Guest Blogger Nina Pierce - How Hard Can it Be?

Over the years I’ve had numerous jobs. And when I say numerous … I mean like over 50. Really. I’m the female version of George Plimpton. (Only he was into sports. And a writer. And he made TONS of money … but you know… kinda like him.)
Anyway, I started working when I was 15 at the local Micky D’s. This was the beginning of drive-throughs and when we used to make shakes the old-fashioned way, with a mixer. A squirt of flavoring and ice cream, then blend. That stupid machine and I didn’t get along. I can’t tell you how many times it exploded all over me. But my most memorable moment was when a container of strawberry topping slipped from my hand to the floor. It hit the tiles flat on its bottom which caused the most interesting eruption of strawberry sauce, easily 5 feet in the air. How do I know this? When it was done, it was dripping off my face and the brim of my hat, and down the front of my uniform. And all of this happened in slow motion in front of a lobby filled with the lunch crowd. FULL! Oh, yeah, that was a fun job.
Let’s see, I’ve worked at a jean store, a mortgage company, an aquarium, a frame store, a processing plant, an overnight summer camp, and a daycare. I’ve been a waitress, a “go-fer” for a game warden, a science teacher, a lab assistant, a janitor, an ed tech, a tutor, a resident assistant, a substitute teacher, and a secretary at a job recruiter and a real estate office.
Some of those jobs I didn’t really like. Being a janitor in a girl’s dormitory wasn’t really something I enjoyed. I’m not even going into the whole bathroom situation. Nor the job working second shift at a processing plant for computer components. I spent the summer straightening wire leads with pliers and boiling components in oil to watch for bubbles. *shudders* Those were long days. But the summer I worked on an island off the coast of Maine at an overnight camp was awesome. Working as a lab assistant, teaching physics labs in college was pretty cool as well. And I didn’t really suffer when I worked as a waitress. All those people to visit with … yeah, it was fun.
But I have to say this current job … this writing career I’ve chosen. Man, this is hard. Five years ago when I sat down without any idea about the publishing world I was in absolute bliss pounding out my first novel. Which, at the time, I believed was an absolute masterpiece … ummm, not so much! (I can confess now it’s hidden waaaay under my bed… never to see the light of day.)
I looooove stretching my imagination and creating plots. It’s a hoot when it all comes together. But sometimes it’s just work. Don’t laugh. Of course it’s work. I just didn’t expect it to be. And working for myself? Well, that requires more discipline than I have some days. It’s too easy to find something other than weaving new stories to fill my days. Like shopping on the internet, playing on twitter, visiting forums, or … blogging.
Writing is a difficult journey. It’s so easy to let things just slow me down or completely block up the works. To help me over this hump and support my career, I’ve joined a goal group through my local writing chapter of RWA. We’ve agreed to support each other in our writing journeys. It’s the habit of writing every day that successful authors develop.
It’s baby-steps that get a book written. 100 words in a paragraph, paragraphs adding up to pages, pages to chapters and chapters to a complete manuscript. Then voila … I’m sending a finished story to an editor! And I tell you there’s nothing more thrilling in this business than a publisher offering you a contract for your story.
So this may be a really hard profession, but it’s worth all the work. My favorite quote by Michael Kanin says it all … “I don’t like to write, but I love to have written.”

My most recent release, Healer’s Garden, a futuristic erotic suspense novel is available from Ellora’s Cave. It was a wonderful challenge to create a world that didn’t exist. A world where men are submissive to women and are used only for procreation.

Buy Link: http://www.jasminejade.com/p-8077-healers-garden.aspx

BLURB:
In the female dominated society of the 23rd century, mating with a male, even if it is to save the human race, is a distasteful task and one Healer Jahara Hriznek has successfully avoided—until now.

Brenimyn is a gifted breeding instructor at the Garden of Serenity. Forced to copulate with all females requesting his services, he yearns to find the one woman who responds to his touch. When Jahara arrives with the new class of breeders, Brenimyn’s body immediately aches for her, but convincing the stubborn healer that sex between a man and a woman is more than just an act for procreation proves to be a challenge he refuses to fail.

Jahara doesn’t want to enjoy the sinful rapture only Brenimyn brings to her body. Brenimyn has no intention of dousing the flames of desire licking at them until Jahara is completely his—body, mind, and heart. But when the government finds their loving relationship a threat to the natural order, there may be more than their stubborn wills at stake.
Healer's Garden Trailer

Nina Pierce on the web:
website: http://www.ninapierce.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ninapierce
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ninapierce