#michaela grey

[thegreattarchive]

[halliewriteshockey]

An open letter

After much deliberation, I have made the decision to change the spelling of my surname from Grey to Gray. Here's why: 

Many of you are familiar with the issues I’ve had surrounding a woman named Michaela Grey, who took my choice of pen name as a personal affront to her. Over the past ten years, she has doggedly clung to her misguided belief that I ‘stole’ her name and that my decision to use it was an attack on her. 

I’m changing my name to Gray not because of this individual, but in spite of her. I know I have every right to use the name Grey, and nothing she says or does changes that fact. But over the last decade, it’s become increasingly clear this person is unable to be reasoned with. Since I first became aware of her existence, she has engaged in increasingly hostile behavior. She’s called me names, accused me of identity theft, and spread disgusting lies about me and what I write in attempts to discredit me. She’s recruited her friends to likewise attack me, often en masse, repeating the same vicious rumors and insulting everything about me. One of the most common themes, repeated by everyone who’s targeted me, is how bad my writing is, and how I’m a laughable excuse for an author. Another running theme is that I write ’horse porn’, a reference to my very first book, which no longer exists but had horses in it. (No equines got it on, though.) 

Ms. Grey has sent me malware through spam in multiple attempts to infect my computer. She has doxxed me on Twitter. She has claimed I’m altering my appearance in an attempt to more closely resemble her and thus assume her identity. She's accused me of willingly perpetuating her childhood trauma as if I had any idea what her life was like. She’s spread lies and vicious gossip, and even reported the recent fundraiser I held during my medical issues as fraudulent in hopes I’d be forced to pay back all the funds or face charges.

She has stalked, harassed, and bullied me for the past ten years, and even though I know I’ve done nothing wrong, it’s increasingly obvious she’s only escalating. I do not wish my name to be tied to such an unpleasant, toxic individual. She cannot be reasoned with, and has shown repeatedly just how low she’s willing to go on her vicious crusade against me.

Thus, not because she asked me (she didn’t), but because I want nothing to do with her, I have decided to alter the spelling of my last name. Obviously this will be a complicated process. I have to change my name on all my books, including the cover art, and every iteration of it currently online. This will take quite some time. I have changed my display name to Michaela Gray on Twitter and Tumblr, but my username of greymichaela will remain the same on both sites. I’ve built a fan base under that brand and I refuse to let a single individual destroy everything I’ve created.

However, any new social media will be under the name graymichaela instead. If Ms. Grey had ever come to me as equals and said, “it makes me uncomfortable that you’re using my name, and I would appreciate it if you would consider changing it,” I would have listened. I’m not the ‘fucking asshole’ she says I am. I’m willing to be reasonable, and I work hard to be approachable. But she never did that. Instead she chose a vindictive campaign of harassment and abuse from the very jump, as if it were personally targeted at her instead of a stupid coincidence.

She’ll probably think she’s ‘won’. That’s okay. I don’t care what she thinks, and if her narrative needs to twist the facts until she’s the hero and I’m the villain, that’s not something I can control.

I’m working four jobs to make ends meet. My son just got out of the hospital for suicidal intent. My daughter has severe health issues and no diagnosis yet. I’m a single mother raising three children with no help and no respite, and the last thing I need is more drama in my life.

Hence, from here on out, my name is Michaela Gray. I have no affiliation with, nor do I want anything to do with, the individual named Michaela Grey. Any further attacks from her or her friends will be reported to the authorities, along with all the evidence of her decade-long harassment campaign that I’ve been collecting for years. 

Thank you for reading

[qbdatabase]

Daily Book – Coffee Cake

Bran Kendrick never expected to fall in love. He’s asexual, after all. What chance does he have of finding someone who’ll see past that?

Bran Kendrick never expected to fall in love. He’s asexual, after all. What chance does he have of finding someone who’ll see past that? So when Malachi Warren catches his eye, Bran tells himself his crush will pass. Malachi disagrees. He has been attracted to Bran for some time, something he is delighted to find Bran reciprocating. They begin to date and feel their way through an intimate relationship that meets both their needs.

Suddenly Bran finds himself juggling a new boyfriend, a demanding job, and a college degree he’s not sure he wants, but he couldn’t be happier—until a series of seemingly random accidents befall Malachi. When they escalate, Bran realizes someone is trying to take away the best thing that ever happened to him, and he must scramble to keep Malachi safe while they search for the would-be killer.

[coyotepup345]

Hi, I'm hyperfixating, and instead of trying to break through to try new things, I'm going to embrace it. What this means is that I will be reading all of the hockey romance books by @greymichaela yet again, starting with Blindside Hit. I love these books, but I haven't actually reread Blindside Hit since it came out.

These posts will be tagged 'kat rereads ghr books' so you can blacklist if you want or need to. If anyone has preferences on if I publish in real time as I have thoughts or if I queue everything to publish basically all at once, feel free to tell me.

All right, let's go:

First off, here's the blurb, courtesy of goodreads.com:

Adam Caron has everything he could want. A brand-new contract with an NHL team, a nice apartment, the life he’s dreamed about since he was a little boy. He has everything, except the name of the man he shared a drunken, blistering hot night with. Etienne Brideau can’t stop thinking about the night he spent with Adam, but he knows better than to think Adam will want him sober. People don’t fall in love with gawky, rawboned, awkward Etienne, especially not men like Adam Caron, rising hockey star, with his stunning good looks and charismatic personality. When Adam gets back in contact with him, Etienne doesn't let himself hope that they'll ever be more than friends. But the more entangled he becomes in Adam's life, the more he can't imagine letting him go, and when an injury threatens Adam’s career, Etienne knows he’s in too deep to walk away. But Adam has secrets of his own, and more than just their life as a couple may be at stake.

Now, I constantly listen to music and connect songs to characters, books, etc. Based on nothing but my memory, here are some songs as I start off:

Ettiene: Better Days by Hedley

Adam: Comeback Kid by New Politics

(And for shits and giggles)Rudy and the rest of the Thunder: Unstoppable. by Chasing Deer

These might change. I might think of songs as I read. Who knows? (I sure don't.)

[festforall-genfic]

Writing Advice ft. Michaela Grey

Hello! This week we have a special treat! Michaela Grey answered some of our questions regarding writing for you!

Our informal questions are in big text, and Michaela’s responses are not.

Headings:

1. About Michaela Grey

2. Accepting criticism from readers

3. Accepting criticism from betas/editors

4. Loving writing when it gets tough

5. When your writing doesn't do what you planned/outlined

6. Humour in writing

7. How to [avoid] Distractions

8. Remembering to take care of yourself

9. Moving from fanfiction to original fiction

10. Book Summaries

About Michaela Grey

Michaela Grey lives and writes in the Texas hill country. You can find her work on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and Dreamspinner.com. Her blog is @greymichaela . Asexual protagonist series: Coffee Cake  Beignets 

BDSM series: Broken Halo Broken Rules Broken Trust - coming soon!

Accepting criticism from readers

Accepting criticism from readers can be a balancing act. It depends largely on what the criticism IS. "Your story is bad and you should feel bad" = me rolling my eyes and moving on. "Your portrayal of a POC was hurtful and insensitive because of X" = me fixing what I said that came across wrong, apologizing for the hurt, and vowing to do better.

Take what the negative feedback is about into account, in other words. If it's just that the story wasn't for them, then that's life, buttercup, happens to all of us. But if it's that you've hit a nerve, said something inappropriate or hurtful or portrayed a situation inaccurately? For goshsakes, LISTEN to the person trying to educate you and take steps to make it better.

Accepting criticism from betas/editors

This, to me, is easier, because you have an established relationship with your betas, and the editors are invested in the story and only want what’s right for it. So I try to be especially receptive to them.

Loving writing when it gets tough

Sometimes you just have to take a step back. When it gets tough, I find the best way to fall back in love with the craft is to stop writing and start reading. I read all the time in any case, but when I’m feeling particularly stale, my reading amps up. I’ll read a book a day, revisit auto-buy authors and beloved stories, etc, until I remember why I love it so much and I’m inspired to write more of my own.

When your writing doesn't do what you planned/outlined

Oh, you mean ever? Seriously, I neither plan nor outline, because it’s guaranteed not to go according to what I’ve written down. The most I do is discuss it with my beta(s) beforehand and get a good grasp of the characters’ motivations. Once I know what they’ll do in a given situation, I know what direction the writing is going to take.

Humour in writing

It’s good, I like it. What’s the question here?

How to words Distractions (good and bad)

Is this “how to AVOID distractions”? [Yes] 

Basically that can take a number of forms. Sometimes it’s an hour I carve out for myself while the kids are busy. Sometimes, it’s 5 minutes in the drive-through writing on my phone while I wait for food. Avoiding distractions is a matter of practice. The more you do it, the more you put yourself in that writing space, the easier it gets.

Remembering to take care of yourself

I’ll let you know when I figure that one out. (Seriously, hydrate and try to eat semi-regular meals—other than that, I got nothin’)

Moving from fanfiction to original fiction

I think fanfic can be a great stepping stone to original fiction. It’s great to play in established worlds with known characters as a way to practice various techniques, etc. You can also build a fanbase and bring them with you when you branch into o[riginal]fic. 

That being said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with only ever wanting to write fanfic. Write what makes you happy. Never write to please the majority. If you only enjoy playing in the Supernatural or Star Wars’ sandboxes, then you should never feel guilt over staying there. Writing is something that should bring you joy, ultimately.

____

Book Summaries

As a reminder, you can find Michaela Grey’s work on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and Dreamspinner.com, and direct links to her books are below.

One of the mods has read Michaela’s work multiple times, and thinks it is absolutely amazing. If it's something you're interested in, they highly recommend her books. Asexual protagonist series (has romance and more mild sexual content): Coffee Cake Bran Kendrick never expected to fall in love. He’s asexual, after all. What chance does he have of finding someone who’ll see past that? So when Malachi Warren catches his eye, Bran tells himself his crush will pass. Malachi disagrees. He has been attracted to Bran for some time, something he is delighted to find Bran reciprocating. They begin to date and feel their way through an intimate relationship that meets both their needs.

Suddenly Bran finds himself juggling a new boyfriend, a demanding job, and a college degree he’s not sure he wants, but he couldn’t be happier―until a series of seemingly random accidents befall Malachi. When they escalate, Bran realizes someone is trying to take away the best thing that ever happened to him, and he must scramble to keep Malachi safe while they search for the would-be killer. Beignets - sequel to Coffee Cake. The summary spoils some of the first book, so it’s not in this post.

BDSM series: Broken Halo (has romance and intense sexual content)

Micah Ellis is an affluent businessman, comfortable in his life and work, as long as nothing happens to shake up his routine. Which is exactly what one Devon Mallory does, with his bright blue eyes and dirty skin and the forceful personality that’s everything Micah desperately needs but is too afraid to ask for.

Micah and Devon enter into a Dom/sub relationship and navigate the world of BDSM and Micah’s crippling insecurities as they gradually fall in love. But Micah’s past is coming back to haunt him, and they must face it together—and that means learning acceptance and discovering that they both deserve love their way and on their own merits. Broken Rules - pre-orders open now! Release date: 24 July 2018

Sanyam Desai is a Dom, a master of his craft. He knows exactly how to make a person beg, and he does it for a living, but he has no idea how to be in love.

Sterling Reynard is in desperate need of manners and someone who cares enough to take him in hand, but he knows he’ll never be loved.

When Sterling’s world crumbles around him, he turns to the one person who’s never asked for anything from him but his trust. But their relationship is built on quicksand, and one careless word will bring the whole thing down. Broken Trust - coming soon!

[halliewriteshockey]

Reread Roughing in preparation for Double Shifting and finished both. This has been the best weekend off I've had in a while. Michaela Grey, you are THE treasure, and all that's left to do now is think about how well written and lovely these books were while taking my new 2nd-hand roller hockey skates out for a spin. BEST WEEKEND. THANK YOU.

🥺🥺🥺

I can’t even tell you how glad I am that I’ve helped make your weekend better! Tbh, I spent most of it sleeping, because last week was exhausting and also I think I might be getting sick.

Enjoy your new skates, what fun!!

[nocticola]

Reading 2021: Michaela Grey Coffee Cake(2015): 2.7,6.7,11.7,13.7, 27.-30.7.2021