Tour Stop & Giveaway: Back to You by Chris Scully

Hello! I’m Chris Scully. I’m thrilled to welcome you to my blog tour for Back to You, my new romantic suspense novel. Join me at various tour stops, where I’ll be sharing some background on the novel and the characters, my thoughts on writing, and more. Comment on each stop to be entered in a drawing for a $20 Riptide gift certificate. Thanks for joining me on the tour!


The perils of writing part-time

When I first started in this business, I was in a different job, one that I’d been in for fifteen years and that no longer required much brain capacity from me. That was precisely why I turned to writing in earnest (I’d dabbled on and off for many years). Five years later, I’m still working full-time but in a new job where I’m more mentally challenged and finding that right balance is becoming tougher.

Although I’m almost always making notes throughout the week, the bulk of my actual writing is done on weekends, after errands, visiting with my parents or house work/projects. Occasionally I’ll go out and have fun with friends, but I often feel guilty for not using that time to write. Time management can be a major challenge, as well as the feeling of never getting anything done, but at the end of the day, I know the full-time writer gig just isn’t for me.

The good things about being part-time writer are:

  1. I know where my next paycheque is coming from, which results in less pressure to deliver and more freedom in writing what I want. I’m a slow writer as it is, so I could never turn out enough books to support myself.
  2. It keeps me from becoming too self-involved and fixated on my writing. I have a tendency to become obsessive. When I have a bad review, or sales don’t go well, or I’m full of self-doubt, I can more easily put it aside because I have other things to focus on.

The downside of writing part-time is that I lose momentum and name recognition since it can be up to a year between new releases. I have to essentially re-introduce myself with each new book. I can also often be too tired or computer fatigued at the end of the day to write or spend much time on social media, and it’s easy to make excuses. I’m also probably not as engaged in the genre as I should be, which is both a curse and a blessing because I can avoid a lot of the drama that goes around.

There are those who believe a part-time writer isn’t as invested or as serious about a writing career, but I think it shows just how dedicated we are. We choose to use what free time we do have in writing when we could be spending it with family or friends.

Because I’m being realistic doesn’t mean I’m not serious. As much as I enjoy writing and crafting stories, and I’d love to increase output, I know my limits. I don’t want to push myself to the point where I burn out and the writing suffers, or I miss out on other things in my life. The most important thing I’ve learned is that a part-time writer needs to find the right balance for them. Maybe it takes a year to write a book; maybe it takes more. The point is to keep on writing and be happy while doing it.


Title: Back to You by Chris Scully
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, M/M, Romance, Mystery
Length: 266 pages/Word Count: 70,500

Summary:

Journalist Alex Buchanan has come home to the remote British Columbia town he grew up in, but only because his estranged father is dying. For Alex, the homecoming holds a mix of memories, mostly bad. The only bright spot is reconnecting with Benji Morning, the childhood friend he never truly forgot. As boys, the strength of their bond had frightened Alex. But now that he’s confident in his bisexuality, he’s drawn back to quiet, soft-spoken Ben.

Ben isn’t the same boy Alex left behind, though. His life has been overshadowed by the disappearance of his sister two decades earlier, and now a new break in the case threatens to undo the peace he’s worked so hard to attain.

As Alex struggles to repair the relationship with his father before it’s too late, he finds himself caught up in a twenty-year-old mystery, a story he never expected, and a shocking truth that could affect his and Ben’s future together.

Add to Goodreads.

Purchase Link: Riptide Publishing


Author Bio

Chris Scully lives in Toronto, Canada. She grew up spinning romantic stories in her head and always dreamed of one day being a writer even though life had other plans. Her characters have accompanied her through career turns as a librarian and an IT professional, until finally, to escape the tedium of a corporate day job, she took a chance and began putting her daydreams down on paper.

Tired of the same old boy-meets-girl stories, she found a home in M/M romance and strives to give her characters the happy endings they deserve. She divides her time between a mundane 9-5 cubicle job and a much more interesting fantasy life. When she’s not working or writing (which isn’t often these days) she loves puttering in the garden and traveling. She is an avid reader and tries to bring pieces of other genres and styles to her stories. While her head is crammed full of all the things she’d like to try writing, her focus is always on the characters first. She describes her characters as authentic, ordinary people—the kind of guy you might meet on the street, or the one who might be your best friend.

Although keeping up with social media is still a struggle given her schedule, she does love to hear from readers.

Author Links: Website * Facebook * Email * Goodreads


Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Back to You, one lucky winner will receive a $20 Riptide credit! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on June 17, 2017. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

12 Comments

Filed under Blog Tour, Contest, Guest Blog

12 Responses to Tour Stop & Giveaway: Back to You by Chris Scully

  1. susana

    Congratulations on the release, Kathy. I agree with you, being a part time writer does not mean that you are not involved in your career… Sometimes life is complicated, and there are more things going on you have to take into account. I think it is amazing you manage to write and work full time in a new job. 😉
    susanaperez7140(at)gmail(dot)com

  2. James Escol

    “The point is to keep on writing and be happy while doing it.” I couldn’t agree more with you on that statement. Eventually, it all comes down to, “Doing what you love & loving what you do.” ^_^\

  3. Trix

    I think having another career gives you more to draw from!

    vitajex(at)aol(Dot)com

  4. H.B.

    Thank you for sharing that with us. I can understand it and see the pros and the cons. I can’t imagine it can be easy either with new authors and audiences popping up every year (or months) too. But I think the best thing to remember is that with every book you write will have someone who will read it. You said it yourself, it’s best to go at your own pace and enjoy what you do.
    humhumbum AT yahoo DOT com

    • Thanks HB. You’re right about the sheer volume of new authors appearing daily. Sometimes I feel a lot of pressure but there’s not much I can do about it. But I do like that the audience is growing all the time, and that their tastes evolve over time too.

  5. Thank you all for stopping by and commenting, and listen to me prattle on 🙂 Many thanks to my hosts today at Book Reviews and More.

  6. Ami

    Thanks for sharing it with us, Chris

    amie_07(at)yahoo(dot)com

  7. Purple Reader

    Congrats and thanks for sharing about your life as a part-timer. I don’t know how y’all do it. And you still come out with great sounding books. I’d like to see what you do here with the bisexuality; I can identify with going back to an estranged parent; and there are some other interesting dynamics, too. –
    TheWrote [at] aol [dot] com

  8. Timitra

    What an interesting post, thanks for sharing

  9. Serena S.

    Thanks for explaining the ups and downs of being a part-time writer. I would like to know if you plan to release another book this year.
    serena91291@gmail(dot)com

  10. Lisa

    Thanks for your post. I think it’s important too to remember quality over quantity. Some of those authors churning out six or more books a year are not necessarily putting out GOOD books. Sure there are always some people who will think so & that’s ok because we all have different tastes. I’d much prefer to read a story that’s well-crafted & well-edited. And that takes time.
    legacylandlisa(at)gmail(dot)com

  11. sandra r.

    I appreciate your honest post. To me, it doesn’t matter if you write full or part-time, as long as the content is good and keeps me coming for more.
    Congratulations and much success on your newest release. It sounds quite mysterious and appealing.