P.S. Escape (The Covington Heights Crew Book 1) is super-bargain priced today!! 😀
So what’s Hack about?
An online criminal craves real-life danger, but her flawed instincts may cost her new crew everything.
Rafael Santos didn’t get the nickname ‘Goldie Locks’ for his shimmering blond curls. His hair is as black as his criminal heart. No, it’s his Midas touch. His ability to earn—coupled with a love for theft and technology—has gained him the coveted Number Two position in the Covington Heights crew. The problem is…after a murder that sent their regular clients packing, even his numbers are down. Now, finding new sources of illegal income is his number one priority.
Marigold Pfeifer is the fairy princess of online deceit. She can slip her computer viruses into a system at the blink of an eye and steal personal information in a twinkly flash. And that’s exactly what she does when screen name ‘GoldieLocks’ slides into her instant messenger. What’d he expect? A gift card?
But when the naïve hacker rides the train uptown to check out mysterious Covington Heights, she’s approached by the leader of the crew and forced to think fast on her feet. A hate-filled rivalry sparks between her and Rafael—and with it a deviously sinful attraction.
Will real-life criminals and the danger they breed be enough to wise up the goth-pixie with zero street smarts when she must navigate dark waters—or will her flawed instincts burn all she’s worked for to the ground?
Here are five fun facts about my current series The Covington Heights Crew:
1.) When I started writing it, I intended for it to be super dark. Turns out, I don’t really have that in me. So, after a developmental edit and an inspiring Skype with one of my favorite professionals, it turned into something completely different.
2.) The first three books are Enemies to Lovers. Book four is almost an off-shoot as it’s the story of Leo’s older brother Frankie and he was never in the crew.
3.) The idea for HACK was inspired by real life events. There was a story in the news of online hackers taking small towns hostage and freezing up their traffic lights. Apparently, the FBI encouraged the towns to pay the ransom because it was the quickest solution and their insurance would reimburse them. I thought, damn, what if online criminals and street criminals converged?
4.) Book one has zero sex scenes which is a total first for me! After everything I put Fiona through, I just couldn’t bring myself to peek into her intimate moments. In book two, however, the heat is on. And Anton’s book, the third, is the steamiest of all.
5.) I usually try to avoid male leads with eerie blue eyes because my husband has seriously insane blue eyes. But the crew leader, Anton, has them. He’ll probably be my only lead who does.
So you want to be a Romance Writer… written by Deana Birch
Awesome. I say go for it. Why not? You’ve been reading book after book, falling in love with the heroes and becoming besties with the fictional love interests. Now you have a couple characters dancing around in your imagination and you’d like to write their story. Do it!
Let me start by saying that it’s completely normal to want to keep this to yourself for a bit. I mean, why would anyone think that you have the talent to write a love story? And sometimes we Romance writers blush a bit when asked about our books. That doesn’t mean that you can’t start doing some research that will help you down your new path in your spare time. And there is no need to announce to the world that you have started writing. We’re all kinda shy about it in the beginning.
It seems obvious, but the first thing you need to do is write the story. There are some people who say you should write every day, but I call bullhokey on this. Chances are you have a full plate of work and personal life already, so write when you can and when it gives you pleasure. If setting goals is helpful, like 1,000 words each session, do that. But, whatever the time frame, make the overall commitment to get your story from head to page. I write what I want to read and encourage you to do the same.
Some quick things you may want to consider as you begin:
Are you going to outline your book or just fly by the seat of your pants? Both options are perfectly wonderful. I do a bit of both and if you have never outlined but would like to try, there are great craft books out there to help before you start. Every story is basically a hero’s journey. They need a goal, internal and external, they need bumps on the road and in the end we need to know if they have succeeded or failed. In Romance, reader expectations are either a Happily for Now or A Happily Ever After. If your love interests aren’t together by the end of your book, it’s not a Romance.
How long do you want the story to be? Novels come in all shapes and sizes, from 15,000 words to 100,000. You can even out your chapter lengths accordingly. For example, most of my books tend to be 70,000 to 80,000 words. I write the first 20 chapters at an average of 2,500 words and the last ten about 2,000. This isn’t a rule, but it’s a good habit to get into so if you ever do need to change it up, that short or very long chapter will stand out as important. But if you want to start with something shorter, then your chapters can reflect this.
Are you writing multiple points of view (POV)? If so, try and keep them as equal as possible. Thirteen chapters from one perspective and one from the other doesn’t lend itself to a very balanced book. And while we’re on the topic of POV, a common mistake I see in new authors is head hopping. This is when we’re in one person’s POV and then go into another’s in the next paragraph without warning. Remember that as the writer, you are essentially on that character’s shoulder and you are seeing, feeling and thinking as they would. The character can’t know how others perceive things.
Will you write in present or past tense? Present tense can be tricky for first timers as it doesn’t allow for much reflection, so emotions are hard to get across. Past tense is perhaps easier, but there are technical aspects that shouldn’t be forgotten such as knowing when to use past perfect and avoiding words like “now or yesterday” that plant us back into present.
Are you writing in first person or third? Third can be harder to convey sentiments but this is a style and taste issue. There is no wrong or right. I have a writer friend who likes third but sometimes writes a scene in first to get the feelings out then goes back and edits the passage into third.
Okay, so you’ve got your little plan and you’ve written some chapters. Brilliant! If there are blocks, don’t worry, they come and go. Don’t give up, the story is there, it will reveal itself to you over time.
What can you do to start putting yourself out there? You may want to make new social media accounts that are dedicated to just writing. Blurring the lines with your kids’ pictures and your eventual book promotion doesn’t always work. So if you are using a pen name, get it out there. Start building up your following and interacting as the writer you are becoming. Find a few other newbies and start a chat or a group where you can interact and get support. Join groups and see what other authors are doing. Most of us are pretty nice and will answer questions or offer advice. Build your tribe. Chances are you still haven’t let your cat out of the bag to many people around you and you’ll need some like-minded people who you can celebrate your small victories with and look to for support in challenging times.
Holy Moly you have a complete story! Congrats, those late night bursts and brainstorming sessions have worked. You have your first manuscript. That is flippin’ amazing! Now what?
Ah… the kicker. Someone has to read it. Man, oh man, sending your word babies out into the world for critique is scary. Spoiler alert, it probably always will be. But beta readers are essential not just to polish your story, but because this is probably the best way you will start to hone your craft. Usually beta reading is an exchange so I encourage you to A) Find people who understand and enjoy the genre in which you write but have some experience and B) when it’s your turn to give feedback, give it how you would like to receive it. I’ve read a lot of manuscripts over the years and have had my drafts read by loads of authors. I’ve had beta readers insult my characters, rewrite my words or just ghosted me instead of returning the manuscript. You will slowly figure out the valuable people and construct some lovely relationships.
When you’re ready to put your book out there, you will need to decide if you’d like to try and get an agent, self-publish or try small press where you can submit your work directly. An agent will take time, patience and a lot of research. If you are going to self-publish, you’ll need to hire an editor and since this is your FIRST book, I strongly advise getting a developmental edit along with line edits and proofreading. A small press can be a nice compromise if you don’t have the funds for an editor or cover artist as they will handle all the upfront costs then keep a portion of the sales.
Marketing—no matter what road you take—will fall heavy on your shoulders but is such a massive beast of a subject, I’ll just leave it at that.
Living your dream is totally attainable if you put in the work. Love stories, in all their wonderful forms, never get old and fresh perspectives are always welcome in this flourishing literary genre. Good Luck!