2013 New Year's Resolutions!

Starting January 1st, eight other romance bloggers will be posting a nine part, cross blog series of articles on various resolutions for the new year.



Here is our schedule!

THE RESOLUTION TOUR - January 1 - 9, 2013

Maggie Jaimeson - Take a Vacation

Jessa Slade - Get Organized

Paty Jager - Volunteerism

Linda Mercury - Creating a Literary (or Creative) Life

Jenna Bayley-Burke - Eat Healthier

Cassiel Knight - No More Procrastination

Cathryn Cade - Take Time for those OTHER Creative Passions

Su Lute - Reduce Stress: Find and Follow Your Bliss

Jamie Brazil - Shrink My Closet

Each of us will be hosting essays written by the others on each theme. So head's up, everyone. The New Year is coming in with a bang.

Dracula’s Secret

Dracula’s Desires

Dracula Unleashed

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Working for a living: Women in the Arts, II

Today's guest is Grace Constantine, dancer, author, landscape architect, and all around amazing person. Please welcome Grace!

1.What is the name of your business and what do you tell other people you do? 
(such as author, teacher, designer)

I'm Grace Constantine, belly dance performer and teacher, and director of 
theatrical fusion troupe Deviant Dance Company.

2.When did you know it was time to stop treating your art as a hobby and start 
it as a career?

I have no idea, I just woke up one day and I was a belly dancer! For me there 
has not been much of a difference between hobby and career. Dance has always 
been more than a hobby to me, it has been a deeply important part of my spirit 
since I was a child, and even as a hobbyist I approached my projects with a 
professional level of care. Early on, I made the conscious decision not to 
pursue a living with this artform. I did not want my creative process to be 
affected by the need to support myself on a daily basis--essentially, I wanted 
my life in dance to be pure joy, to remain unsullied by monetary concern. 
However, my interest and passion has only grown as years have gone by; 
eventually I spent so much time and energy that I suppose a career became 
inevitable, and so here I am.

3.What are some of the aspects of your job that people don’t see? For example, 
most people don’t understand how much marketing is done by the authors 
themselves instead of a publisher, and most audience members don’t see how 
costumes and props are designed/chosen.

Probably most folks have no understanding of how much time in the weeks or 
months before an event goes into working out logistics with event promoters, 
venues, musicians, lighting, staging, etc. to make sure that everything comes 
together for the audience. I spend a good deal of time every day communicating 
about these things. Every event is unique, and many have very different needs. I 
often work with live musicians, and this adds another needed element of 
communication. Many events have a theme, or a specific audience that requires a 
certain type of performance. Behind-the-scenes concerns also include marketing, 
rehearsal scheduling and arrangements, travel plans for out-of-town events, and 
negotiating contracts. This is all before I get to create lesson plans and 
workshop content; train in the studio; teach classes; and finally design 
performances. Phew!

4.Who inspired/inspires you on those inevitable rough days?

My brilliant students: every time they encounter something new and pick it up as 
if they've always known it, it inspires and re-ignites me! My endlessly talented 
troupemates: they always say 'yes' to my crazy schemes, and then build on them! 
My darling husband: he is always ready with a hug, and makes sure that I eat 
good food, even when I am obsessed with a project!

5.Name a few of your current projects. For example, conferences, publicity, 
design process, what you have for sale.

This month I taught and performed at Columbia University's Middle Eastern Dance Conference--talk about inspiring! My troupe Deviant Dance Company recently added a new member, and we are creating a new piece called 'Song of the Tentacle' to be released in February. Also in February I will be sharing the stage with the Bellydance Superstars when they come to Seattle. I am writing a regular column on the creative process for the new belly dance magazine 'From the Hip', and I am enjoying writing very much. As always, I am teaching a full complement of one-on-one lessons, and planning workshops for the new year.

6. (OPTIONAL)This question is a chance to meander or talk in greater depth if 
you’d like. Here you can talk about what hobbies you pursue, how you refresh 
your well of ideas, what you would recommend to other women interested in a 
career in the arts, or just anything you'd like other people to know.

Advice to women interested in a career in the arts: don't do what everybody else 
is doing. Play! Experiment to find out what you are good at and what you enjoy, 
and explore those things deeply. This is how you will find your strength.

Grace Constantine
www.graceconstantine.com 
www.facebook.com/constantine.grace 

NEWS:
--Latest performance video--Grace at Salon L'Orient 2012:
http://youtu.be/uORzw7QUi58 


--Grace is a staff writer for the brand new 'From the Hip' Magazine!
www.newsfromthehip.com 

The Next Big Thing! (Week Twenty-six)

This is Lori. Isn't she cool?

Last week, I was asked by my fellow eKensington author, Lori Sjoberg, (visit her here), to participate in the Next Big Thing blog game.

Rule 1: Answer these ten questions about your current work in progress on your blog.
 So here we go!

1- What is the working title of your book?

Dracula Unleashed

    2- Where did the idea come from for the book?

In Dracula’s Secret and Dracula’s Desires (the two previous novels),  I know that I had to have my heroine face  her past one last time before she could truly relax and be happy with her two male partners and her new baby.

    3- What genre does your book fall under?

Paranormal romance

    4- Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Daniel Craig for Lance Soleil, a non-sexist Dean Martin for John Janté,  a dark haired Lucy Lawless for Valerie

         

Hello, Mr. Good Guy!

    5- What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

There are no parenting books for vampires.

    6- Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

This book will be published by eKensington and released in March of 2013.

    7- How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I had five months to write the entire story.

    8- What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Emma Holly’s vympr series combined with Laurell K. Hamilton’s Merry Gentry

    9- Who or What inspired you to write this book?

My characters,  John, Lance, and Valerie, were all very clear that they had more to say.

    10- What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?

Hot, uninhibited sex, heroes who want to save the world, redemption, and quite possibly the most confused mother on the planet.

Now, there was a Rule 2: Tag five other authors to play and link.

Well, due to life constraints, I wasn't able to tag five other authors.  (Sorry Lori! I suck). However, I was so inspired by this blog game, that I emailed my female friends who make a living in the arts (not just writing), and we will be playing a variation of this game next week.

Entrants include:

Saqra, Master Belly Dancer
Kim Sakkara, Clothing Designer
Jessa Slade, Author of the amazing Marked Souls series.
Grace Constantine, Belly Dance Instructor


 

Blog Tour!

As you may know, a blog tour is where an author visits a number of other blogs to discuss and share their lives. In celebration for the release of Dracula's Secret, Goddess Fish and I arranged a rock star tour of the blog-o-sphere!

A random commenter will be chosen to receive this lovely hand painted fan, too. :)

August 6:  House Millar
August 7:  Sandra's Blog
August 8:  Amy's Book World
August 9:  Wickedly Wanton Tales
August 9:    The Sinners Series
August 10:  Welcome to My World of Dreams
August 13:  Indie books at shardpubs blogspot
August 14:  It's Raining Books
August 15:  Magically Seductive Romance
August 16:  Dawn's Reading Nook
August 17:  Books & Other Spells
August 20:  The Bunny's Review
August 21:  Urban Girl Reader
August 22:  Zombiegirl Shambling
August 23:  Black Hippie Chick's View on Books & the World
August 24:  Chris Redding Author
August 27:  Indie Designz
August 28:  Lisa Haselton's Reviews and Interviews
August 29:  Lisa Fox Romance
August 30:  Wake Up Your Wild Side
August 30:    Sultry Storyteller
August 31:  DanaSquare