Category: Writing

Lucia Milazzo: Who She Is & Why She Matters

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When I originally sat down to write the very first Valentine book, I never intended for the story to develop into a series, much less a series with five books and a spin-off series. And I never expected to created so many different characters within these books. But, here we are: nine books so far, with at least 24 different characters (and there are more books and more characters to come!). With a series as complex as Valentine, sometimes you wonder about the very beginning of the story, and often, this beginning isn’t found within the first book. While readers met Val Entienne when she was about to embark upon a dangerous journey to California to save her father, the story of Val, John Rafferty and the Syndicate itself, goes back much much further. It all begins with a woman named Lucia Milazzo.

So, who is Lucia and why is she so important? When I release the first book in my next series, Lucia and the Saints, readers are going to quickly discover, the very paths of the  lives of every character in the Valentine and Valentine Apart series, can be traced back to her in some way. In fact, you can probably play a simple game of  “Six Degrees of Separation” with Lucia and the other characters. Her most important connection, however, will be to John Rafferty.

A woman made you, and someday a woman will unmake you–Lucia Milazzo

Once you meet Lucia, keep an eye on her. Everything within the Syndicate exists because of her.

I’m releasing book one of Lucia and the Saints next month. Stay tuned!

Woolaston Entertainment

Slowly Page-Breaking My Way Through My Ebooks…

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For anyone out there who has ever published an ebook, you know how important it is to make sure the manuscript you upload is formatted correctly. This can be–well, annoying. What looks good in whatever program you’re using to type your manuscript, may not transfer correctly, when you upload it to whichever service you decide to use to publish. For me, it’s Amazon’s KDP. At first, KDP and I didn’t get along–at all. Oil and water, I tell ya! But now we’re friends, because I finally figured out where to place my page breaks. 

For the past two weeks, I have been working my way through my ebooks (and my mother’s ebooks), correcting the page breaks. I’m happy to say, I’m nearly finished. Of the 27 books published under Woolaston Entertainment, I have corrected 22 (I never published an ebook for the original Our Lady of Righteous Rage, and I’m not planning to anytime soon). I now have 4 books left, and I should have them completed by middle of next week, by June 19 (June 20, the latest). What can I say: every day is a learning experience. At first, I looked at the horribly formatted versions of the ebooks as a failure, but now I see them differently. To quote Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day, “To do something that you feel in your heart that’s great, you need to make a lot of mistakes. Anything that’s successful is a series of mistakes”. Truer words were never spoken. 

A Snippet of “Lucia and the Saints”

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I‘m working on a series of short ebooks, titled Lucia and the Saints.  This will be the second series to act as a spin-off from my Valentine series, and I’m certain readers are going to enjoy it. Here’s another little snippet from what I’m working on. Enjoy!

Lucia burst through the door, huffing and puffing with every step. She could hear John’s footsteps behind her, but she didn’t stop. She didn’t want to. It was always like this: the others looked at her, and saw a woman. A stupid female who didn’t belong in their world. She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. John had caught up to her. She paused, and he spun her around to face him.  “Don’t say it,” Lucia said. “I don’t even want to hear it.”

“You need to stop acting like a freight train every time someone says something you don’t like,” John said, dropping his hand from her shoulder. “You can’t run over every person who pisses you off, Lucia.”

Her eyes grew wide with anger. “Did you hear what he said to me?!” she snapped. “He said I was just some dumb broad. A broad! Who the hell even uses that word anymore?!”

“I heard him,” John said, in a soothing tone. “What? You don’t think I get that kind of crap all the time?”

Lucia sighed, and put her hands on her hips. 

“They look at me, they see some Irish hood,” John said. “A mick. Same thing I’ve been hearing most of my life.  They don’t want me hanging around their sons, they definitely don’t want me to date their daughters. They think I’m some kind of joke. They laugh at me. But so what?”

Lucia seemed to be calming down, listening to his words.

“Their sons will get high off of my drugs,” John continued. “And their daughters will dance in my night clubs. Then we’ll see who’s laughing, won’t we?”

 

Woolaston Entertainment

Connecting the Dots in Valentine Apart

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June is nearly upon us, and I’m working on a few different projects. One of them, is a new addition to the Valentine Apart series.  This series will trace John Rafferty’s origins, the rise of The Syndicate, and the person who trained Allan and Mac Avery. The working title is Lucia and The Saints. I’m planning to release this series in the form of short ebooks, between 25 and 50 pages per book, for 99 cents each. It’s not ready yet, but in the meantime, here’s a tiny snippet of what I’m working on. Enjoy!

          Jacob sat at the end of the bar on the last stool, his glass in his hand. Every few seconds, he glanced at the two people, a man and a woman, talking at the opposite end, who were busy whispering about, what he could only assume, was him. Whenever one of them looked over at him, he would quickly turn away and find some random object inside the bar to stare at: the booths and tables in the dining area, the bartender or the waitresses, the endless wall of framed photos behind the bar. This was his job interview, and so far, it didn’t seem to be going too well.

          “He’s too young,” the woman said. “I have to tell you John, I’m completely against this.”

          “I think he has potential,” John said. “You said so yourself, Lucia: we need fresh blood.”

          “Fresh blood,” Lucia said. “Not young blood. This kid is way too young.” She looked over at Jacob, who had raised his glass to take a sip of his beverage. “Look at him!”

          “What’s wrong with him?” John asked.

          Lucia nodded towards the glass in Jacob’s hand. “He’s drinking chocolate milk, for Christ’s sake!” She spoke in a loud whisper, which got Jacob’s attention. He set his glass down, climbed off of his bar stool, and approached them. 

          “You know, you’ve really got a pair, kid,” John said. Lucia folded her arms. “But I like that.”

         “Thanks,” Jacob said. He used fingers to rake through his sandy-brown hair. “So, am I in, or out?”

         He’s drinking chocolate milk, for Christ’s sake!

          Lucia shook her head. “I don’t like this,” she said. “I don’t like this one bit.”

          “Let’s give him a chance,” John said. He reached up and scratched the back of his head full of jet black hair. “Let’s see how it goes. Lucia?”

          Lucia looked at John in surprise. “Oh, you better not say what I think you’re about to say,” she snapped.

          “There’s no one better for the job,” John said, shrugging his shoulders. “Show him the ropes. It’ll be good for him…and you.”

          Lucia turned to Jacob in disgust. She sighed heavily. “I put bullets in people for a living,” she muttered. “Now I’m a goddamned babysitter.”

 

 

June is Valentine Apart Month on woolastonentertainment.com. Stay tuned for more of Lucia and The Saints!

Woolaston Entertainment

Making Time For Writing

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Summer is approaching, and its time for me to start setting some writing goals. Of the four major books I want to publish this year, I have published one so far. June is the mid-point of the year, when I begin to assess how much progress I’ve made. Since I made the move from NY to VA, and landed a decent (but utterly boring) day job, I have a hard time finding time to write. With June approaching, I need to get my ass in gear, and crank out some books.

So,do any of my fellow writers out there have this problem? Is your day job sucking up more of your time than you would like it to? Do you find it hard to make time for your writing? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!

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