding. Congratulate me. I’m getting a new daughter-in-law!

More on that later, but for now, what about you? Have you and your families discovered the joy of reunions and what locations do you like to visit when you gather?

When Mac isn’t spending time with her beloved family, she stays busy weaving HEAs for her characters, like the latest in her Players series, Wyatt and Piper from TO WIN HER SMILE, now available via KensingtonBooks

What Makes a Hero? by Mackenzie Crowne

Like many authors, I write what I know and I have solid ideas about what makes a hero. At the top of my list of hero characteristics is strength, or perhaps a better word would be toughness. Not that that trait doesn’t have its drawbacks. Believe me, it’s not always comfortable to be attracted to a tough guy. I know this because I will have been married to one for 34 years next week, but hey, tough guys do it for me. 

If my father were still alive, he’d tell you he always knew I’d marry one. I know this because he told me so as we waited in the vestibule of that church 34 years ago just before Dad walked me down the isle. He wasn't a tough guy by anyone's standards, but he was a strong man, witnessed by the day he picked up a baseball bat and attempted to track down the guy who attacked me in a town park when I was thirteen. Thank God we didn't find him that day, because I have no doubt my fun-loving father, who never lifted a violent hand, would have crushed the cretin’s skull for preying on his little girl if we had.

That’s what strong men do. They act when action is required and they fight for those they love. It’s in their genes. Some women like their men that way. It’s in their genes. I’m one of them. As a strong woman who knows her worth, I need a strong man who won’t crumble beneath my confidence. I appreciate a man who sees my feminine confidence as a strength rather than a symptom of PMS. And I like a man who is willing to go after something he wants, especially when that something is me. I like a man who is willing to stand up for what he believes. A man who speaks his mind and is willing to die for me, even if I don’t deserve it.

The man I’m describing has faults, as do I. He gets angry, like me, but when the dust settles, he apologizes if he’s in the wrong. Sure, he has definite beliefs and isn’t afraid to voice them, but he also listens. He’s a guy. He’s quite often wrong, but he’ll never let you down when you really need him. That’s the man I married. Not perfect, certainly, but dependable as a Timex. I’d trust him with my life, and do.

I write what I know and because I want my heroines as happy as I have been all these years, I give them similar heroes. Unfortunately, an occasional reviewer disagrees. I recall one who trashed one of my heroes as a scary violent guy because he was pissed at the heroine and said so. Mind you, I don’t do violence in my romances, so I can't help wondering what this particular reviewer’s perfect hero looks like. For that matter, what type of men is she dealing with in her life? Are they so perfect, or docile, they never have a moment of anger? If so, she should probably watch out. Either they’re in love with their sister, haven’t come out of the closet yet, or they’re conning her royally. I have yet to meet a man, or woman for that matter, who doesn’t lash out in anger in times of conflict, and if you’re reading a romance…hello, conflict is essential.

The truth is, as in real life, no hero or heroine is perfect, but we all have our tastes. What qualities are necessary in your perfect hero and are there ever deal-breaker traits that make you toss the book aside, or worse, trash the book in a review?

When Mac isn’t hissing at stupid reviewers, she spends her time weaving HEAs for her tough guy heroes and their ladies, like Wyatt and Piper, the hero and heroine of To Win Her Smile, the last in her Players series from Kensington releasing 7/18/17 

I’d Throw It at The Wall, But I Don’t Want to Break My Kindle by Mackenzie Crowne

With a single glance, each of you could accurately determine which of the nearly one hundred novels on my re-read shelf are my favorites, simply by the amount of wear on their bindings. However, my shelf of paperback keepers is little more than a testament to bygone days. To a time when physical books were all we knew and a handful of publishing houses set the rules.

Those days are over. Epic changes have hit the book world since the advent of digital formatting. Some of those changes were long overdue. Others, I could live without. In the “Wow, that’s cool” column is the convenience of the “one click” purchase. How sweet is it to no longer have to run out to the book store in search of the perfect weekend read? And I have to tell you, travelling is so much easier these days.

Instead of a dozen paperbacks hogging space in my luggage, my trusty Kindle fits in the pocket of my purse. Along with many favorites, it’s jammed full with books by unknown authors who’ve tempted me into giving them a try via bargain basement sales. There are at least one hundred TBR titles on that sucker that I haven’t had the time to read. Having such an extensive selection, picked up at rock bottom prices—or for free—is another point for the “Wow, that’s cool” column.

Or is it?

One of the biggest changes brought about by the digital revolution is the explosion in self-publishing. As an author, I’m thrilled for the many talented writers out there who can now bypass the time-consuming and seemingly arbitrary submission process common to traditional publishing houses. As for the avid reader in me, a million new books hitting the digital shelves each week is a giddy reality.

Available at the
bargain basement price
(snicker)
 of $.99 

On the flip side of that reality is the “Well, that sucks” column. What’s the old saying? Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should? Let’s face it, in today’s market, anyone can self-publish. And before you freak out, I’m not saying anyone who self-pubs writes crap. Believe me, I’ve read some total crap that came from the Big 5 and, in full disclosure, my first foray into the publishing world was an Indie project, my breast cancer memoire, Where Would You Like Your Nipple? available at Amazon. (Ahem. Shameless plug.)

All I’m saying is, like the title I deleted off my Kindle last night after a single page—the impetus for this post—quite a few of the books that hit the market each day should never see the light of a tablet screen. Seriously, knowing how to use a computer keyboard doesn’t make you a storyteller. Which, I’m thinking is a strong justification for the existence of seasoned acquisitions departments in all those publishing houses who insisted on setting the rules for so long.

But who am I to toss ice water on someone else’s dream? If there is a story inside you that needs to be told, by all means, go for it. Just, please, understand there are some very important benefits to your manuscript spending some quality time in the hands of a hard-nosed editor. Do yourself and the reading public a favor. Find one.

Bottom line, whether you’re an old hand in this industry or a wide-eyed newbie, choosing between seeking out a publisher or becoming your own is a complicated decision filled with countless variables unique to each situation. No matter which road you choose, there will be pitfalls.

(Ask me about the cover I recently received for the next and final book in my Players series. No, wait. Don’t ask. I’ll start crying again.)

Because my publisher is awesome, they are rectifying the cover situation, but that kind of cooperation isn’t always a reality when dealing with a publishing house. On the other hand, going Indie and having to handle absolutely everything, including formatting, marketing, and promotion, has its drawbacks as well.

I’ve experienced both, and for complicated reasons, I’m ramping up to jump back into the self-pub market with a fantasy romance series I hope to release beginning this fall. I’ll be taking my own advice, of course. There will be multiple editors involved before anything goes to print, because I would hate knowing someone had tossed their Kindle at the wall because of me.

When Mac isn’t throwing her Kindle at the wall, she spends her time weaving HEAs for her characters, like the latest in her Players series, Wyatt and Piper from TO WIN HER SMILE, now available for preorder via KensingtonBooks