I joined the Gearing Up To Get An Agent Blogfest September 2012 and today is the day designated as our blog meet and greet.
My mini bio:
I am a Californian living in the UK with my English husband and I am a mother of seven beautiful children: five girls and two boys. I used to be morbidly obese, but I got my health under control and lost over 145 pounds. After achieving that weight loss, something that many people told me would be impossible, I finally started to believe in myself and decided to pursue my lifelong dream of becoming a published author. I have had articles published in magazines and I have had some short stories published in anthologies. I am currently working on getting three children's picture books published and one children's chapter book published while simultaneously trying to finish several novels and one non-fiction book. I own several blogs, my main one aside from this one is my health and fitness one Skinny Dreaming. I also run the Chapter Book Challenge that runs in March of every year.
Questions for the Meet and Greet
Where do you write?
I write while on the bus taking my kids to and from school and I write while sitting on my couch at home using my laptop.
Quick. Go to your writing space, sit down and look to your left. What is the first thing you see?
The first thing I see is a magazine titled, "Writing for Kids and YA" by Writer's Digest.
Favorite time to write?
I prefer to write in the evenings after my children have gone to bed, especially when it is early enough that I am not yet sleepy.
Drink of choice while writing?
Coffee or diet soda. I really like to have Good Earth's Sweet & Spicy Tea or Diet Mug Root Beer as my two favorite drinks, but they are not easy to get here in the UK and when I can find them, they are expensive.
When writing , do you listen to music or do you need complete silence?
Because I write in my living room, my husband or one of my teenagers usually have the television on while I write, but I would prefer it to be off. I don't mind music playing if the mood of the music fits with what i am writing at the time, but generally I prefer the quiet.
What was your inspiration for your latest manuscript and where did you find it?
I am actually working on more than one manuscript right now, but two of them were inspired by dreams. Some of the other manuscripts were inspired by my children (and not just the children's stories).
What's your most valuable writing tip?
Can I give more than one? I think that, to be a writer, you have to believe in yourself. If you don't believe you have the ability to achieve your writing goals, then it becomes all too easy to give up. You also have to be willing to take on criticism without letting it stop you from writing. You have to be willing to learn and grow and take every step back as a learning experience to help your work improve.
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