May: Public Speaking for Authors
•    Date: May 17, 2026
•    Subtitle: How to master your first impression and monetize your message.
•    Discussion Notes: Covering essential public speaking tips, how to create a lasting impact, and strategies for monetizing your speaking engagements.

June: Magnets to Sales
•    Date: June 21, 2026
•    Subtitle: Crafting content that drives sales.
•    Discussion Notes: Learn how to create effective reader magnets, track your conversion rates, source content, and implement best practices to drive consistent sales.

July: Selling With Your Shorts
•    Date: July 19, 2026
•    Subtitle: Using TikTok and Instagram short videos to drive revenue without ad spend.
•    Discussion Notes: Learn to craft engaging video shorts that monetize your brand organically, effectively replacing the need for paid advertising.

August: Is it Really Dark & Spicy?
•    Date: August 16, 2026
•    Subtitle: Gauging sub-genre expectations and marketing your niche.
•    Discussion Notes: How to accurately gauge your "spice" level, understand what "dark" truly means in today's market, and tips for marketing these high-demand tropes.

September: It is YOUR Market!
•    Date: September 20, 2026
•    Subtitle: Understanding your reader and defining your ideal avatar.
•    Discussion Notes: Learn how to validate your market, determine who your actual readers are, and why "avatars" are the key to unlocking your brand’s growth.

October: Scared of Moving Forward?
•    Date: October 18, 2026
•    Subtitle: How to identify risks and embrace forward momentum.
•    Discussion Notes: Are you holding back? We explore how to identify what’s keeping you stuck and what mindset shifts are required to take the next big step in your career.

November: What is an Author Plan?
•    Date: November 15, 2026
•    Subtitle: Defining essential elements for your long-term success.
•    Discussion Notes: Hear from fellow authors on how they construct their business plans and identify the essential components needed to build yours.

December: Delegation on a Budget
•    Date: December 20, 2026
•    Subtitle: How to scale your business without a full-time assistant.
•    Discussion Notes: We all want to clone ourselves, but what does it really mean to delegate? Learn when to outsource and how to maximize the value of the services you hire.

January (2027): Take the Chill Off (Your Characters)
•    Date: January 17, 2027
•    Subtitle: Crafting relatable characters that resonate with readers.
•    Discussion Notes: How to create truly "likable" characters, tap into their authentic emotions, and make them feel human on the page.

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Of course we do!

I've created a short video explaining how to make Word work for you instead of against you. You'll learn how to use track changes, use styles to help you navigate your document and make it format-ready, and create a document you can share with agents and acquiring editors.

Does anyone out there write mystery and romance under the same name? Any thoughts or advice? Has anyone republished the same book? 

They gonna come back like a bad penny. Seriously. It's like trying to exterminate cockroaches in a fraternity house.

So... Let's talk about what you're doing instead of feeding the media giant with your time.

Working on that new sexy/kinky/hawt new story? Walking your dog? Trying that new recipe? Show us what you're up to. Join me on Zoom to share some drinks, the deets, and all the dirt on what you're up to.

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Anne Rice's Beauty is still popular, but I've not seen anything like it in erotica or erotic romance.  Have others tried and failed, or is this kind of erotica not popular anymore among writers/publishers?  Or are there good examples that I've missed?

50 Shades was followed (and preceded) by several books that were marketed as being in the same vein, but none of them (not even 50 Shades) have that much sex.  Crossfire has about four sex scenes per book.  Why aren't there more?  Is that the way readers want it, or are writers hesitant to add more sex scenes for other reasons?  Or does keeping the romance in erotic romance not leave room for too many sex scenes that are still meaningful?

What happens to an erotic romance book that gets kinky without declaring itself a kinky book?  That is, would readers be turned off by BD and SM and DS that occurred in books that didn't have a "BDSM club" scene?  Other than Beauty and clearly-marked BDSM books, I haven't seen nipple clamps make an appearance.  Have I missed them?  Do only doms carry nipple clamps in erotic romance books?  Is the lack of these books a lack of supply or a lack of demand?  Are there two groups of readers:  1.  readers who want BDSM full-bore with contracts and dungeons 2. readers who want a little light spanking or bondage, with nothing in the middle?  The middle would be erotic romance that doesn't use the words BDSM, contract, club, or scene, but still has kink that goes beyond light necktie bondage.

Dan