The Spirit of Giving

In the Spirit of giving, I'm going to be offering my novel in ebook form for free until Dec. 25th. Go to SMASHWORDS and enter coupon code GJ25D to get 100% off =D

The Mountain of WIPs

     I've been too distracted by the OWS media to write much lately :P 


The last time I cracked open my files to write, though, I flipped through the multitudes of folders that I have delegated for each WIP. It's like a library in there. I have so many WIPs!! So many beginnings, so much potential is lying unfinished and unedited collecting virtual dust. Does everyone do this? Accumulate a plethora of ideas and begin multiple projects, but never get around to doing any more with them? Looking at all these unused files, I think that's what makes me so happy about having at least one finished. Maybe since somehow I pulled that off, I can do it again, and again. I really hope someday my WTF (work that's finished, lol) is bigger than my WIP file. 

I got my first review/interview!!!

      The wonderful Sofia over at Sofia Day's Pen wrote a nice review and asked me for an interview!! This has definitely been a year of a lot of firsts. Thanks to Sofia for hosting me!!

You can check out the review and interview here:

Sofia Day's Pen and Writers Den

Falling for Fall

As I look around me at the leaves changing color, feeling the cool night air, and watching all the birds fly through, I'm starting to think fall is the perfect time for romance... Romance writing that is. I used to struggle, I mean REALLY struggle writing out romance scenes. I've never even considered writing a whole romance book, I can imagine how awkward and corny that would turn out...

Even though nothing I write centers on romance, it keeps popping up. Seems no matter what you write, there's some love in there somewhere. I wonder sometimes if having such a hard time pecking out a mushy line stems from real life experience. My husband and I, we really aren't the most romantic people in the world. We forget our own anniversary and spend Valentines Day at the Bass Pro Shop if that tells you anything.

I finally got some suggestions from a friend on good romance novels, and spent quite a lot of time reading through them, studying how they played with words to keep it interesting and realistic. There are some very talented folks out there with a knack for the L-O-V-E. I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of it. Now I might be able to finish this next novel without postponing all the love scenes until the rest of the book is finished.

Is there anything in particular that just doesn't come out right for you? How do you attempt to overcome it?

I'M BAAAAAACK!!

Lately, it might seem as if I've fallen off the blogosphere. Well, I have. After writing and marketing, and researching, and blogging, and writing, and formatting, and writing, and correcting... you get the picture... I needed a good long break from everything else to concentrate on writing. I've met my goal now, and I can come back out into the world, catch up with everyone else, and be social again!. WOOOOO!!

WriteOnCon 2011 and upcoming guest

     Have you visited WriteOnCon 2011 yet? If you haven't, go there now! You can't beat a free online yearly writers conference. They have some amazing advice for writers by writers and LIVE CHATS with agents. It's a great opportunity for anyone who has a love for the art. The wonderful folks over at The Practice Room directed me to the site, and I can't thank them enough.

    Speaking of TPR - that's another thing you should try. A group of writers gets together, spends one hour dedicated to writing, and then we meet up in a live chat room to catch up with everyone's progress and report our own. It's a wonderful source for advice, encouragement, and TONS of humor. There is a schedule posted for TPR times here: THE PRACTICE ROOM. I hope to see you there!!

    Aside from all that, I'm about to host my first guest blog!! Who is the guest? None other than the wonderful little "Sasy". My 10 year old daughter is going to write her own blog about her thoughts on childrens literature with homosexual themes. Who better to ask than the children themselves? We got the idea from a blogger buddy who has been blogging recently about that exact subject. Read some of Jon's thoughts on the controversial subject at his blog HERE. Sassy's blog will be posted as soon as she's done reading and is ready for her voice to be heard. Stay Tuned. 

Reviews, Surprises, and YOUR BLOG

      It's been awhile since I opened up my own blog. I've been charting new territory lately, seeking out book reviewers. I don't know for certain, but I've heard selecting literary agents is a difficult task. For me, sending out requests for review is draining too. I'm not making any lists and spamming reviewers. Instead, I'm carefully selecting them. I've read a lot of book reviews, and I'm trying desperately to keep away from those who seem to post all negative reviews, and also those who post all positive reviews. When I get reviews, more than wanting positive feedback, I want truthful feedback. At this point, I still have 0, but I've already got spots with a few who will post when they get to it, and that's a relief.
     It's been a real waiting game. Waiting for approvals, waiting for technical errors to be solved, waiting for reviews, lots and lots of waiting. The upside is that I've actually been doing a lot of writing while waiting. =D

IN OTHER NEWS
    I suppose I was a bit blinded when I walked into this realm of book-writing. I've actually been VERY surprised that I'm dodging the eBook revolution. Thus far, I've sold nearly 10 times more paperback books than I have digital versions. I've also been very fortunate in an area I had only heard bad things about - trying to hand sell books. I even sold a book to a woman in a grocery store yesterday. In fact, ordering them myself and humbly mentioning them here and there has had the best rate of success so far. Has anyone else experienced this?

IN OTHER OTHER NEWS
   While I have been neglecting my poor little blog, I haven't failed to keep up with others. I'm not telling who, but some of you actually have blogs that I'm bordering on addiction with. There were some in particular that hadn't posted recently, and I found myself watching and waiting. Blogs have been some of the best sources of advice, feedback, and encouragement I've ever found. I'm not the kind of person who just "follow"s a blog. When I "follow" them, I FOLLOW them. Even if I don't comment, you can bet I'm reading it. Keep up the great blogging!! It really does make a difference.