#slowly but surely turning into a kristen fan blog it seems

[keepingsecretstokeepyoutk]

I’ve just had a thought (revelation), in light of some of the articles we’re seeing now, especially where people are starting to use “allegedly”-style language when talking about Toe…It feels like this Coming Out Roll Out really is more elaborately planned than we could have ever imagined. I think Taylor might be utilizing every single ally and contact she has to slowly turn up the volume on the gaylor public narrative until a final coming out.

We’ve already seen her fellow sapphic pop star friends do their part for years now, but all of them have been much louder of late.

We’ve seen family members like kaylor comments, follow blogs, etc.

Many journalists have already written about gaylor theories, queer interpretations of her lyrics, etc, and Now it seems some journalists might be doing their part to draw attention to inconsistencies in the Toe narrative!

Everyone seems to be playing their part. Which is so beautiful to think of Taylor having all of that love and support.

It takes a village to come out ✨

It would be truly mastermind shit to not only use your contacts to seed incrementally more accurate gay narratives in the media, but also to involve your whole network because then when you make the final move, you have this huge community already publicly supporting you and reacting positively, effectively drowning out negative reactions, and potentially swaying the naysaying fan opinions because their second and third and fourth favorite celebrities are in full support and giving sound bytes of empathetic third party perspective on how it makes perfect sense why she had to closet, how hard it must have been to navigate coming out in this industry, and how prevalent these practices still are, then what are they gonna do? Quotes we’ve already seen from Cara D. and Kristen Stewart will come to the surface, new interviews will be given, etc. Sure some of them will still act like entitled betrayed brats, but the majority would have to see her humanity, her courage, and her brilliance.

She has the unique experience of being able to analyze the conditions that led to the entire public turning against her and essentially reverse engineer the opposite experience.

I think she’ll do everything in her power to make sure the odds are stacked in her favor, and she’s got the mind to make it happen.

#gaylor #bearding #kaylor #closeting

[cathygeha]

Lex and Elizabeth can finally be together as mates. But the Lycan who killed her is back, and he's threatening the King. Will they be able to bring down the threat to their future happiness, or will Elizabeth's fears tear them apart? Find out in the newest edge of your seat title in Candace Blackburn's Return of the Lycan King Trilogy!

 Rafflecopter for Return of the Lycan King: Book 2: Lex and Elizabeth Blog Tour Giveaway:

 Candace is offering one (1) lucky Grand Prize winner a $25 Amazon Gift Card and three (3) Runner-ups an eCopy of Return of the Lycan King: Book 1: Nicholas and Kristen! To enter, simply fill out the Rafflecopter below:

 Direct Link:

 http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b050ef29508/

 About Return of the Lycan King: Book 2: Lex and Elizabeth:

Title: Return of the Lycan King: Book 2 Lex and Elizabeth

Author: Candace Blackburn

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Release Date: April 17, 2018

Publisher: Candace Blackburn

Series: Return of the Lycan King Trilogy

Format: Digital eBook

Digital ISBN:

  ASIN# - B07C7LG4L1 Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39851749-return-of-the-lycan-king Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07C7LG4L1/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1523986646&sr=8-2&keywords=candace+blackburn Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/return-of-the-lycan-king-candace-blackburn/1128520609?ean=2940159098443

Synopsis:

 Lex thought he'd lost her, but Elizabeth is back and she is his mate. But between her getting used to life as a Lycan, threats from dangerous elements looming over their heads and very odd changes in the Lycan kingdom happening all around them, nothing will be easy. Lex and Elizabeth's love has to be the strength to pull them through.

 Available at: Amazon  |  Barnes and Noble  |  Kobo  | Goodreads

  Excerpt:

 Copyright © 2018 Return of the Lycan King: Book 2 Lex and Elizabeth

Candace Blackburn

 "Alexei, are you okay?"

"No. I'm not." He turned, facing her now but still staying by the window. Keeping distance between them. "If those two... damnable women had not drugged my stew. If you hadn't seen me with them. If you hadn't been attacked. So many what ifs, and so many lost years. All this time, we could've been together. We could've had every night together. Met every morning in each other's arms." He slashed his arm through the air. "No weeks or months spent wondering if I'd get to see you again. No missing you with every beat of my heart." The tears steadily flowed. His canines had dropped, and his eyes held the unmistakable telltale yellow of a transitioned Lycan. Claws tipped his fingers. Wolf and man seemed to battle for control, and Lex was emotionally raw. "So many nights I wished you were there, so I could tell you I loved you. Every night, I prayed you were safe. And many nights, I asked God why you couldn't be mine. But. You. Were. And the idiocy of three people cost us two thousand years of happiness."

"You're right," she said as she rose off the bed. "I can't understand why any of this happened. I've questioned the very same thing, and can find no answer. But we're here together now. And isn't that what counts?" He watched as she took slow steps toward him, and his expression slowly began to soften. "In a matter of speaking, you claimed me that night in Portugal, and we've been together since."

His eyes momentarily widened in surprise. "Yes, but we spent so many nights apart. Nothing should have separated us. Nothing." He was right. There was no sense trying to talk him down when she believed what Lex said just as strongly as he did. "You mentioned Portugal. Were you following me?"

Nodding slowly, she now stood in front of him. "Yes. Jules made sure I had control of my hungers, and taught me how to use my strengths. Once that was done, and I was confident in my abilities, I went in search of you. By that time, you were serving the King. And I followed you on your missions."

"When I saw you, I damned near lost track of what I was doing."

She smiled, remembering making eye contact with Lex for the first time. The sensation was electric, the pull of a Lycan mate bond weakened, but still present. "But you did your job, and then you came to me."

His claws retracted, and a smile curling his full lips, he nodded. "And then I came to you." He pulled her into his arms, and embraced her firmly. "I mourn all the moments we lost."

"As do I, Alexei. But we have the future."

His chest shook as he exhaled a ragged breath. "Yes we do. I can't lose you again, Elizabeth."

"I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere.”

Other Books in the Return of the Lycan King Trilogy:

  Return of the Lycan King: Book 1 Nicholas and Kristen

 One life, one mate.  Nicholas Konstantine has been waiting over a thousand years for his mate. But when he finds her, she's completely unaware of her Lycan biology, and she's battling her own personal demons.

 Kristen O'Connor is a recovering addict, with some major trust issues. By not letting anyone get close, she won't get hurt. Yet after one meetiing with Nicholas, her walls are crumbling, and she wants more with this man.

 But Nicholas reveals his Lycan side, and hers as well. In addition, ghosts from both of their pasts come back to haunt them. Will they face everything together, or will Kristen's fears be stronger than her love?

 Available at:  

Amazon

 |  

Barnes and Noble

 |  

Kobo

 |  

Goodreads

About Candace Blackburn:

 Candace makes her home in North Carolina with her high school sweetheart husband and their two sons.  She's an indie author who has published two previous romances (with a bit of fantasy in each), Tristan's Redemption and Nate's Forgiveness.  Her current works are all paranormal romance (her favorite genre to read!) and are set in her home state.  She loves coffee, cold weather, the Boston Red Sox, the Carolina Panthers, and hearing from fans.

 Connect with Candace:  Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads  |  Amazon

 http://www.barclaypublicity.com/

[morganhazelwood]

A Starter's Guide For Fiction Writers Trying To "Establish A Social Media Presence" Part 1/3(??)

Part 1: Becoming A Good Internet Citizen - As A Writer

If you want to be a writer, the ubiquitous "they" tell you that you need to "Establish a Social Media Presence", but so much of the advice out there is aimed at Non-fiction writers. Non-fiction writers sell books based on establishing their expertise in a particular area. Fiction writers? We sell books based on the story, the writing, and word-of-mouth. So how do we make social media work for us?

https://youtu.be/jh2xg6WVB3E

Morgan's Approach To Social Media

Once upon a time, I finished drafting my first novel, editing it, and sending it off to beta-readers. While I awaited for their feedback, I started researching "the next step", and everywhere I looked said I needed an author page. At the bare minimum, I should have a website landing strip to get my name out there.

Morgan Gets Herself a Website

I bought my own domain name for Branding (you're gonna hear that word a lot in this essay) and set up a Wordpress site. I might be a coder by day, but I'm not about to spend my limited writing time coding.

But, an empty website with just my name on it seemed a bit barebones and half-um...tushed. So, I figured I'd put up three to five posts so there would be some content there.

That was in April of 2015.

I followed the suggested "slow blogging" approach, starting off posting at least twice a month, until the second-half of February 2016. And I haven't missed a week since then. (Although, I *did* do one rerun when I was out of the country).

Somewhere around May of 2016, I was reading a blog, I can't remember if it was Kristen Lamb's or Anne R. Allen with Ruth Harris's that suggested it, but. The blog suggested, even if I'm not planning on using a social media, I might want to reserve my name.

Why Reserve Your Name on ALL the Platforms?

Trends may change, my friends/followers might move to a different platform

jerks might try to reserve your name

Using the same ID is helpful for Brand Consistency

Suddenly, I had a Twitter, a Tumblr, a Goodreads, a Reddit, an Instagram, a Pinterest, a Facebook Author Page, and I'm sure I'm forgetting something. Oh right, a you-tube channel, like where you can watch me ramble on this very topic...

The article on reserving your brand said I didn't need to do anything with them, just pick my favorite one or two and ignore the rest. Well...I can't leave well-enough alone. I couldn't just leave them empty. *facepalm*

The problem is, none of these social media networks work the same way, and figuring them out is tricksy!

[I'll cover Blogging in Part 2, and the other social media's in Part 3. Probably. Unless Part 2 gets too long...]

Where Is Morgan Now?

My personal stats aren't amazing, but they're solid and steadily growing.

I've been blogging regularly for 3 years and am relieved when my new posts get over 25 views on the first day, pleased when they get over 50, and THRILLED when they get more than 75 views.

I saw most of my other social media as supporting the blog and that's how I've been treating them. But just because I like blogs and RSS feeds doesn't mean that's where my future audience is hanging out. And that doesn't mean that's what they're looking for in social media interaction.

Especially since I write YA. So, I'm trying to go where the teens are.

But, before we can talk about how to actually get started with social media, you need to know what sort of behavior is respected online.

CAVEAT: If you don't care if Agents, Readers, and my mom respect you, feel free to stop reading now.

Morgan's Guiding Philosophy For Interacting With Others On The Internet

You are still yourself, you have a personality, opinions, and preferences. And that's okay! You're allowed to do all that. BUT. You're also creating a brand, (yep, there's that word again).

I like to think I'm pretty WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get), but I have a filter. And what I post online is stuff I'm okay with my future agent, my future fans, and my mother seeing (hi Mom!). Both today and in ten years when Google unearths my archives.

Nothing about what I post or write is inauthentic, I'm just channeling what I feel is my best self, focused on writing in general as a theme, and in a professional manner.

How To Interact Online

Even if someone is being a complete jerk. If you're struggling, just contemplate how smug and good it will feel to be able to claim the moral high ground.

P.S. Don't be afraid to walk away. Your job is not to argue on the internet

You see aspiring writers who have yet to finish a chapter asking for feedback on their first page, social media newbies who don't know how threaded comments work or missed the directions for the site/twitter contest/whatever. Remember that you were new once, too. Be patient, or direct them to someone else who has the patience for that.

It's a good thing when other writers succeed. Most of us are here because we love to read. And with the heavy competition, hopefully, that means better writers are rising to the top, which means better books to read! Plus, the more writers you encourage and are supportive of, the more people out there who are also rooting for YOU.

You don't know what they're going through

You don't know how hard they've worked to get where they are now

if someone crosses a boundary, but it seems accidental and is minimally damaging? Tell them. In person, in an email, whatever makes you feel the most comfortable. It's okay to bring a friend.

if someone crosses a boundary, but you know it's on purpose or it's very damaging? Escalate as you deem appropriate, but gather a support network for yourself. Too often we see dismissal or excuses. Find people you trust to help you through whatever actions you decide to take. (Preferably ones that aren't actually felonies...)

THIS IS A BIG ONE. The publishing industry, especially the traditional publishing industry moves SLOWLY. But the publishing industry, as a whole, is very small. It can be aggravating when you're wracking up form rejections, or personalized ones that totally didn't get your story. It can be frustrating, when manuscripts you've scoffed at, turn into best sellers, while yours still sits on your computer and flies in your dream. Or when agents either keep asking for niche books you can't write, or stories that look just like yours, after rejecting your manuscript. We all need to vent sometime. But be aware of who you're venting to. Many writing groups have people who intern with agencies. Many writing groups have people who have agents or will get agents, in the near future. Many writers have friends in publishing and editing. People talk. Be careful where and to whom you choose to vent.

Bonus? By avoiding politics on my public social media? Most of my feed is about books, writing, and cute pets.

Warning: You need to be prepared for a potential backlash. One misspeak, or unpopular opinion and you might find yourself facing trolls, doxing, or even death threats. Only you can decide if your beliefs are worth the time and emotional energy.

Summary

Now I've addressed my approach to social media and shared the philosophy that guides my online interactions. Tune in next week while I get into my methodology behind my blogging.