Welcome, JK Coi

Today I do my magic act and appear at two places at once. I'm hosting JK Coi, whose book, FALLING HARD releases today!! You'll love this book!

And presto change-o, I'm also appearing on Rula Sinara's blog as her interview guest. I've been interviewed lots of times, but Rula really asked some terrific questions. The answers--well, I'll let you decide that for yourself. 

So please give JK a little love and then go over and visit me at Rula's where she grills me to juicy perfection. 

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Priorities by J.K. Coi 

I’ve known Maria online for a couple of years now (how the time flies by!!) and whenever I come to the blog here, I’m so impressed by all that she does to live off her own land, maintain a frugal lifestyle, maximize her time and energy, and take care of the people (and animals) who are important to her! I have to admit, I can barely manage to spell my own name some days. 

As women, as writers, as professionals with day jobs. As mothers, wives, friends, and individuals who have to have some other interests besides all of that or we’d go crazy…it’s not hard to see why sometimes it can all seem overwhelming. 

And I was no exception. I went through a period not long ago when I can honestly say that I felt like I was burning myself out and I wasn’t sure I would write again.

But I really wanted to be writing. Even when the words wouldn’t come, or I couldn’t make time for them, I wanted to be writing so badly. The constant nagging of the story that fought to get out onto the page told me I had to give it a shot again, which meant re-organizing everything else so I could make it work and still get some sleep at night. 

So how do you do that? How do you put aside some things to make room for others when all of them are important to you? 

Lots of people will tell you that you have to learn to use the word “no”, and others will tell you that you have to decide that certain activities have to be sacrificed if you’re really committed to your writing career. And for those people, I say all the power to you. But for me, there was no way I could say no to my family. There was no way I could cut out any more activities—even some of the “frivolous” ones—because those are the things that helped me to relax and refill the creative well. 

What I did agree to, was a schedule which would get me writing regularly. Maybe not like gangbusters, but something is always better than nothing. I don’t write quickly. I agonize over every word. And yet I still learned to tell myself that it was okay to skip a day of writing. It was okay if I only had two hours a night to write. My self-imposed deadlines suffered because it would mean less quantity, but hopefully more quality. 

And I think my writing absolutely reflects this new outlook…but maybe I’ll leave that decision to the readers.   

So what lengths do you go to in order to make time for the things you love most?   

FALLING HARD is available July 18 from Carina Press!

After a life filled with tragedy, rocker Gabriel Gunn thinks he's finally getting the better of his personal demons. Then he's attacked after a concert—and rescued by a warrior goddess brandishing a sword and white wings. As hard as it is to believe in an angelic bodyguard, Gabriel must face an even more impossible truth: he carries the devil's soul within him. 

Amelia has been watching over Gabriel for years, using her angelic powers to prevent Lucifer's return. Now she must also protect him from warring angel factions with their own agendas. Amelia would do anything to avert another angelic war, even sacrifice her own emotions to avoid temptation. Yet with Gabriel she feels things she no longer wants to deny, and pleasure she never imagined. 

But the closer Gabriel and Amelia get, the stronger Lucifer becomes. Will Amelia be forced to kill the man she's come to love to stop the war she's always feared?

JK Coi is a multi-published, award winning author of contemporary and paranormal romance and urban fantasy. She makes her home in Ontario, Canada, with her husband and son and a feisty black cat who is the uncontested head of the household. While she spends her days immersed in the litigious world of insurance law, she is very happy to spend her nights writing dark and sexy characters who leap off the page and into readers’ hearts.