Maria's Journal

Regardless of the industry, I think we can all agree that helping our fellow colleagues is an act of kindness that has far reaching effects. In my line of business (writing) we definitely depend on each other for more than just a pat in the back, we need each other to grow. Not only does the initial draft of a book take blood, sweat and tears but the revision process is grueling; it is madness, but I could not imagine a life without writing. Recently, I wrote an article titled It Takes a Village to be a Writer, something I discovered to be a universal truth years ago. In the spirit of camaraderie, I’d like to introduce a monthly Author Spotlight segment. If you’re interested in being featured on this blog, please contact me via email at maria@mariacox.net. Genres I’m accepting.: Contemporary Romance  Erotic Romance  Romantic Suspense  Women's Fiction  Look forward to hearing from you! Maria

Gemma Snow is an erotic romance writer, traveler, journalist, and reader. How long have you been writing? I’m really lucky. I grew up in an artistic family, so I actually started writing when I was around eight years old. My mom taught poetry and creative writing classes for kids and teens and I essentially studied with her until I outgrew it. My folks were great about pushing me to follow writing, but to be smart and make a career out of it so I studied journalism and publishing in college. I absolutely love writing romance and would likely do it anyway, but it really helps that it’s a commercial genre with potential for success. I officially started writing romance professionally in college, so it’s been about four and a half years. Tell us a little bit about your writing, what is the process like? Honestly, it depends on the book. I’m usually thinking of a story three or four books ahead of actually writing it, so I’ll have a general vibe by the time I get there. It’s p...

E ach season brings forth its own charm. As autumn draws near and leaves turn a shade of copper thoughts of cooler nights and pumpkin-spiced everything emerge.  Personally, I'm excited for this end of year as I will be attending the New Jersey RWA conference in October and in November I will join fellow writers for NaNoWriMo. Also, as 2018 winds down I'm equally as excited to take stock of my writing goals and this year I’ve reached a few milestones.  In January when I formed an Accountability Partner (AP) relationship with author JN Welsh we were both seeking a ‘partner’ to keep us honest and on track.  I’ll say that this AP relationship worked out very well for us as we were both deadest on attaining several important goals. So we both made a commitment to be each other; and by commit, I mean we made it a point to meet on a regular basis, weekly, monthly, whatever time we managed to carve out of our hectic schedules. The point of an AP is for that person t...

Move over soaps; forget daytime television shows, here comes the newest hit sensation: NPR Raccoon! When I got wind that a raccoon was climbing the UBS building in St. Paul, Minnesota, I turned to the Internet just like thousands of other people. At first, the raccoon’s notoriety was limited to ogling bystanders, but within a couple of hours cameras were positioned at every angle.   CNN and Fox News and all major networks were covering the mammal’s every move, the hashtag # nprraccoon started trending getting thousands of hits, and then we all held our breaths.  Not knowing much about raccoons, I did a search online to find out what might have driven this furry little creature to act in such a way. One researcher stated, “…not sure if raccoons possess intelligence in a critical thinking way so much as an “insatiable curiosity” which leads them often enough to success.” Very interesting. I’m currently in the throes of writing my next romance book and I need...

Recently, while doing research I found several excellent articles about women and writing. I also found a set of TedTalk podcasts from two well-known women writers, Isabel Allende and Amy Tan. It was Ms. Tan’s account of childhood experiences and Ms. Allende’s Tales of Passion that got me thinking about how our experiences shape us and how they bleed into our own unique creative realm. As such, each story we weave has the potential to invoke a wide range of emotions in our readers. As one would imagine writers from all walks of life have very different reasons for writing. Below is a common thread among modern day writers: Leave a legacy If you write a book  well  and publish it, you may actually leave something behind that can last forever. Incite Writers write what the world is like as  they  see it. Writers ask the difficult questions. And, this boundless curiosity is the foundation that opens the doors to discussing difficult topics. To stay san...

For several weeks whenever I walk into a drugstore in Queens I'm subjected to an explosion of everything pink and red, this could only mean one thing:  Valentine’s Day is around the corner. The funny thing about Valentine's Day is that most of my adult life I have recognized the holiday as romantic in nature, but in recent years with the inclusion of friendship, I’ve come to appreciate Valentine’s Day as a general day of Love. In fact, I send Valentine’s Day cards to close family and friends (yes, I do!).   Recently I got to thinking, how many women and men go out of their way to celebrate special people on this day. A lot, it would seem from an online search. One celebration which resonated with me the most was: Galentine’s Day. What is Galentine’s Day, you ask? This term was coined a few years back by Leslie Knope - a fictional character from the popular sitcom Parks and Recreation. Leslie declared, “Every February 13th, my lady friends and I leave our husbands and o...

It's a brand new year...ah the possibilities! I am thrilled to start this year with a renewed sense of purpose. Already, I started the road back to writing every day, I'm also committed to: journaling, blogging, writing articles and book reviews; all this is sure to keep the creative juices flowing. As an author I've set daily and weekly writing goals. Below is my Done list: Pulled out the Idea Board Developed a writer's schedule Enlisted an Accountability Partner (AP) Signed up for the 2018 Goodreads Book Challenge Whatever your goals, set a plan in motion today. Write your plan down then tell your family, your friends, even co-workers. "Why?" you ask. A month from now when life settles back into a routine and the well-intentioned resolutions fall by the wayside, you'll need the accountability factor. So when your neighbor asks "How's the writing coming along?" you'll proudly say, "It's going great!" Happy Wr...