Last weekend, something very special arrived in the mail.

My first publishing contract!

Next winter, I will have a short story in Felt Tips, the world’s first ever office-supply themed anthology of erotica for charity. I’m still kind of floating in a haze… I’m so happy! And so much more determined to get a longer work ready to query an agent. Felt Tips will have a variety of stories from a number of writers, some like me for whom this is their first publication, and others who are already published with a large fan base. It is edited by Tiffany Reisz, author of 7 Day Loan, The Siren, and more.

Yes, my story is SciFi erotica!

Yesterday, I had my first guest blog post on another writer’s site. Elise Rome was a wonderful hostess, and as she already has several books out and an established fan base, a lot of new people got to see my name. I agonized over this post far more than necessary, but as it was the first time I was doing something for another writer’s blog, I wanted it to be as good as it could be.

I’m expanding my social media presence by joining LinkedIn, although I’m not fully utilizing it yet. I’m also way behind on my Goodreads updates. I give every book 4 stars, unless it is a great classic or one that was really unbelievable. As a writer, I won’t give another writer a bad review. Bad business practice. I’m not a reviewer; I’m a writer.

My main social media sites are still facebook, twitter, and Google Plus.

On facebook, I have 1,223 friends. Most of those are gaming connections, but I’ve found that people who play the same games as I do often have a similar taste in books. A lot of my facebook friends are SciFi fans.

On twitter, I follow 636 and 437 people follow me. My character Charity Kochsato follows 101, mostly the same people I do, and 48 people follow her. In several cases, fictional people are following each other lol!

Google Plus is huge, but as the influx of circlers boomed when it became open to everyone (I was in that initial group who made it in early) I suspect that a large number of people are only there to market themselves or a product to others. I’ve circled 1,178 people, many of whom are connected to the writing world in some way. 3,068 people have circled me.

And then there’s the blog. I don’t get a lot of hits, but what I get is fairly steady and of course it spikes when I post something that turns out to be popular. I’d rather have a steady growth of people who actually like visiting here than have too fast growth of people who expect more than I can currently provide.

Now, back to that publishing contract…

One thing I need to accomplish sooner rather than later is to provide a biographical blurb that follows these guidelines:

• 150 words or fewer
• Include my favorite office supply
• obviously, it should be autobiographical

Here’s Tiffany’s:

Tiffany Reisz is the author of THE ORIGINAL SINNERS series from Mira Books (The Siren, July 2012). She lives in Lexington, Kentucky with a clinically depressed cat named Honeytoast. Her favorite office supply is her three-hole punch only because it sounds dirty.

That’s only 42 words. So I can triple that and still be OK.

Here’s some of my typical taglines:

• A writer by birth, a redhead by choice, and an outcast of Colorado by temporary necessity.
• A little science, a little fiction, a little romance, a little friction.
• Purveyor of aluminum foil hats.

I shouldn’t mention any of my actual stories, since none of them are published yet.

Here are a few random things about me that can be thrown in:

• I live in Vermont
• I was born in Florida, but raised in Colorado
• Been married for 17 years to a big Trekkie geek
• I am a Trekkie geek
• I teach computer skills to college freshmen (Excel and Access)
• I have two kids, both girls
• We have 5 cats and a dog
• I did the 3 Day Novel challenge, writing a 23k novel over Labor Day weekend.
• I’ve done NaNoWriMo twice
• I write both SciFi and Romance, usually combined, although sometimes I do one or the other.

Here are a few blurbs I’ve come up with. I’m not happy with any of them, and I’d love some input! So… comments! Please! Pretty pretty please with sugar on top! Help me figure out the best blurb to use. (The number following each is the word count.)

1. AmyBeth Inverness is a purveyor of aluminum foil hats and a writer of SciFi-Romance. Her favorite office supply is Post-it notes because as long as the nipples are covered, you don’t really need a shirt.  35
2. AmyBeth Inverness is a purveyor of aluminum foil hats and writer of SciFi-Romance. From sweet to sensual, her stories explore love in all kinds of relationships. Her favorite office supply is aluminum foil for obvious reasons. (Yes, that’s an office supply. You can buy it at Staples.) 47
3. AmyBeth Inverness is a purveyor of aluminum foil hats and writer of SciFi-Romance. Having been exiled from Colorado in 1989, she spends her days teaching computer skills to college Freshmen while raising a couple of kids and one husband. Her favorite office supply is aluminum foil for obvious reasons. (Yes, that’s an office supply. You can buy it at Staples.) 60
4. AmyBeth Inverness is a purveyor of aluminum foil hats and writer of SciFi-Romance. She chooses to believe that aluminum foil is an office supply. A writer by birth, a redhead by choice, and an outcast of Colorado by temporary necessity…
5. AmyBeth Inverness is a purveyor of aluminum foil hats. A writer by birth, a redhead by choice, and an outcast of Colorado by temporary necessity, her stories include a little science, a little fiction, and a little romance with a little friction. She currently resides in Northern New England in a home where the animals outnumber the humans two to one. 61