So…I’m trying some new, well…new to me. I’m trying the Smashwords coupon feature after having stories there for well over a year.
All Things Considered will be #FREE through Sunday the 27th if you use the code PM72Z at checkout. I know…I know, I’m a dedicated Kindle user? You can download the MOBI file which will go right to your Kindle without any effort on your part. Give it a try…give the story a read. Don’t forget to leave an honest review…these things really help an indie. Thanks TJ
0 Comments
Trolling through the Twitter feeds this morning, I ran across a great post written by Ruthanne Reid and shared by Andi Lutz – Author. The post is titled 3 Essential Questions for Writers.
One of the questions is…Why do you write? Is it for money, fame…and goes on to list the usual stuff? I don’t know about you, but that’s always been a hard one for me to answer. Now I sure don’t give up the time from a busy life for money. Although I’ve had some limited success and sold a few stories here and there, it’s very little when you factor in webhosting and any advertising done over the course of a year, so it’s not for money. It’s not fame either as there isn’t any, not for someone like me, anyway…a hybrid writer of sorts, both traditionally and self-published. So what is it that keeps me—and probably hundreds of others like me—going? Writing, networking, sharing, reading other indie writers—when a big name has just dropped an anticipated novel—not to mention spending time with loved ones…for me its habit, and the only explanation that I can come up with by this point in the game. Surely you remember being told that you had to write 500 words or a thousand or two thousand words a day to consider yourself a writer, right? I was never one who listened much. I wrote what I wanted, when I felt like it and I’ve turned out a ton of work over the years. Hey…it’s worked for me? At last count—sometime last year—I had better than 50 stories published here in the U.S. and England. Not all of them paid as a considerable amount of them were in free crime zines and such getting started, which led to print anthologies and so on. There are a big handful of novella length stories and even a couple of full length novels floating around. But back to the habit for a minute, after years of struggling just to see if I could get a story published somewhere…it became just that, a habit. Good or bad, it’s just something that I do. Now, I’m not going to miss out on life—believe me—but I’m prolific if nothing else and I’m going to get stories out there. Keep in mind that TJ Adams is only a pseudonym, a pen name. A few of my writer buddies know that I do it, they follow me on various social media outlets and I’m sure they wonder why in the hell I would write smut when I could better spend my time writing crime or something else. I’ll tell you. Some years ago, I wrote what ended up being published as a long, short story last year. After a few years of struggling with the story, rewrites and having trusted friends take a look and such, it found a home with a traditional publisher. That should have been a Whew-Hew moment, right? I should have been fist-pumping the air and proud to finally have it out there. For some weird reason, the story meant something to me, enough that I was willing to keep working with it. The problem is…the story was a failure. It has sold a few copies and the reviews have been generally good, but I know better. You see in this story, a father is telling his adult son of a somewhat sexual adventure that he’s had as a young man. The story itself wasn’t bad, but the way that I handled the interaction between this father (in his younger day) and the young woman involved, stunk. I’ve always wished to have an erotic writers grace and the ability to finesse a story along during a steamy scene. I wrote dirty little stories until it started coming together and found success in getting a short story subbed and finding a home for it. A second, much longer erotic crime novella got a contract. Since…I’ve self-published everything put out under the TJ Adams name, staying away from traditional publishing mostly because I find it embarrassing working with an editor on these?. I’ll spend as much time as I need to with my crime stuff, but will always find a way to get back over here and wear TJ’s hat for a little while. The interaction with readers and other writers has been a lot of fun, and maybe what keeps me coming back from time to time? So my answer to Ruthanne’s question is simply…it’s a habit cultivated from years of scratching out little stories and trying to get them published, nothing more and nothing less. I doubt I will ever see any real money or fame from doing it. It’s just something that I do. So a new story went up recently, ‘All Things Considered.’ The story is a drastic departure from what I’ve been doing this year under the TJ Adams name.
If you go back to the beginning, ‘An Innocent Act’ would have been better suited in the romance genre, but it got naughty, real naughty. Likewise, ‘Pandora’s Box’ was a crime story about a young woman in search of a friend that had disappeared. Both of those stories—through Solstice Publishing—were innocent enough, but just naughty enough to warrant the pseudonym. I’m sure you understand? Earlier in the year, ‘Mrs. Bryson’s Dirty Secret’ and the Pandora’s Box follow up, ‘Deviant’ came about as self-published novellas and both have done fairly well, but I couldn’t seem to get any attention for my efforts. After some research, it appeared that the dirtier and kinkier the story, the better it sold. You folks is nasty…you know that, don’t you? I threw my hat in the ring and did a string of dirty little stories through the spring and fall and although I’ve been happy with how well they’ve done, it’s just not my thing…not to be doing on a real consistent basis anyway. ‘While They Sleep’ went up as the usual short and was followed up with ‘All Things Considered.’ What became the long, short story, ‘All Things Considered,’ was tossed about as a possible crime story and when it was deemed just too sweet, it was given to TJ (that naughty fellow) and he took it from there. The story is of a young woman—down on her luck—and a nice fellow willing to lend a hand. It’s been told a thousand times, I’m sure, but this was my take on the tried and true tale that is more romance than erotica. Don’t get me wrong, if you want fucking…they do, believe me, but the story would probably be considered way too romantic for diehard fans of the down and dirty? It all works out in the end and if you doubt me having my feet firmly in the pages of a crime story with a twist…just wait till you get to the end. All Things Considered is doing well in sales these first few days, but could use some reviews. If you like something of an erotic romance…hit me up. I’d love to send a copy. As always, thanks for reading. TJ OK...so my latest is a rather long short story, 'All Things Considered' and, all things considered, its not a bad story really?
Now, I don't spend a lot of time as TJ Adams--although I probably should, as he pays the bills--but when I do, it's usually porn than comes to the pages (No pun intended). Not that I'm some sort of pervert, but the wilder the story, the better it sells. Go figure, huh? I have come to the conclusion that my fantasy must be older women, as it seems to be a recurring theme in my stories? That's neither here nor there. All Things Considered would probably be better suited in the romance genre than erotica or porn as its the fairy-tale story of a girl (down on her luck) and a handsome man that sweeps in to save the day. It's been done a million and one times (I know). Mulling through ideas for a short crime story, I started to see the sparks fly between Denise Grayson and her neighbor Kent Riley and just gave up...this one would be under TJ's name, but I didn't want the usual sex in the first paragraph. Give me a break...I enjoy telling stories, OK? Anyway...Grayson is in a jam and finds herself having dinner with an older neighbor. One thing leads to another and he ends up helping her out All Things Considered is a sweet, fun story that I ope you will enjoy and if you don't believe that I normally write crime, just wait until get to the end. Did the story ever happen? Have fun and thanks, so much for your time in reading my stories. I really do appriciate it. TJ #Erotica #Romance #Allthingsconsidered This week has seen the release of two new stories All Things Considered and While They Sleep....with The Sitters Kiss and Lawn Job being new since my last post.
All are available through Amazon or any e-book retailer, Smashwords, IBooks, Barnes & Noble |
TJ AdamsIs the pen name of a California author Archives
August 2018
|