The Wild Rose Press: June 2019

Wednesday, June 19, 2019

TWRP goes to the Movies

Every author dreams of getting the call. Not just the call offering a contract for their book but THE call, the one from Hollywood.

For TWRP author, Karilyn Bentley that dream became a reality this past spring. Okay Karilyn didn’t get the call, I did, but then I got to make the call to her.

This wasn’t the first time that Hollywood has called me. I’ve talked to producers over the years, have gotten excited a few times only to be let down when nothing comes of the conversation. Even a few projects that have gone into contracts, frankly, died on the table. Nothing.

But this was a bit different. This production company wasn’t looking to take a book that we had published and make it into a movie, they wanted to have a book written specifically for them to make into a movie. They had a specific author in mind and wanted to discuss their project with me.

Karilyn Bentley has a series of books about Demons. The producer emailed me and asked me about these books and the author. A phone meeting was set.

I spoke with the producer, Charlie, in early February. I was pretty tough on him wanting all the details, telling him how I knew this would never go anywhere and how did I know if we worked together on this project it would ever get to the movies? Having called authors in the past with exciting news about a production company interested in their book only to have nothing ever happen, I’m a lot more cautious these days.

Charlie assured me that there were 9 other books in process of being written and he wanted Karilyn to write him a proposal for the 10^th. It was a series called The Deadly Ten. Would she be willing? It had to be written very fast, needed to be ready to release in mid summer so they could begin filming in September.

The Deadly Ten project is a 10 book series that would go to Amazon Prime movies. He wanted to film the makings of each of these movies and live stream them on his site as they were being produced. He felt that people were curious about how movies were made and he thought this was a unique spin on this series.

A quick phone call with Karilyn confirmed her interest and we set up a joint phone call with Charlie. Charlie gave her an outline of what he wanted in this book and she was to fill in the rest. She wrote a full synopsis, we presented it to Charlie and he loved it. Contracts were started. Then stalled.

Did I say I’m stubborn? I’m not an easy person to get a contract past. I was going to fight for our author and her rights to this book even if he had been the one to commission it. I dug in my heels, I negotiated, he tried charm, and being the tough guy. I held firm. Finally, I had an agreement I felt good about going to Karilyn with and she agreed to the terms as well.

After a quick conversation with Lill Farrell, Karilyn,’s editor and asking if she could get the editing done in a short turnaround, and a conversation with RJ Morris who decided to handle the cover herself, the contract was signed and we were on our way to the movies!

Karilyn was amazing and created the book of Charlie’s vision in record time. RJ created a cover that blew him away and everything snowballed from there. A few more conversations with our producer and then bam, the links were live, and Charlie’s vision of a 10 book/movie production was underway.

We will have live streams on our website the entire time filming for this series takes place. We will have some special events around the actual filming of The ShadowHeart Curse which they say will now be sometime in October. All the movies are set for a release date sometime mid February 2020. We will be celebrating for sure and walking a virtual red carpet.

Rhonda Penders

President, Editor-in-Chief

Tuesday, June 04, 2019

How writing can help with your mental health – an author’s musings

An author’s musings on their writing journey

I have had anxiety for as long as I can remember but writing is better than therapy. I’m that person who always pictures the worse-case scenarios, take hours, to fall asleep and is still awake when the sun comes up.

Medication barely helps my tightened chest and I lack the focus for meditation. My mind wanders too often and my whole body fidgets. Sometimes I even laugh because I don’t know what else to do.

Writing drowns out the noise in my head – maybe because I’m focusing on fictional characters and storylines far removed from the real world. At work on my breaks, if my mind starts to spin out of control, writing for a few minutes straight helps me refocus. People cope with anxiety in different ways but writing with some form of exercise helps me.

But being an author, brings a whole new level of worry. Not everyone will support you. The rejections sting every time. Negative feedback can dampen your confidence, erasing every glowing review. I often wondered whether my efforts were worth it or if my writing skills were good enough. With an industry full of self-doubt, it’s so important to find your tribe.

My mother encouraged me to enroll in a creative writing course at RMIT. This university in Melbourne, Australia does short courses that runs for 8-10 weeks for three hours a week after work. I loved every moment of the class and ended up doing three short courses. The teachers were inspiring, and it was great to speak to likeminded people. I workshopped my stories in class and continued with my manuscripts after the courses finished. At first, I was terrified of reading my work out to people, but the more I did this, the more I got used to the process. Everyone was always supportive and gave constructive feedback.

Yet, I never thought a traditional book contract would ever happen for me. To me, a book deal was equivalent to be an actor or a singer. The odds are so highly stacked against you. When I first received my contract from The Wild Rose Press for Law & Disorder, I kept reading the words in disbelief. Any moment I thought someone would say, “actually you suck and we’re taking the contract back”.

Now, I’m pleased Law & Disorder has come to life. Every time I receive a good review, it’s often a surprise to me. Perhaps it’s the anxiety talking. I am so grateful people have been enjoying my book.

Thanks for reading.

Liv

Author Bio

Liv Arnold has worked as a copywriter for several global companies and now runs her own freelance business. She grew up in Melbourne, Australia, and lives with her husband and their spoiled dog, who only eats freshly cooked meals. When she’s not writing, Liv’s avoiding the gym, devouring a cheese platter, or marathoning way too much TV. And of course, she’s a massive book addict and often reads until all hours of the night.

Law & Disorder blurb

Lawyer Juliet Jackson has come head to head with Sergeant Jesse Burns on numerous occasions in court. He is provoking. Pigheaded. Punch-worthy. They don't get along. Not one little bit. The unfortunate fact he's also her next-door neighbor brings her loathing off the charts. But when Juliet's caught locked outside her home in nothing but a skimpy towel, she must swallow her pride and turn to Jesse for help. She doesn't expect the explosive chemistry between them and can't help but wonder if Jesse's as demanding in the bedroom as he is in the courtroom.

Buy Law & Disorder