Author: P.J. MacLayne

I had no idea what to expect when I signed up with my first in-person sales event. It was the ComicCon of 2016, the first one to be held in Cheyenne, and no one knew what to expect. Luckily, my cover artist is an experienced con-goer, and she gave me lots of tips. (Waves. Hi, K.M.!)

And I’ll admit I overdid it. A banner, business cards, and postcards, as well as a game with prizes. Everyone was a winner. (At least they got a piece of candy!) Did it help me sell books? Hard to say. I broke even on the booth, and had publicity materials for the next couple of years.

But I did sell books. In my mind, enough to make me feel successful. Enough to make me decide to to more book sales.

How did I do it? I used the game to get people to come to my table. If the kids came and played, the parents tagged along and that gave me the opportunity to talk to them. Some of them picked up my books and took a look at them. A few of those bought one or more of the books. But I think the biggest selling factor was the smile I had plastered on my face, and the fact that I wasn’t afraid to talk to the strangers wandering the sales floor.

What would I have done different? I didn’t ask folks to sign up for my newsletter (non-existent at that time!) Now, I take along a notebook and ask if they wouldn’t mind getting my occasional newsletter.

Now, there aren’t many (or none at all!) literary conferences locally,  so I looked other places for opportunities A smaller con in a nearby town. A Christmas craft sale. A steampunk-themed fund raiser. A book signing at a local bookstore.

You’ll notice that none of those is an author-reader event in it’s purest form. I haven’t done one of those-yet. I’ve signed up to participate in Wild Deadwood Reads in June.

There’s a part of me that wonders if I know what I’ve gotten myself into. It’s not like I have a huge fan base that will rush to Deadwood to meet me in person. I have nightmares about sitting all alone at my table, watching authors sell book after book while I sell nothing.

I’m prepping myself to believe that the event is really about getting to know other authors and exchanging ideas and having a lot of fun doing it. But I’ll pack up my books, my banners, my business card and postcards, and plaster on my best smile, because deep in my heart, I know I’m going to try to meet new readers.

By the way, I’ll have a new book to introduce! Wolves’ Gambit should be available by then. So if you are in the Deadwood, SD area June 9th. come buy and say hi and pick up a signed copy.

Now,I’m off to see if I can find out if I’m missing anything from the other authors.

Feb. 26, 2018 – Do you attend Author/Reader Events? What do you offer on your tables and how do you interact with readers?

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According to Wellington he was “a rough foul-mouthed devil as ever lived.”
Hardly a recommendation, although Wellington added that he found him capable. Picton’s cruelty when Governor of Trinidad saw him put on trial for torture. Although convicted, the conviction was later overturned. 
He fought in the Peninsula War then became a member of parliament. When war broke out again, he headed for Waterloo. He arrived, but his luggage didn’t. He rode into battle in a top hat. 
That must have made people look twice. It probably marked him as a target, too. 
Welsh folklore says that his top hat was shot off by a cannonball moments before his death. 
Sadly, he was the most senior officer killed in the conflict. Although, some historians think he was so hated by his own troops that one of them shot him.  

Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher

I readily admit that I rely on inspiration when I’m writing my stories. It’s not 100%, sometimes I do have a basic premise in mind. But it’s those times that my characters like best to throw me for a loop.

Take this scene from The Baron’s Cufflinks:

If you’ve read the Oak Grove Mysteries, you know Jake has had a major influence in Harmony’s (the main character) life, for bad or for good. He was featured prominently in the second book, Her Ladyship’s Ring. So most of you probably weren’t surprised when he showed up in this scene. 

Feb. 19, 2018 – Tell us a story about a time when a piece of inspiration hit you. We’ve all had them.

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But that’s not the biggest reason I’m still not a fan of the holiday. (Does it count as a holiday if you don’t get the day off work?) No, what bothers me is how contrived the whole thing is.

Evidence points to several different historical figures that could have been the basis for today’s celebration. Perhaps it was a combination of legends of all three. Why there is a Roman Catholic (and several other Christian denominations) saint for romance is beyond me. Does it really take divine intervention for a relationship to work? And how does that translate into a day when we are all encouraged to spend money just to show that we care about someone. Shouldn’t we be doing that every day we are with them? (Not the spend money part, the show we care part.)

After all, that’s part of what makes a relationship work—taking time to let the other person know that you care. Doing things that don’t cost anything, like listening when they talk.Watching a TV show with them. Giving them a hug before you leave for work. It doesn’t take a saint to tell you these things make an impression.

I don’t expect flowers or candy for Valentine’s Day. If I get a nice card I’ll be happy. An extra kiss or two will be great. A heartfelt “I love you” is always nice to hear.

And then there’s the important question—if the day is supposed to be about romance, how comes we are ‘training’ our kids to take part? Kids as young as three or four are making cards for their parents. Why? Just why? (Besides the obvious—get them to spend money.)

So I’m not going to wish you a Happy Valentine’s Day. I will thank you for taking the time to read my blog and (hopefully) my books. And may February 14th and every day be happy.

Now let’s  hop on over and see what the other authors have to say.

Feb. 12, 2018 – Valentine’s is this week. Chat about the most irritating thing about this event.

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Those of you who have hung out here for a while know that I’m a pantser, not a plotter. That means I start out with a general idea of my book, but I don’t have all the details worked out for the story line. In fact, the romance in Wolves’ Knight isn’t at all what I planned for it to be.

The same is true for my characters. I start out with a general idea of who they are, but I don’t know them intimately. As I write the story, I’m also discovering their likes and dislikes, their background, their personality. The information doesn’t come to me all at once, the characters feed it to me in bits and pieces.

Harmony Duprie from the Oak Grove Mysteries is a great example of this. When I started writing her, I didn’t know she was so tied to her daily routine, or that she names everything. She let me know about those quirks quickly. She’s been great fun to write as her character develops through the book series. I’m always discovering something new about her. When I started writing The Marquesa’s Necklace, there was a bit of me in the character. By the time we reached The Baron’s Cufflinks, she was more like a good friend, and not me at all!

(If you haven’t read Cufflinks yet, you should. Harmony finally reveals what’s up with her and airplanes.)

How does that happen? It’s really simple. I listen to my characters. Heck, sometimes I argue with them about the way the plot is going. I win a few of those discussions, but most of them I lose. After all, the stories belong to them.

I’m currently working on Wolves’ Gambit, the third book in the Free Wolves’ series, and it’s been interesting. Lori, a minor character from Wolves’ Pawn in the main character. (I’m willing to bet you don’t remember her, that’s how minor she was!) So I knew a bit about her, but she didn’t take long to clue me in to who she really is underneath her bravado. This is yet another book that didn’t go the way I planned but Lori’s way is better! (Stay tuned…the book will be called Wolves’ Gambit and I’m working on a mid-April release date.)

Now let’s check out what the other authors have to say about character development.

Wait- you say you haven’t read the my books yet? Then head over to my books page to see where to get yours first! My Books

February 5, 2018 – Character Development; How do you achieve quality character development?

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Those of you that follow my blog know that I posted a survey last week. You also probably know that I got next to no responses. (Thanks, TKDanny, for being the exception!) So, I posted one of the questions on Facebook, and got a a few responses.

How do you like your villains?
1. Pure evil
2. Bad but redeemable
3. Fighting for a cause you don’t believe in
4. Other

And the survey says …!

A few people couldn’t narrow down their choice to only one answer. I counted both of their responses, The final results surprised me.

Four people like their villains pure evil. Think Snidely Whiplash from the cartoon series Rocky and Bullwinkle. Granted, he wasn’t a very smart  villain, but I don’t remember him every doing anything nice.

Another four people chose bad but redeemable.  Think Dirty Dancing and Grease. Even Fonzie in Happy Days carried the bad boy vibe although he wasn’t actually bad. (And Jessica Rabbit wasn’t bad, she was just drawn that way.) Although I haven’t read or watched the Fifty Shades series, I suspect Christian Grey fits in this category.

Last but not least. three people picked fighting for a cause. There are plenty of stories in history to look at for these characters. Abraham Lincoln was a hero to many and a villain to others. Same with George Washington and Che Guevara. It all depends upon which side you were on.

Feel free to tell me about your favorite villain in the comments. And now I’m off  to find out the results of the other authors’ polls.

January 29, 2018 – Share your survey results.

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“

Trying something a bit different this week. I’d sure appreciate if you all would take a few minutes to answer a few questions. Thanks!

Well, guys, talk about the best made plans etc. As I was in the middle of setting this survey up, we lost power. So I’m going to put aside my plans and approach this in a different way.

Here’s a couple of questions, please answer in the comments below! I’ll even take one word answers, but if you want to explain yourself, feel free!

Which unlikely hero do you prefer?
1. Vampire
2. Werewolf
3. Pirate
4. Other

Do you prefer your villains …
1. Pure evil
2. Bad but redeemable
3. Fighting for a cause you don’t agree with
4. Other

Which do you prefer?
1. The Free Wolves series
2. The Oak Grove Mysteries

That’s it! I’ll be looking forward to your answers.

Now I’m off to answer the surveys from our other authors.

January 22, 2018 – Survey your audience about _______________.

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I’ve been everywhere, man
I’ve been everywhere, man
Crossed the deserts bare, man
I’ve breatherd the mountain air, man
Travel, I’ve had my share, man
I’ve been everywhere
                             Geoff Mack

In a previous life, I used to travel for work. I’d hope on a plane at 6 in the morning, head to somewhere in the United States,  spend one or two night and fly home. In between I’d spend my time shuffling computers and wires and switches and routers. So although I got to be lots of places, I didn’t get to see those towns. In fact, I doubt I could list all the places I’ve been. I don’t remember all of them. I don’t have pictures to remind me of them.

So, in no particular orders, here’s a list of places I’d like to go back to and spend time exploring.

Sacramento, Ca. I actually made two trips there. Never left the town. I’d love to go back and visit wine country. Not that I’m a big wine drinker, but it looks beautiful. at least it did before the fires.

Connecticut—after all, it’s a small state compared to where I live now! And no one city in particular, but I’m a bit of a history buff, and so much history was made there. Sure, Massachusetts is more famous, but that’s what makes Connecticut more attractive to me. I got to go two different cities in Connecticut, and I’d love to explore more of the state.

Seattle, WA. I’m not a big city girl. But there was something about the quirkiness of Seattle that fascinated me. But that was over a decade ago, and who knows what I might find now.

Tennessee. I’ve been in the state for both business and pleasure. But there’s lots of it I never got to. (mostly the western part.)  I’d like to see more of it. Maybe drive through it going east to west instead of north to south.

One last one. I spent a lot of time in airplanes flying from the East Coast to the West Coast. And although none of my trips ever took me close, I flew over the Grand Canyon several times. Flying over it doesn’t count, however. I’d like to see it all, from the rim to the village at the bottom.

Now let’s go find out where the other authors are headed!

January 15, 2018 – Share a recent travel experience or anticdote.

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“

This week we’re interviewing someone we admire. I chose Cornelia Amiri, a fellow writer who has been extremely helpful to me.

First, for my readers who haven’t had a chance to meet you yet, can you tell us a little bit about yourself? 

Drawing on my love of a happy ending I’ve written over 30 published romance books under my name, Cornelia Amiri, and my pen name of Maeve Alpin. My muse, Severus the Cat, and I, live amid the hustle and bustle of humid Houston, Texas, as does my wonderful son and granddaughter. When not writing, I love to read, watch movies, and attend local steampunk events and comic cons. I’m currently working on the next book in my Druidry and the Beast series

You’ve written everything from steampunk to stories based on legends to historical romance and more. What’s your favorite genre and why?

I would say it’s fantasy romance. I also love history. My favorite time period is the Celtic Iron Age. It’s an era few people have accurate knowledge of, so I have to make a world previously unreal to the reader, real to them, just like fantasy and sci-fi authors do. In the tradition of Marion Zimmer Bradley, I use fantasy to bring the readers into the belief system of the characters. I want to make the druid teachings of the time come alive to the readers. So, in my books, people can shapeshift, there are selkies, Celtic gods who shape shift into all types of animals, vampiric Celtic fey looking for love, and magic swords, magic cauldrons…lots of magic in general.  I also take fantasy into the Victorian age with my steampunk stories.

What was the first book you wrote and was it published?
This is a long story, it all began with the Celtic Warrior Queen Boudica, she made me start writing. I love history, and in reading a book about the dark ages, I came across Boudica. I was so inspired, I started jotting down notes, but they were fiction (it-must-have-happened-like-this type). Before I knew it, I had written a novel. I thought, gosh I can really do this. So, after accidentally writing that novel, I wrote one on purpose, The Fox Prince, which turned out to be my first published book. I’ve revised it slightly and retitled it to The Celtic Fox.

What’s the hardest thing about being an author?

I think making time or I like to say buying time is the hardest. Right now, my day job is freelance writing, but even though I work for myself and have a lot of control over my time, I still fall way behind in my writing my books. It is often hard to do my freelance assignments per day and still have time and energy for writing my own books. Writing a certain number of words a day is one way to do it, but unfortunately that’s easier said then done.

What are you working on now?

I’m currently working on The Bear and the Druidess, the third book in my Druidry and the Beast series.

Do you have a favorite author? Who is it and why?

Morgan Llewellyn and Marion Zimmer Bradley are my strongest inspirations. Marion Zimmer Bradley wrote fantasies, Morgan Llewellyn writes historicals, and I write romances, but like them, I use historical knowledge and realistic fantasy that pulls from the druid belief system. Some of my other favorite authors are: Cecelia Holland, Ray Bradbury, Harlan Ellison, J. R. R. Tolkien, J.K. Rowling, Don Coldsmith, Rosemary Edghill, Teresa Mederios, Anya Seton, and Judith Merkle Riley.

I see we share some favorites! Out of all the books you’ve written, which is your favorite? (I’m rather fond of your AI series) And who is your favorite character?

Druids in the Mist, because it includes the Druid Center at Anglesey and Boudica, they and the historical events that occurred with them had a deep effect on me and for many years I wanted to write about them and share their story with others. I’m fond of my AI series too, mainly because it is comedy romance so it the comedy part of it always puts a smile on my face when I think of my wacky AI characters and also it was my first sci-fi book and I loved being able to get into sci-fi romance as when I was a teenager, before I discovered the romance genre, sci-fi was my favorite genre. If I have to pick a favorite character, it would be Tryffin because he was my first character. I was working as a file clerk and having an allergic reaction to dust. I closed my eyes to get a grip, and in my head, I saw the face of this man with reddish brown eyes and thick auburn hair, he reminded me of a red fox. Suddenly, the plot I had been kicking around had a hero and a title, The Fox Prince. He’ll always be special because I didn’t find Tryffin, he found me. I learned a lot about writing male characters from Tryffin. And Tryffin’s a nice, stand-up guy. Cute too.

So many male characters these days aren’t stand up guys, it’s nice to find one who is.  Last question- if you could change one thing in your career, what would it be? 

I wish I had started writing books when I was younger. I didn’t have the confidence for a while and that is what I regret the most. I should have put all doubts aside when I was younger. I would have been able to write so many more books.

I wish I had started earlier, too. Now here’s your chance to promote one of your books (or series!) For my readers who haven’t read any of your books, which one should they go out and get today? 



I’ll go with my comedy sci-fi romance series since it will make the reader laugh. The series is called Love AI Style and the books are Code of Love, Code of Misconduct, and Code Name Love. I also have a box set with all three books in one called Love AI Style.

Here’s the link for anyone who wants to go buy the collection. https://www.amazon.com/Love-AI-Style-Box-Set-ebook/dp/B07758TH5D.
You can follow Cornelia on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/cornelia.amiri.1

Thanks for taking the time to talk to me, Cornelia. One of these days, we’re going to need to catch each other in real life.

Now, let’s go find out who the other authors interviewed!

January 8, 2018 – Interview someone you follow or admire.

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Even though I don’t set resolutions, I love starting the new year with hope and optimism. I live by the seat of my pants since life has taught me to not plan too far ahead, but there are a few writing things I’ve got going in the new year.

First, I need to get Wolves’ Gambit, the third book in the Free Wolves series, edited and released by April. I haven’t set an exact day, but April is the goal. I’m really happy with the story. Here’s the working blurb:

Wolf-shifter Lori Grenville was rescued from near-slavery and an overbearing pack leader by a member of the Free Wolves. To pay back the favor, she’s dedicated her life to helping others in the same situation, leading shifters to safety and a new start, risking her life in the process. She’s faced down alphas and has no qualms in undermining pack structure.

Now she’s challenged with the task of restoring an alpha to his rightful place. If she gets it right, she can stop a war from ripping apart two packs and spreading across an entire state. If she fails in her mission, she’ll be among the first to die.

There’s still the option of walking away and letting the the Jaeger and Destin packs destroy each other. That means she’ll fail in her original mission of rescuing the daughter of the Jaeger alpha before the girl is forced into marriage for political gain.

Lori hasn’t failed in a mission yet. This one may be the exception.

No cover yet—I’ve got to get with my cover artist and start planning.

Then in June, I’ll be participating in Wild Deadwood Reads.

It’s a combination of an authors’ and a readers’ event, and I’m looking forward to the experience. First time experience for me.

Lastly, I’ve got the next book in the Oak Grove Mysteries floating around the back of my head. I’m going to try real hard to write Jake out of this one, but the man doesn’t know when to leave. He always worms his way back into the stories. You know he’s going to turn bad again one of these days, and it’ll break Harmony’s heart when it happens.

So that’s my big writing plans for 2018. Maybe I’ll throw in some local events, but that remains to be seen. And whatever you plan for the New Year, may you find joy and peace in what you do.

January 1, 2018 – What are you most looking forward to this coming year?

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