What I love about Autumn

It's sweater time again! I love to cozy up in my warmer clothes and go for walks through fallen leaves of so many shades of brown, yellow and orange. It's time to make comfort food and drink chai and pull out the blanket when reading. I love the way the air smells when it rains and how the streets glisten.

The other thing is that Nanowrimo is only 12 days away. It's wild to think of that. All three of my published novels came out that way. I caught the first draft in the span of the thirty days of November, then edited them during the winter months and finally submitted them. This year, I'm going to try again.

Ultimately, fall is about returning to writing. I find that summer takes me outside. I like to get active. This year I bought a bike and became obsessed with going for rides all over my city. But that ended a couple of weeks ago and now I'm more inclined to spend these dark evenings reading and writing, which is also a great love of mine.

I know there are many people who resist fall. I'm friends with a bunch of autumn naysayers. But when I think of fall, what comes to mind is warmth and the written word. Divine! Bring it on, I say.

Guest Blogging at Crissy Smith's Blog

My very first guest blog. I was so excited to write a post for Crissy Smith's fabulous blog. Didn't get any comments, but that's okay. I've been ridiculously internet shy since starting out on this erotic romance writing journey. However, that's starting to change. This is me opening up. About costumes and Halloween and fun stuff:



Crissy Smith's Blog: Welcome Destiny Moon as the special guest blogger today

Super Fab!

So it has been a while since my last post. All I Ever Wanted came out in the spring and I have to say I'm pleased with it. So far the best review I received came from a young woman who emailed me and said that my character, Claudia, really spoke to her because she'd also kind of let herself go in the past little while.

It's easy to stop practicing self-care, especially when you get busy with stuff. In the book, Claudia is busy with life. She's writing her PhD thesis and doesn't have time to shave her legs. Also, she and her live-in boyfriend are in a rut, arguing over stuff like whose turn it is to clean the toilet. I was able to draw on real life a little bit here, I confess.

For me, the fun with Claudia's journey was taking her from mousy to fabulous. Yes, she also finds Sebastian Porter, the handsome and successful philanthropist and of course she has some of the best sex of her life and experiences unconditional love, but the real journey for Claudia is an inward one. She gets back to valuing herself and that's so important.

Life is full of ups and downs and I'll be the first to admit that it's easy to fall out of positive habits. Sometimes when I'm writing, I can go for a frighteningly long time without showering. But, like Claudia, eventually I get fed up with being schlubby and that's when it's time to bust out the eye-liner and fancy dress. In the mean time, it's pretty fabulous to write about sexy heroines in the comfort of my pajamas.

Coming Soon!

Happy Cheap Chocolate Day!

Some of us just aren't that into V-Day. I'm lucky to have found a soulmate who is equally as annoyed by the day as I am. We tend to dismiss it altogether. However, there is one day we can certainly agree is worth celebrating - the day of Cheap Chocolate! All those tasty chocolates and candies in sweet little heart-shaped boxes. Now that's something!

Getting Excited!

The book comes out in April and I could not be more excited about this art work. Truly, the Totally Bound team is awesome and I feel very privileged to get to have my book come out with them. It's starting to feel very real now.

Coming out...sort of

So this past week has been quite lively as I wrapped up Nanowrimo. I crossed the finish line a few days ago and I celebrated by actually seeing people. I had coffee with a friend who knows about my secret identity as a romance writer. I told him about an upcoming book deal and he, praisingly, told a mutual friend of ours who promptly congratulated me when we ran into each other on the sidewalk the following day. I was confused as to why she was congratulating me. Then she said, "for your book deal." I was somewhat taken aback but the acknowledgment felt nice.

Part of my choice to stay quiet about my identity has been that I am, by nature, the kind of person who dislikes attention. I don't know how to accept praise. I don't deal well with either compliments or criticism. I found in my other writing work that my ego was in a horrible place after things like readings. I suppose I prefer to observe others than be aware that I, too, am observed sometimes.

Last night and tonight, I told a whopping 12 or so people about my secret career. I was at a social function one night and there were many writers there so talking about Nanowrimo felt perfectly natural. Tonight I told my writing group - people who have taken my Creative Writing class in the past and who know me as a writing teacher. It was a vulnerable thing to do, but I wanted them to know. I wanted them to share in my excitement of having found a process and a form of vocation that works for me right now. I didn't share my chosen name and asked them to respect that it might take me a while to share everything and I might not at all. They respected it and even asserted that there is no shame in writing romance. I agree - I've been an avid romance consumer my entire adult life.

Part of my reluctance stems from knowing how my ego responds in my other professional writing life. I consider it a great privilege to be a writer and I love writing, but I find the business of it - the public life of it - entirely horrifying. I hate having to do social media as a writer (so I don't) and I hate being the center of attention at a reading. I actually don't like doing readings at all. Having a public persona or even being in public at all for that matter feels very far away from the act of creation. That's the side of it that intrigues me. That's the part I like. The rest of it is just a requirement.

I suppose that the pleasure of secrecy is, in part, avoiding the work of self-promotion. And the experiment for me lies in how this will affect my ego. So far, I find the act of writing erotic romance incredibly enjoyable and perhaps that is because I am only doing it for me and for me and my readers. In the past, I made the mistake of falling into the trap of identity as a specific kind of writer. I don't want to make that mistake anymore. I just want to write what inspires me. I hope that makes sense.