Interactivity! Identity Crisis

I'm currently participating in an online workshop hosted by the Toronto Romance Writers on branding and, as I'm early in my career, it has been an eye-opening and thoroughly frustrating experience.

Admittedly, marketing is not my forte: I figured that out early during my short and entirely degrading experience working in a marketing department.

Simply put, it is entirely counter-intuitive to represent myself as something I'm not--and what I write is not who I am. I am not a person who focuses solely on contemporary family romance, even though that was what my last book was; nor am I the fantasy fanfiction writer most of the Google world knows me as.

Still, I can see the benefits of maintaining a certain integrity and message in my "public" face, i.e. Vicki Heat or Victory Essex. But having these two distinct IDs is really starting to throw me off. Some days I'm Victory Essex, the classy, dramatic writer who likes to glide through her mansion in her red velvet dress and drink brandy by the fireplace; other days, I'm Vicki Heat, who takes a shot of tequila with her to the bathtub where she lies around and dreams about where she'd like to place GSP or Tahmoh Penikett in her stories.

In the various worksheets and exercises, we're quizzed on the colors we like, the clothes that make us feel like a million bucks; we're asked to describe ourselves, how we present ourselves to others, our writing...it's all very confusing. Up until now, I've always just been Vicki So, an eclectic mix of all that is zany and sweet in the world...like a cotton candy cloud filled with euphoric ants. Now that I'm forcing myself to narrow it down to one identity to sell to the public, I don't know WHO I AM!

Help! Readers out there know me best (sorta). I need you to identify me!

Throw me some words to describe me! Manic? Humorous? Funky? Fresh? Smelly? Just this side of bat-shit-crazy? One donut short of a baker's dozen? You decide!

Your task: Give me your best adjective, adjective noun description of me as a writer.

(Bad) Examples:
Funky, Fresh Comedian
Wry, Witty Go-getter
Hungry, Hungry Hippo

Winner will get an icon designed by Poor, Pennyless Author!

Contest ends midnight EST, September 30, 2009.

Interactivity Challenge! What's in a Name?

In a chicken and the egg dilemma, I have been staring down the inevitability of choosing a pen name and establishing a web presence by registering a domain, building a website, and starting up a separate Blogger blog. I tried this earlier when I'd finished my first draft on my first book, but as I hadn't chosen anything or even nailed down any choices.

No, I haven't sold a book...yet, but when I do (stay optimistic!) I want to be able to post the news somewhere that "isn't me."

It's a totally counter-intuitive choice--I'm not even willing to take John's name when we get married, but as many articles and advice column suggest, romance authors choosing nom de plumes should take on identities and stick to them. I've never been anything other than me, and I'm rather sheepishly unapologetic about it (why yes, that is an oxymoron, but so am I). So how do you go about turning yourself into someone else?

First step seems to be in choosing a name. (The Human Spider!)

So far, I've chosen Victory as a first name: there are already a lot of Vickies and Victorias, so I'm going to try to separate myself from the pack a little while maintaining my "real" name.

Any suggestions for a last name? I've played with the following: vote for your fave, or suggest your own! The criteria: it has to be available as a domain name and a Blogger blog name (e.g. victoryessex.blogspot.com; www.victoryessex.com, www.victoryessex.net, etc.)

1. Victory Essex
2. Victory Soto
3. Victory McGrath
4. Victory Jones
5. Victory So
6. Other...?

No closing date set for this challenge yet...but I'll be providing a real prize if you suggest the name I go with! (Think T-shirt and books and fun crap!)

Stay tuned!

Lenin Interactivity Winner!

Congratulations to celestialspeeder for her winning entry in the Lenin Interactivity Challenge!

Let it not be said that Lenin did not give it his all to make up for the gas shortages in Communist-era Russia.

Never has Communism been such a gas. HAW!!!

Stay tuned for future Interactivity Challenges! And tell your friends--you, too, could be the winner of a nifty Photoshopped icon to be proudly displayed in cyberspace!

Reader Interactivity!

Not even an April Fools' Day joke:

Lenin has a huge hole in his butt.

Reader interactivity challenge!

Leave a comment and throw me your best Russia/Lenin/fart joke or caption by midnight EST, April 11th, 2009. Winner gets a fancy icon of borscht!

Interactivity Winner!

And the winner of the Dry Hands Reader Interactivity:

Flocons
who wrote:
My hands are so dry, they could be used to make a Chardonnay.

You will be receiving your shiny icon in your in-box shortly!

Okay, so there were only two entries, but hey, now you know I will totally hand out prizes...with my dry hands. That could be used to make Chardonnay.

Congrats, Flocons!

Reader interactivity!

My hands are SO dry...

--HOW DRY ARE THEY?--

(...I dunno. That's why I need you to fill in the blanks...)


Winner gets accolades and an Interactivity Icon--the Web equivalent of a Play Day ribbon!
Entries due midnight, Friday, March 20, 2009.

Interactivity!

As an ongoing feature of my blog, I'd like to start some fun times for everyone to chime in on!

Fill in the blanks! Best entry gets bragging rights!

She needed his touch like a [blank] needs a [blank].

Have fun!