This entirely original, exclusive, free-to-you story has been brought to you by… me! Play on, playaz…

Please read chapters one, two, three, four, and five if you haven’t already.

After five years, Daisy Sawyer has finally come home. Not that she’s too happy about it. She had a great life in LA: rubbing elbows with celebrities, hopping from one exclusive bar to the other, and best of all, she didn’t have to answer to anyone. But when a drunken night of partying lands her in jail, the only person she can count on is her estranged brother, Alec, the leader of a powerful were-leopard clan. Forced to choose between a prison sentence or face the life she abandoned years ago, Daisy returns… but she doesn’t have to like it…

Christian LeBeau owes Alec Sawyer his life. He will do anything for the man, even babysit his bratty baby sister. But Christian never imagined that Daisy could grow up to be so beautiful… and forbidden in more ways than one. His mind tells him she is the one woman he can never have, but his body refuses to listen. All he has to do is take care of Daisy until Alec finds her a proper were-leopard to marry, then Chris could wash his hands of her and get on with his life… but fate seems to have other plans.

And now, I present to you… Chasing Daisy…

(more…)

This entirely original, exclusive, free-to-you story has been brought to you by… me! Play on, playaz…

Please read chapters one, two, three, and four if you haven’t already.

After five years, Daisy Sawyer has finally come home. Not that she’s too happy about it. She had a great life in LA: rubbing elbows with celebrities, hopping from one exclusive bar to the other, and best of all, she didn’t have to answer to anyone. But when a drunken night of partying lands her in jail, the only person she can count on is her estranged brother, Alec, the leader of a powerful were-leopard clan. Forced to choose between a prison sentence or face the life she abandoned years ago, Daisy returns… but she doesn’t have to like it…

Christian LeBeau owes Alec Sawyer his life. He will do anything for the man, even babysit his bratty baby sister. But Christian never imagined that Daisy could grow up to be so beautiful… and forbidden in more ways than one. His mind tells him she is the one woman he can never have, but his body refuses to listen. All he has to do is take care of Daisy until Alec finds her a proper were-leopard to marry, then Chris could wash his hands of her and get on with his life… but fate seems to have other plans.

And now, I present to you… Chasing Daisy…

(more…)

…if that doesn’t prove there’s magic left in the world, I don’t know what would.

P.S. If that’s not enough awesome for you, here’s the gayest thing in the world… and I mean that in the most loving, awestruck, admiring way possible.

This entirely original, exclusive, free-to-you story has been brought to you by… me! Play on, playaz…

Please read chapters one, two, and three if you haven’t already.

After five years, Daisy Sawyer has finally come home. Not that she’s too happy about it. She had a great life in LA: rubbing elbows with celebrities, hopping from one exclusive bar to the other, and best of all, she didn’t have to answer to anyone. But when a drunken night of partying lands her in jail, the only person she can count on is her estranged brother, Alec, the leader of a powerful were-leopard clan. Forced to choose between a prison sentence or face the life she abandoned years ago, Daisy returns… but she doesn’t have to like it…

Christian LeBeau owes Alec Sawyer his life. He will do anything for the man, even babysit his bratty baby sister. But Christian never imagined that Daisy could grow up to be so beautiful… and forbidden in more ways than one. His mind tells him she is the one woman he can never have, but his body refuses to listen. All he has to do is take care of Daisy until Alec finds her a proper were-leopard to marry, then Chris could wash his hands of her and get on with his life… but fate seems to have other plans.

And now, I present to you… Chasing Daisy…

(more…)

Question: What color is your parachute and do you mind if I poke some holes in it?

There is an attitude online that is growing in popularity. It’s the “You suck as a writer, and yes I’m talking to you even though you think I’m talking to everyone but you, you smug bastard so QUIT NOW.”

On the one hand, the kind of writer that would quit over someone out in cyberspace on a crusade against unpublished writers, probably doesn’t have the fortitude to make it in this business in the first place. It almost requires a “Screw you, I’m doing it anyway” mentality. And maybe that’s a good thing. Probably the slush pile doesn’t need to grow higher with people who submit their rough drafts as if what flows from their pen is so perfect it can’t stand going through even a cursory edit.

Too many people submit crap. This isn’t news. But in my opinion, dealing with this reality by unilaterally encouraging all unpublished writers to quit, is a bit like saying: “The world is awful, everything sucks, you’ll never reach your dreams, better slit your wrists now.” It’s the same mentality.

In fact, the history of publishing doesn’t tell us that if you get X number of rejection letters you automatically should stop trying, but quite the opposite. It’s those who gave up after X number of rejection letters that failed. Because they quit. If you quit you automatically fail. If you keep going, you stand some chance, no matter how small those odds may seem.

I think the cynical anti-motivation advice should be restated in the following way: “Don’t write, if the only reason you do it is because you want to be published.” Do I want to be published? Most definitely. Do I plan to have an audience of some sort no matter how few or how many whether I’m published or not? Another yes. Would I write if I was the only person who ever saw it? Yes.

Because the act of writing for me, of building fictional worlds, of improving on them, of developing characters and story is personally enriching to my life. Many people paint and never plan to exhibit their work in a museum. If you love something it’s not important how “good” you are, only that you enjoy it. If you want to take the next step and share it with the world, you have to reach for a higher level of quality and marketability.

That’s where I am. Where are you?

Zoe Winters is a yet to be published paranormal romance writer. Her long list of impressive credits include not quite having an erotic short story published, and almost having an agent like her novel. She can be found in a dank little corner on the internet at http://zoewinters.wordpress.com.