What does @AuthorJMKelley do when she's not writing? (@GoddessFish Promotions)

Today, on Beyond My Writing Space, I'd like to welcome back the lovely J.M. Kelley, who came here a couple of years ago to talk to all about social networking. More recently, J.M. Kelley has released the beautifully written and easy to read Daddy's Girl, all the details are below. But first, I put the J.M.Kelley the Friday Feature question. What does a creative writer do when they're not creatively writing?

A gift basket of some of the J.M.'s favorite things to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour so don't forget to leave your comments below! (Including a $25 gift card from Amazon and a signed copy of the Foreign Affairs anthology)

What does J.M. Kelley do when she’s not writing?

That’s a frightening question to ask someone like me, mostly because I can never give one solid answer. My interests and obsessions are an ever-changing mess, so imagine the chaos in my own head.

Music is my main passion, outside of writing. Now, don’t lump me in with all the music snobs you know. I have my preferences and I have my musical convictions, but your average music snob would probably scoff at my iTunes collection. Queen is the ultimate in rock, in my world. Freddie Mercury is my god. I love hair bands, anything from the eighties, anything with some edge. Sure, hair bands are an obvious conclusion for me, but I also have a heck of a punk/new wave addiction. Then again, I’m quite open to new sounds and styles, and love discovering a band or musician I didn’t know about.

Because of this, I decided recently I really should know how to play the electric guitar…and on a visit home, my brother who is actually musically inclined, unlike me, was kind enough to set me up with a guitar. So, I’m fumbling through hideous renditions of Smoke on the Water and American Woman. I’ll bet my neighbors in the apartment below love me.

I am also the kind of person who can’t stand being indoors for long. I’m not athletic, but I love a little low-impact hiking. However, my true call in nature is to sit my tush by any body of water. The beach is my zen, as is a beautiful little lake located nearby. I often feel like I’m slacking off, when I find myself kicking up my heels yet again and doing nothing but watching the mountains in the distance. However, I was informed by a wise person that the biggest waste of time is feeling guilty about taking time to breathe. So I stopped fretting, and am learning to breathe.

I can’t go without pointing out that I love to read. I truly do not get enough time to do that. I am finishing up Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris, and am mulling over tackling some Stephen King classics again. Stories like It and The Shining…it’s been a very long time since I’ve read them. Sad, don’t you think?

Oh, my weirdest pastime is being a weather geek. Nobody understands it, and I usually get blank stares and eyerolls when a storm is approaching, and there are witnesses to my twitchiness. Now, my mother was always terrified of storms, so that rubbed off on me as I grew up. I still get a bit nervous when I see a big one building up, but I am equally fascinated. I am obsessed with getting a fantastic shot of a lightning bolt, so I end up acting as an amateur storm-chaser, driving around with radar on my iPhone, and my camera at my side. Unfortunately, storms like to die out when they get to my area, so I may have to find new chase territory so I can finally get my shot.

Is this a good point to put the question out to y’all (I’m so Southern now) following the tour? I’d love to hear hobbies and leisure activities you participate in. I can never have too many ideas for relaxation, after all!

Who is J.M Kelley?

Three years ago, native Pennsylvanian J.M. Kelley packed her bags and moved south. Now, the wannabe Carolina Girl can’t speak a single sentence without adding the word y’all at the end of it, and regards a blast of snow flurries as a doomsday-level event.  When the day job allows, and when she can pull herself away from George Takei’s Facebook fanpage, she likes to go on writing jaunts to her favorite lake, or a local coffee shop with delicious shakes and questionable Wi-Fi connections.

J.M. Kelley is a proud recipient of a Carrie McCray Memorial Literary award, and is a member of The South Carolina Writers Workshop and Romance Writers of America (PAN). Readers interested in more information may visit her website at www.jmkelleywrites.com.

 

Connect with J.M. Kelley

Email: readers@jmkelleywrites.com

Website: http://www.jmkelleywrites.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/JM-Kelley/108021242585994

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorJMKelley

Daddy's Girl

Sometimes, returning home isn’t about confronting your past; it’s about discovering your uture.

Janie McGee, the black sheep of her family, is free-spirited, uninhibited, and never one to stay in the same place for too long. When Janie learns her father, Joe, is gravely ill, she reluctantly returns home to rural Pennsylvania to care for him. Joe’s neighbor, David Harris, sports a pocket protector, collects coins, and is addicted to Antiques Roadshow. Everything about him rubs Janie the wrong way, from his nerdy wardrobe to his enviable friendship with Joe. And to make matters worse, her father thinks they’re perfect for each other, proof positive of how little Joe knows his own daughter…or so Janie thinks. 

A shared devotion to the elder McGee begins to close the gulf between Janie and David, but a burgeoning romance opens the door to new problems and unexpected consequences neither could foresee. Joe, however, remains steadfast in his resolve to show Janie that Daddy knows what’s best for his little girl. Can Janie finally open her heart to David while watching the first man she ever truly loved fade away?  

 A Peek Inside...

Before he even opened the door, David knew something was off. Late night visitors, in his experience, rarely brought good news. When the visitor turned out to be Janie, his heart leapt into his throat. “Janie,” he said when he threw open the door. “What’s wrong? Is Joe okay?”

“Yeah. He’s fine.” Relief hit him so hard he took a step back and leaned against the doorjamb.

“You scared me.”

“I didn’t mean to.” Janie rubbed her hands up and down her arms and looked over her shoulder. “It’s cold out here. Mind if I come in?”

“Oh. Right.” David gestured for Janie to enter. “Come inside.” He followed when she slid past him and walked into the living room.

“It’s late.” As if she needed to tell him. The atomic clock on the wall, a Christmas gift from his mother, showed the time at almost two in the morning. Janie stood in the middle of the room and focused her gaze on the bookcase in the corner. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”

“I was reading. A little too wired to sleep, I guess.” David moved up behind her and raised a tentative hand to her shoulder. “Are you sure everything’s okay?”

The sound of his voice jolted her out of her thoughts and she jerked her head toward him. Her movements were stunted. Wooden. “Ever have one of those moments when you’re convinced you may float away, and no matter what you do, you can’t keep yourself grounded? And you need to hang on tight to something until the sensation passes?”

Whatever was going on, he thought, she was not in a good place. David gently spun Janie toward him and gazed at her. “Tell me what you need from me.”

Janie closed her eyes and lowered her forehead to David’s shoulder. “Ground me, David,” she whispered and laid her hand on his chest.

Daddy’s Girl purchase links:

Turquoise Morning Press |  Amazon | Kobo | Smashwords | AllRomance | Omnilit

What do you guys think?

Erin

Posts You May Have Missed 

J.M Kelley - Social Networking - The Do's, The Don't's and The Huh's? 

Social Networking. The Dos, The Don'ts, and the Huh?s - J M Kelley

Ah, social networking. The key. The golden ticket. Open a Twitter account, shoot out your book’s purchase links, and sit back and watch the money roll in.

Right?

Wrong-o.

Don’t misinterpret me. I think social networking plays a huge role in getting the word out about your writing. If you figure out the fine balance between promotion and spamming, you’ve got it made in the shade.

But it’s not just about sharing purchase links. The online world offers so much more to enrich your experience as a writer. You can connect with your favorite authors, and even have legitimate dialogue with the ones who enjoy interacting with their fan base.

My favorite moment came when I took part in a “twitterview” and not only managed to have people chiming in, but someone bought my book mid-event. Sometimes, I find a plea for purchase tinged with the right amount of snark yields a random book sale. Personal interaction is always key.

Social media, it is a wonderful thing. But there are a lot of hitches I never considered. And a lot of hurdles I can’t always figure out how to clear.

See, the online world has a good side and a bad side. You have so much at your fingertips. You can link. You can blog. You can tweet. You can have a Facebook fan page, your own website. You can wear the letters off your homerow keys with all the ways an author can network online.

But how the heck do you get anybody to listen to you?

Ah, there’s the rub. Talking to the virtual brick wall. Believe me, some days I feel like that’s all I do.

There are so many authors online. It’s great. You can network with thousands of people who feel the same as you about writing and reading. You talk shop. Commiserate about writer’s block. Cheer along as someone makes fantastic progress on their manuscript. Cross your fingers as someone else sends a full manuscript to an agent for review.

It’s a giant online crew of people in the exact same boat you’re in. You love it. You want to hug all the authors surrounding you.

But then a nagging question starts to form: Am I marketing to other marketing authors and that’s it?

And then the next nagging question bullies the first one out of position: How the heck am I supposed to do this and keep my day job?

Sometimes, the despair sets in. I’m a blue collar girl living in an easy-access-to-the-internet world. I don’t have a desk. I don’t have a work computer. I don’t have a system for getting around my duties and getting online during the day. So how do I find a way to get readers to hear me when I can’t always be around to do the self-promotion?

I love social media. But how do I get it to love me ? The question I pose, kind readers, is this: How do you make the internet work for you ? What are the pros and cons you’ve discovered about the fine art of social networking?


J.M. Kelley


J.M. Kelley's debut novel, Drew in Blue , is a contemporary romance available from Lazy Day Publishing. Drew in Blue was nominated for Best Contemporary of 2010 by The Romance Reviews, and is a TRR and Night Owl Reviews Top Pick. Drew is available for download from Amazon, B&N, All Romance, and OmniLit. J.M.'s dabbles next in the paranormal realm with her short erotic romance, Laws of Attraction , included in the Lazy Day Publishing anthology, Indulgence , available on Amazon on October 19th. For information and news, please visit http://www.jmkelleywrites.com/