My 5 year publishing anniversary!

I knew yesterday's date sounded familiar, but it wasn't until today that I put my finger on it. On June 7th, 2010, my first book--A BITCH NAMED KARMA-- released. That was the day I officially became a published author!!! It's been five years and soooooo much has happened. I've learned so much and have really grown as a person and a writer.

This anniversary really makes me step back and think about my career. This is my second career, in case you didn't know :) My college degree and 13 years of my life were devoted to the floral industry.  I started writing just to see if I could actually do it. To see if I could complete a book. I was soooooo proud when I did!! That book never did--and never will-- see the light of day, but when I finished it, I went on to write a book I called Not Another Chick Lit Novel. After several re-writes and a name change, it finally found a home with Lyrical Press. I was so excited and so thankful they had given me a chance. Renee Rocco believed in me and helped me start this new career I was quickly falling head over heels in love with.

There have been MANY ups and down since then, and I will openly admit I am no where near where I'd hoped to be five years later. But I am soooooo much closer. The journey to publication and publishing success is a long one and nothing about it is easy. I often describe this time in my life as me going back to school. So many adults make a career change and go back to school for a new degree. I didn't actually go back to school, but boy did I ever get an education! When TRY ME ON FOR SIZE released last year, it was like my graduation and first job after college. I had arrived and was ready to make it in the world! I paid my dues, I worked hard, I didn't give up, and those years of learning WILL pay off :)

I'm definitely looking forward to seeing where I go in the next 5 years! Thank you for being here...for supporting me...for reading my books. Thank you to all my friends and beta readers who've read through my manuscripts, who helped me perfect my words. Thank you to my editors, especially Piper Denna, who saw something special in me and my manuscript and took the time to teach me. I would not be where I am without any of you, and I won't be able to go forward without you either! :)

Twitter Giveaway!!!!

This week I am giving away a signed paperback copy of A Bitch Named Karma!!

All you have to do is Tweet the hashtag #IWantKarma to be entered to win! US only, sorry :( Entries must be in by Thursday 6/21 at midnight EST and I will draw a winner on Friday via Random.org.

Thanks! And pass it on!!!

It's Release Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Release day!!!!!!! Yay!!!! I'm so excited!!!!

Today is the release day for my second full-length novel, Karma Kameleon! It's the sequel to my debut, A Bitch Named Karma. I'm so excited for the release of this book. Readers were so engaged with Lexi Marshall in the first and I just needed to tell the next phase of her life. More problems, more Karma, more Lexi! Readers also get more Rich, her sexy rockstar boyfriend, and get to see him mature and become a man. But that causes more problems for Lexi too! She's now caught between the two men in her life!

I'm partying ALL day on my Facebook Fan Page with, prizes, guests, games, giveaways and more!!Come stop by!!

Here's the blurb:

Karma is back, but this time she’s not completely to blame. 

After surviving a heart- wrenching tragedy, Lexi Marshall is determined to find happiness with her wacky, new-age family. Stumbling through her first few months of motherhood, she's achieved the perfect balance living with her son, the love of her life, and her best friend and his lover. But happily-ever-after all under the same roof doesn't last long. 

For one thing, Rich doesn’t exactly agree living with everyone is ideal. With their gay/straight double wedding fast approaching, he wants to find a place of their own instead of continuing to sponge off of Marcus and Kevin. But Lexi isn’t ready to give up her easy lifestyle...or the never-ending wisdom of her lifelong best friend, Marcus. 

Torn between assured comfort and true happiness, Lexi has to make a choice, and fast. Will she lose everything, or can she trust karma, and have it all?

One more week!!!

Next Monday is the release of my second full-length novel!! I am so so excited!!

Karma Kameleon is the sequel to A Bitch Named Karma. I cannot wait for you all to read the next chapter in Lexi's life. There's more drama, more laughs, more sexiness and sassiness...more Lexi!

All day next Monday, January 9th, I'll be hanging out here, posting all kinds of fun things. And I'll be partying it up on my Facebook page and Twitter too. All kinds of fun things- excerpts, games and prizes! I have lots of great things to give away!! Hoping lots of my author friends stop by and share their books and excerpts too. Should be lots of fun!

My first Sunday Six!

I think I'll start out with something from A Bitch Named Karma.

A strange woman stood nearby wearing a long patchwork dress fusing together hideous mismatched fabrics, one appearing to be burlap or something else equally coarse. Her long reddishorange hair flowed past her behind and she ranted about something. I ignored her screeches as I walked by until her pale hand shoved a photocopied paper in front of my face.

“Change your destiny!” she screamed. “Karma will destroy your life if you don’t change your ways!”

“Yeah, okay lady.” I pushed the Karma Kronicle back at her.

“You’ll be sorry…” I faintly heard as I continued on.

It's Blurbalicious!!!!

No cover art yet, but I have my official blurb for Karma Kameleon!!!!

KARMA KAMELEON

Karma is back, but this time she’s not completely to blame.

After surviving a heart-wrenching tragedy, Lexi Marshall is determined to find happiness with her wacky, new-age family. Stumbling through her first few months of motherhood, she's achieved the perfect balance living with her son, the love of her life, and her best friend and his lover. But happily-ever-after all under the same roof doesn't last long.

For one thing, Rich doesn’t exactly agree living with everyone is ideal. With their gay/straight double wedding fast approaching, he wants to find a place of their own instead of continuing to sponge off of Marcus and Kevin. But Lexi isn’t ready to give up her easy lifestyle...or the never-ending wisdom of her lifelong best friend, Marcus.

Torn between assured comfort and true happiness, Lexi has to make a choice, and fast. Will she lose everything, or can she trust karma, and have it all?

WARNING: Contains some explicit sexual scenes and strong language.

This totally made my day!!!

Friend of mine from high school posted on my FB wall the other day:

"I finished your book and loved it! What talent! I hope this doesn't sound silly but I'm so proud and happy for you...amazing. I got my sister to use it for her little book club/drinking parties and have 3 friends here in stl reading it. I'm starting your other book tonite....Thanks for writing a great book.....I'm a huge fan!"

Warms my heart and sends fuzzies all through my body!! :)

A Series...love it or hate it??

There are many many times I read a book and wish it didn't end. I just wanted to keep reading about these characters that I came to love!!

Many authors write books with a series in mind. When I write A Bitch Named Karma, I had no plan other than what I was doing at that exact moment. But after a while, some ideas for a sequel did pop into my head....but I wouldn't allow myself to really give them much though until I found a home for the book. No point wasting time thinking about a sequel if I couldn't even sell the first. And there was no way I was going to write one when I could have used that time to write something else that had the possibility of selling. But after i signed the contract...the ideas swirled again. I took notes and wrote the manuscript last summer int he few months after A Bitch Named Karma's release. Karma Kameleon will release in January 2012!

As far as a 3rd.....who knows. Maybe someday! ;)

But one thing I have issues with in a series is books that are just filler and feel like the author only wrote it to hook you and make you want to buy the next. (I find this often with book #2) I hate feeling like I read an unfinished story just so the author could profit on selling the next book...they have you hooked and wanting more. In my opinion, every book in a series needs to stand alone. Not cool to leave me hanging at the end with no real ending.

One of my favorite series books is The Queen of Babble series by Meg Cabot! SUCH an awesome series. And I can't write a post on series books without mentioning The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. Fantastic!!

What is your favorite series??

I'm the spotlight author!!!

At Lyrical Press's Blog today!! Please stop by and check it out!!

***Edited to add....but for some reason it's not there...maybe I screwed up the dates????

It's vacation week!

I know not all schools give the kids a week off for President's week, but ours does. Didn't used to...this is new...only been the last could years. So now the kids only have one week at Easter, instead of almost a full 2 weeks like they used to. I think it's better to have it broken up.

So, this morning I stayed in bed til 10....for some odd reason, my son slept til I went in and got him up. My daughter had stayed the night at Grandma's house.

You may ask...any big plans for this week?? Not one. Last year we took the kids to Kalahari in Ohio, a huge indoor waterpark resort. So so fun..I highly recommend it. But no money for it this year. We'll just hang out at home. I'm sure we'll play lots of Wii and other games.

In other news, I am done with edits on Karma Kameleon, the sequel to A Bitch Named Karma. Yesterday i worked on filling a few small plot holes and hopefully it doesn't look like I added these small scenes in. My main focus now is just reading through the story and looking for grammar mistakes and spots where the text just doesn't work. Hoping to get it out to some readers in the next few days!

The reveal: Beginnings and Endings!

If you missed it on Monday, here is the original post.

Today I have decided to reveal where the lines came from!!! Maybe this will entice you to pick up my book or pique your curiosity for future and unfinished projects!!

Ending lines:

Maybe I could invent my own genre of fiction: Having-It-All-Lit.

This is the final line to A Bitch Named Karma. Wanna read the entire story?? Click here!!

She’d truly found paradise.

This is the last line to Paradise Cove, due out in March 2011 form Lyrical Press!

The happiness of mother and daughter was her top priority, and never again would she find herself anywhere other than where she wanted to be.

This is the end of Soap Dreams, also due out soon from Lyrical press, June 2011!

It was always there and would never leave them.

This is the last line from my women's fiction novel titled Spellbound. I've shopped this baby out a zillion times and nuthin'. But a few months ago I did get some really helpful feedback on the opening chapter..so I think that will help...whenever i can actually get around to working on it!

I’m flying once again.

This is the ending of a flash fiction piece I'd had published in Flash Me Magazine called Flying in Pink Satin. It was chosen as their featured story and nominated for a Pushcart Prize!

I know that if a time ever comes that we find ourselves in need of answers, we’ll find them together.

This is the last line of a piece titles A Quest for Answers and it was featured in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Thanks Mom Edition. Wanna read it: Click here!

It would stand for a dream, a chance to live one moment in the limelight, even if it was only in my imagination.

Love this story! This is the ending to a story called A Shea's Dream, and was included in a local anthology called Voices from the Herd. It is about our theater. Check it out here! Proceeds benefit the Just Buffalo Literary Center.

Just another layer of daughter protection, but we’ll save that story for another time.

This one is great! It's from a piece called The Evil Eye, about my dad!! It was featured in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Family matters Edition. Read it!


And now the opening lines:

They say you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince.

This was a comical piece titled You have to Kiss A lot of Frogs. It was published in a anthology organized by a local author- Nickel City Nights: Erotic Writing in Western New York. It's sizzling! Check it out here!

I fidget with my hair, smoothing an already perfect knot atop my head.

And the first line for Flying in Pink Satin.

Many things in our lives go unexplained.

The first line for A Quest for Answers.

“Finito!” I screamed, not caring if the entire building heard me.

The opening line from A Bitch Named Karma.

“Two egg whites, scrambled, wheat toast with blackberry jam and coffee.”

This is the opening line of a piece I wrote, very rough, and still sits unfinished. It was inspired by my Father in Law. That's what he ordered every morning for breakfast...and was the last meal he ate before leaving the diner one extremely sunny morning and was hit by a truck. He'd then been in a coma for six months before he died. It doesn't actually have a name....I think the working title is Two Egg Whites, Scrambled.

The crash of ocean waves echoed in Shelby Saunder’s ears while a soft steamy breeze blew the chocolate-colored strands of hair trailing from her twisted up-do.

This is the opening for Paradise Cove!!

Robyn Miller’s hands dove knuckle-deep into a mound of raw ground beef and egg as her daughter yelled from the living room.

And lastly, the opening for Soap Dreams!!

Hope you all enjoyed these!! And maybe these lines even piqued your curiosity!!

And Please please please sign up for my blogfest and share it on your blog, Twitter, Fb, anywhere!! Thanks so much!! http://thewriterscocoon.blogspot.com/2011/01/my-first-ever-blogfest.html

Totally made my day!!

As an author who is just starting out, sometimes it's really, really, REALLY hard to know if your work is being enjoyed (and, um, purchased). My royalty statements are not showing what I hoped they would at this point...and some vendors do not report sales until months after. As of my last royalty statement, I hadn't received a dime for print sales for A Bitch Named Karma even though it had technically been for sale since August.

But then I get an email like I did today:

"I just wanted you to know I asked for your book for Christmas. Our local Barnes & Nobles was sold out & said they can not keep them in stock. They have been selling like hotcakes

Congrats on your success!"

This was from an internet friend I met in an online message board community. She's from somewhere in Ohio. So somewhere in Ohio, lots of people are buying, and hopefully enjoying, my book!!!!! This is what i live for as an author. It's not so much the money, it's this.......this feeling. Knowing that people are out there reading my book. And loving it!!

I was featured!!!

This week I was featured at EH on Books n' More. Please check it out!!!

And don't forget..I'm still searching for pics of my readers with my book!! Email them to stephanie_haefner at yahoo dot com! Thanks!

The Never-Ending Scene Blogfest!!!

This blogfest is so so cool!!! Please stop by Brenda Drake Writes to check out the list if participants!! This should be a really great blogfest!!

And here is my entry! It's a scene from A Bitch Named Karma. This is when Lexi's life starts falling apart! Enjoy!!


Later that morning, the elevator door opened to the offices of Smith and Roland and people sprinting around, every one with armloads of papers and boxes. The place normally resembled the theater a few blocks down that only showed nature documentaries; quiet and boring with most of the audience half asleep. Something was definitely up. I walked into Val’s office, looking like a battle had just taken place. I stepped around cardboard boxes as Val popped up from behind her desk.


“What’s going on?” I asked.


“Oh, Lexi. Everything is a mess! I don’t even know how to tell you this. You better sit down.” Her gravity defying hair looked a bit more frizzed out than normal. As Val explained to me her demotion and the changes that were effective immediately, I wanted to scream and cry and throw myself on the ground in a toddler-esque tantrum yelling, “No! No! No!”.

Val also explained the tiny royalty check I received a few weeks back. It wasn’t a mistake. My book sales dropped considerably and she would no longer be my editor. They replaced her with an outsider, a miracle-worker of an editor they lured away from another publishing house. Mr. Smith and Mr. Roland needed to make some major changes for the good of the company and hoped the big bucks they threw at this new woman would save it.

“She’s here already,” Val said, stifling her tears. “You are meeting with her today in her temporary office. As soon as I’m cleared out, she’ll be moving in here.”

I didn’t know what to do. My relationship with Val far surpassed the editor/author marriage. We were also friends. She established my career and walked me through my first publishing experience. She gave me my first big break and I owed so much to her. What would I do without her?

As she reached to pull one of her photos off the wall, she broke down crying. I did the only thing I could think of.

“These assholes can’t fuck you over like this! This is unacceptable! If they don’t give you your job back, I’ll walk!”

“Lexi, no. They mean business. For the sake of your career, you need to stay put.”

Our eyes met and I knew she was serious. I trusted Val on every aspect of my career in the past, no questions asked. I had no reason to doubt her advice now.

“Fine. I’ll meet with her. But if I don’t like her, she can go to hell. They all can.”

I walked down the hall confident as my Manolo Blahnik’s click-clacked on the marble, ready to raise some hell. A hand-written sign had been plastered to the door: Sheila Brown- Editor. The scent of a black Sharpie wafted into my nostrils as I pounded on the door.

And if you're interested in reading more...you can purchase A Bitch Named Karma as an ebook at Lyrical Press's website or at Amazon for the Kindle or in print!

I *Heart* Reviews!

I am always SOOOOOOO appreciative when someone reads my book and posts a raving review online!!! It totally makes my day!!!

Thank You Lisa @ Raven and the Writing Desk!

Please check it out and give them some bloggy love!!

"Mom, if you haven't noticed...."

"...I am a 33-year old grown woman."

That's what I had to say to my mom yesterday. She'd just finished reading A Bitch Named Karma. She said she loved it, it was a really good story....."but".

Don't ya just love a "but"????? She said she had a hard time with the sex scenes.

Now I know for a fact that my mom reads all kinds of romance...and the scenes in my book are very glazed over. Yes, there's some colorful language...my MC Lexi is pretty sassy and says exactly what she's thinking. It's first person, so of course the sex scenes are described using her language.

"But you're my daughter...and you wrote that..."

I get that...but I think she needs to separate herself and just read the book like any other book. Maybe that's easier said than done....

I guess it kinda hurt me a little. I think we sometimes expect glorious praise from certain people and when it's not given, it's a little heart-breaking.

I want pictures of you with my book!!

I read Jody Hedlund's blog and thought she had such an awesome idea for her first release, The Preacher's Bride. She asked her readers to take a picture of themselves with her book and she displays them on her website! I think that is just so much fun!!!!

So anyone wanna pose with their copy of A Bitch Named Karma??? I know many of you have it as an eBook, but that's cool too! I bet you can set your Reader to the cover and take a pic with it!

Please send pics to stephanie_haefner (at) yahoo (dot) com

Thanks so much!!

I'm speechless.........a fantastic review.

I read this review and I was really left speechless. So many times I've been asked why I write...why I do what I do..what inspires me. This review is exactly why. This feeling is so amazing... I think back to when I first started A Bitch Named Karma...it was supposed to be funny and spoofy and in the very beginning it wasn't meant to be a real story. But then I got into it and this amazing story developed. It became so much more than I'd ever imagined.

Check it out at My Inner Fairy. Summer won my 150 follower giveaway and read the book with lightning speed. Give her lots of blog love!!

Last week of Summer vacation!

I am both really happy and kinda sad at the same time. I am so desperate to get back to a normal daily routine. So done with the "whatever goes" kind of day. Very much looking forward to structure.

But on the other hand, it's almost September and my daughter is going back to school and I feel like the summer has gone by and we didn't do enough.

I keep reminding myself that I am a work at home mom and not a stay at home mom. I still have work to do...so I can't just do whatever I want every day. Besides, most things take money and we just don't have it.

I got a lot done in July...added almost 30,000 words to my manuscript. The plan was to take August to edit the first half of the book- Karma Kameleon, the sequel to A Bitch Named Karma. And that went well...for like the first two weeks. But the last two....didn't do anything at all. Which is fine...maybe I needed to just chill anyway.

So, here we are....week til school starts. Already have some plans for this afternoon. And tomorrow hubby is off, so we have plans for then too.

Hope the rest of your summer goes well!

I want reviews!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so so desperate for some book reviews of A Bitch Named Karma!!!

My publisher, Lyrical Press, Inc, sent my book out to several review sites, but so far, only one of those has actually posted a review. (A fabulous review, BTW! Check my Reviews Page to read it and a review from a friend of a friend!!) And nearly every day, I read on the Lyrical Press yahoo group, that lots of other people's books are getting great reviews!! I want some of that!! I am so so jealous!!

I know they will come in time, but as my problem has always been...I am not fond of waiting!