Today I am so pleased to welcome Kate Pavelle to Joyfully Jay. Kate has come to talk to us about her latest release, Treading Water, book 1 of the SwimBikeRun series. She has also brought along a copy to give away. Please join me in giving her a big welcome!
My name is Kate Pavelle, and I’m supposed to be talking about my new release: “Treading Water,” book 1 of a series where two guys meet while training for a triathlon. However, there is a snag: Book 2, “Hard Climb,” alludes to both their relationship challenges and training on their bicycles, and will be out by Christmas. Book 3, “Endless Run,” is coming out in March. This isn’t even close to what voices in publishing call a “rapid release,” but it’s too fast for some. Therefore, instead of talking about the book (go check out the sample read, see if you like it – proceeds go to my daughter’s college tuition), I’ll talk about the issue of “writing too fast.”
Much has been said of late about a writing glut in the marketplace, and not all of those voices are happy. Some traditionalists, who still miss the good old days of huge advances for one book per year, don’t like us prolific indie writers at all. The debate over “writing too fast” got heated enough that Stephen King – in his role as the voice of reason – posted one of his periodic blogs. The gist of his words is “writing fast is okay, fast writing doesn’t mean bad writing.” Other writers picked up the torch – if you want to make a living, you need to produce. (And if you want to hear more, check out www.kriswrites.com, where Kris Rush says a lot about work ethic, practice, and how awesome it is that we can write all we want if that’s what we want to be doing.
I’m starting to get those occasional “So, how do you write?” questions. My answer depends on who is asking. Not many novice writers (an I am still that, folks) realize that to be productive, a writer needs to have a solid work ethic that consists of a dedicated work space, a schedule, and a long-term plan with short-term deadlines. After hearing of the benefits for 2 years, I finally broke down and obtained a used iMac from Craigslist that isn’t hooked up to our Wi-Fi, has only Word and the Adobe Suite on it, and is a dedicated writing machine. No FaceBook, no blogs, no email pings that pull me out of my character’s mindset and ruin the flow of my story. This structured, professional approach is somehow frowned upon by the “literary types.” Some people think that producing eight novels a year (2015 is my first year like that, incidentally), is “writing too fast.” It’s not. It just means keeping at it, being passionate about the story and the characters that inhabit it, and molding their final destiny.
I don’t count as a fast writer yet. Some writers are amazingly prolific, and their ability to entertain is not diminished by the size of their backlist. Even so, I get the all-too-familiar raised eyebrows. At a recent family gathering, people wanted to know “how is the writing going.” Yet when I said I have eight coming out, the tune changed to a “Oh, I guess you’re just cranking them out.”
Just cranking them out. Well, no. Writing is fun, my imaginary friends talk to me and are a lot more reliable than my aunt’s live friends, and I sure like to hang out with them more! All this comes at a cost. Writing is a physical activity, and we need to keep our bodies healthy. That’s why I had bought a walking desk treadmill with my first advance. Sitting has become an issue – but office stores now sell inexpensive kneeling chairs. What a relief, writing without being able to slouch! My feet might hurt from walking for too long while I edit – but that’s what changing your shoes is for. And breaks: to switch the laundry, to make lunch, to play with the dog. Water and bathroom breaks give rhytm to long writing sessions, too. People who use the words “just cranking them out” don’t realize what it means to strategize over these fine details of our writing lives.
Now that you know a bit about my latest book, my pet peeve, and the sequels to come, go click on that link and enjoy a sample read. Jesse and Sebastian come from vastly different backgrounds, but they click and they support each other the way friends should. Standing shoulder to shoulder in face of both training schedules and adversity, they inspire with their goodwill and their willingness to reach out and make the other man’s world a better place. “Treading Water” is available both in print and all common e-book formats, wherever fine books are sold.
Blurb
Buffeted by the winds of fate, Jesse Hightower drifted far from his Crow reservation. Family issues, foster homes, and living hard on the street. Now his computer-jockey job got him out of shape, and a tough split with Renata threw him into depression. Even worse — to keep his job, he has to train for a mandatory, company-wide triathlon.
An heir to an ice cream empire, Sebastian Gillen was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and family expectations of an executive career. A brilliant swimmer, Sebastian had given up his shot at the Olympics for the sake of business. Meeting Jesse at the pool is an exciting breath of fresh air. Inspired by Jesse’s inner strength, Sebastian resolves to make this boyfriend thing work, even if he has to stand up to his family – including his sister, Renata.
Bio
Kate Pavelle writes romance, thriller, and urban fantasy. Her books dig deep into real-life experiences. Resilience. Love. Courage! All are a heart-warming affirmation of the can-do spirit within us all. When she isn’t writing, Kate spends time with her husband and children, practices martial arts, and tries hard not to kill her overgrown garden.
Follow her on www.katepavelle.com/wordpress, FB, or twitter at @katepavelle
Giveaway
Kate has brought a copy of Treading Water to give away to one lucky reader. Just leave a comment at the end of the post to enter. The contest ends on Wednesday, September 9th at 11:59 pm EST.
- By entering the giveaway, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
- Winners will be selected by random number. No purchase necessary to win. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning.
- If you win, you must respond to my email within 48 hours or another winner may be chosen. Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from Joyfully Jay.
- Winners may be announced on the blog following the contest. By entering the contest you are agreeing to allow your name to be posted and promoted as the contest winner by Joyfully Jay.
- Prizes will be distributed following the giveaway either by Joyfully Jay or the person/organization donating the prize.
- All book prizes are in electronic format unless otherwise specified.
- By entering you are agreeing to hold Joyfully Jay harmless if the prize or giveaway in some way negatively impacts the winner.
- Readers may only enter once for each contest. Duplicate entries for the same giveaway will be ignored. In the event of technical problems with the blog during the contest, every effort will be made to extend the contest deadline to allow for additional entries.
- Void where prohibited by law.
Thanks for the insight. I love learning the ins and outs of writing. So fascinating. Just keep doing it however works for you. That’s the only thing that matters. Book sounds good! Count me in for the giveaway.
The book sounds like a fun read! Added to my TBR pile!
Definitely one that hits my buttons – have even competed in local tri’s in the dim dark past!
Count me in, thanks for the chance!
I really like to read books about people coming from very different backgrounds who fall for each other and manage to make it work: those relationships are interesting, because there are many issues they have to negotiate
Thank you for the giveaway.
I’m not really sure that it matters if an author writes a lot of books or just a couple or so a year as long as they are happy and the readers are happy. The book sound really good please count me in for the giveaway.
I’m all for authors who can writing faster. 😉 As a reader, I’m always happy to have more options to choose from, especially from a favorite author!
I enjoyed reading about the book and have added it to my list.
Thanks for a thoughtful post and for the opportunity to win. When I find a new favorite author, I’m happy to find a big back list of titles or to learn that they publish new material quickly. But I’m also willing to wait for a good book by a slow writer. I can appreciate having a dedicated computer for writing only; the Internet sings a siren song!
Great post Kate. Thank you for sharing and for the giveaway chance!
Oh, wow, this is my first time hearing about this one. The blurb sounds great and Treading Water is now on my wishlist. As for the post, should I just say ‘haters gonna hate?’ 😉 Seriously, though, I’m glad to read your perspective on things. As a reader, I only hear minor grumblings about writers putting out things “too fast.” I actually say it’s too fast only because I’m not caught up on so many authors I’d love to read! The good thing is that the books will still be there when I can get to them, and for the readers who are right with an author’s schedule, they are happy as can be. Thanks for sharing with us!
Triathlon, family issues and romance. Sounds like a good read for me!
Please count me in. Thanks.
I’m really intrigued by this premise!
Kate calls herself a new author, she sure is to me and I’d love to take a peek at her ‘world’. Congratulations on your brand new release and the coming up ones and much success!