Layna McKenzie
I am a contemporary romance author, working to get my first book published!
22/04/2023
First line of Sea Glass, my contemporary romance novel set in a small town on the Oregon Coast. Ph***ic clams, voyeuristic pirates, and apologetic banana bread abound!
01/04/2023
There's an opportunity later this week to pitch literary agents using a mood board. A month ago, I had no clue what the f*** a mood board was, and now I'm trying to make one. This is my second version of the board. Critiques welcome!
I think I'm too Gen X to understand instagram. And don't even get me started on TikTok.
Whelp...I've been writing for three hours this morning and have written a grand total of five sentences. At this rate, I should finish my next novel around the time I'm eligible for social security.
Ooof…three rejections in the last 24 hours.
Woohoo! Another full manuscript request from an agent. (Also a rejection from another agent, but I’m choosing not to focus on that.)
19/02/2023
Cannon West isn't looking for a relationship, but that doesn't mean he isn't up for a little fun. Get Cannon and Ava's story on February 28 ---> https://bit.ly/SB_Cannon
19/02/2023
This is me...every. single. night.
There are definitely different kinds of tired!
19/02/2023
Attempting a mood board, which is apparently "important" when pitching agents on twitter. Does this evoke a small-town romance set on the Oregon Coast? Honestly, I have no clue what I'm doing!
18/02/2023
I detect no lies.
OOOOOOOR, you know... become their pen pal only to have them end up at your door... maybe Ella knows something about that! 😉
Barnes&Noble: https://geni.us/TLLBN
Amazon: https://geni.us/TLLAmazon
AppleBooks: https://geni.us/TLLApple
Kobo: https://geni.us/TLLKobo
Audible: https://geni.us/TLLAudio
Add it to Goodreads: https://geni.us/TLLGoodreads
10/02/2023
06/02/2023
Yup.
05/02/2023
The struggle is real.
Tally so far: 18 query letters sent, three rejections, one request for full manuscript.
I had a dream last night where I was writing a new romance novel, and the female main character would periodically turn into a goat. Sexy? Maybe not...but nobody can say it is not a unique hook for a story!
I feel like I’ve received a tiny bit of beginner’s luck…just two days after I sent out my first query letters, I’ve already received one request for my full manuscript. Long way to go…but a good sign.
25/01/2023
Just sent out my first batch of query letters to literary agents. It’s scary making myself so vulnerable, as I know the odds of finding an agent are minuscule…so I’m steeling myself for the onslaught of rejection that is about to head my way.
Putting this out to the hive mind: I need to come up with a fictional name for a professional soccer team in Portland. It needs to be fictional (i.e. NOT the Timbers/Thorns or any other existing team name), and I’d like it to have some relationship to Portland or Oregon. So far, the ideas I‘ve come up with are the Portland Sasquatch, the Portland White Stags, and the Portland Cascadia. Any of those sound good? Other ideas?
06/01/2023
Deep thought for the day.
02/01/2023
A gray day in Washington, DC. As I revise my novel, Sea Glass, for the billionth time, I am trying to pretend I am in my happy writing place on the Oregon coast.
I am currently "whistling into the void," since I am completely clueless how to market myself as an author! Tips appreciated!