Suddenly Sorceress by Erica Lucke Dean - Book Blast!

Erica Lucke Dean has been an on-line friend of mine for quite some time now. She has hilarious escapades with the pigs on her farm, who, apparently, are out to get her. And even more intriguing than her killer pigs is the fact that she lives in a HAUNTED farmhouse. (How cool is that?) But, on to the reason for this post: I am really happy to announce the release of her new book Suddenly Sorceress. 

I had every intention of reading the book so I could give you my thoughts on the book at the time of this post, but I'm afraid life has gotten in the way and I haven't managed to set aside the time for reading her book. This makes me sad not only because I am unable to tell you what I thought of her book, but it also makes me sad because I am really looking forward to reading her book. It's a genre I love reading, and, after reading other writing of Erica's on her blog and elsewhere for so long, I already know that I like her writing style. Did I mention that she has another book that was released previous to this one. To Katie, With Love is one of her books that I have read already and I really, really loved it. It was funny and charming and not easy to put down once I started reading. I expect that Suddenly Sorceress is equally charming.

So here's the deal: I will review her book sometime within the two weeks of February, for those of you who want to wait and read my thoughts on the book before you buy. For the rest of you, there are other bloggers involved in this book blast and many of them have reviews going up about the book. Also, Erica has kindly provided an excerpt from her book so that you can see for yourself what an awesome and talented writer she is. 

What do you think of this cover? I love it! Of course, I'm a little partial to it because I have a friend who had a skunk, in the wild, do the exact same thing that the skunk on the cover is doing. Fortunately for my friend, she stood very, very still and the skunk eventually went away without feeling the need to spray her in stink. She thought it was a cat when it first rubbed up against her legs. I think it was pretending to be a cat in the hopes that she would share some of the breakfast that she was preparing at the time. Skunks are smelly, but not stupid.

Book Exerpt

Prologue

 “You’re too sexy, my ass!” I tried to tune out the Right Said Fred ringtone as I fished my fiancé’s cell phone from the pocket of his discarded Dockers. I glared at the flashing caller ID. “You just don’t give up, do you?” 

That was lucky number thirteen. Thirteen missed calls in the span of an hour. Thirteen calls he was unable to answer. 

Because of me. 

After pressing ignore one more time, I shoved the phone back into the pocket where it belonged, hoping it would muffle the sound somewhat. I didn’t know why I didn’t just turn off the damn thing. I’d endured his ridiculous ring tone more times than anyone should have to, obviously determined to punish myself. Between the maddening song and the horrible smell, I certainly felt punished. Even if it wasn’t nearly enough. 

Way down deep in my bones, I knew my life had been forever changed. Even if I could somehow fix things—put them back to normal—nothing would be the same again. Not ever. 

Swallowing against the crystal ball-sized lump in my throat, I dropped Matt’s pants where I’d found them, along with his shirt, his boxers, and his shoes, and I collapsed onto the rumpled blankets on the bed. 

That sort of thing didn’t happen in the real world. Only small children or crazy people believed in… no, I refused to even think the word, let alone say it. It’s impossible. But I’d seen it with my own eyes, and whatever it was, it definitely wasn’t normal. 

My scruffy housecat made another frantic orbit around my  feet as the phone sounded again, the self-centered lyrics looping, making me cringe. Apparently, he’d also grown weary of the tune. 

If only I could say the choice of ring tone was ironic, a product of his wry sense of humor. But he didn’t have much of a sense of humor. Matthew Green was exactly that arrogant. Despite every despicable thing he’d done to me, every insult, lie, and betrayal that had led us there, I truly wished Matt could answer his stupid phone himself. Unfortunately, wishing didn’t seem to be on my side that morning. 

Stifling a groan, I pulled myself from the warmth of the bed to dig the phone out of Matt’s pocket again. Geez, persistent much? With a deep, cleansing breath, I mashed down the button to accept the call. 

“Matt! Where are you?” Matt’s receptionist, Ginger, snapped before I had a chance to say hello. “Friday’s your busiest day. Do you have any idea what time it is? You’ve already missed two appointments.” 

Even without caller ID, I would have recognized her breathy Betty Boop voice. She  

sounded as though she’d been sucking helium all morning. I didn’t know her well, but I  suspected she was banging my fiancé.

“We’ll be lucky if there’s enough time for a quickie before the next patient arrives,” she continued in a whisper. 

Yep… definitely banging him. 

“And another thing.” Her sweet baby voice morphed into a feral growl. “Candy’s been standing outside your office all morning. I thought you said you were done with her? I’m not kidding, Matt, if I find out you’re still screwing her, I’m going to cut off your balls.” 

Apparently, I was engaged to a pathological cheater. Of course, I hadn’t known that when I agreed to marry him. There were a lot of things I didn’t know about Matt. Then again, there was a lot I didn’t know about me. 

“Well? Aren’t you going to say anything?” 

“Uh… hi, Ginger.” I cleared my throat and resisted the urge to “say anything.” “This is Ivie. Matt can’t come to the phone. I… uh... don’t think he’s going to be able to… uh… make it into work today.” I managed to stammer through the basics without my voice cracking. 

“Oh, hi, Ivie.” Her voice changed again; she sounded as if sshe’d been sucking lemons. She didn’t even have the decency to be embarrassed. “What’s wrong with Matt? He hasn’t missed a day in… Actually, I don’t think he’s ever called in sick.” 

My eyes darted to the closed bathroom door, and I shuddered. “He’s really not feeling like himself today.” Understatement of the century. 

“Is he sick?” 

“Um… I definitely don’t think anyone wants what he has.” I tiptoed around the answer. I wasn’t good at coy, but I gave it my best shot. 

“Oh… Well, in that case, maybe it’s best if he stays home.” I could almost see her coiling a lock of her thick red hair around her finger as she spoke. “Just tell him I hope he feels better, and not to worry. I’ll reschedule his appointments for him. Do you think he’ll be well enough to come in Monday?” 

I tamped down a flicker of panic. “I really hope so.” But I seriously doubt it. 

After listening to Ginger rant for a minute about missed appointments and the difficult 

task of rescheduling, I ended the call, staring at the bathroom door as if I expected a silent command to open it. I closed my eyes and tried to imagine the door swinging wide and my fiancé sauntering out. I popped open one eye. The door hadn’t moved—not even a crack. 

For far too long, I’d avoided that room. With three tentative steps, I closed the distance between myself and the master bathroom, covering my mouth and nose with one hand as I cracked the door. I’d almost gotten used to the foul odor in the bedroom. It was bad but not unbearable. The stench in the bathroom was overwhelming. The fumes poured out, bringing tears to my eyes. The small space reeked worse than when I’d locked him in there last night. It smelled as if someone had cooked up a potion of burning tires and rotten eggs in a boiling vat of sour ammonia, and even that comparison wasn’t quite bad enough.

Blinking back the sting of tears, I scanned the room. I didn’t see him anywhere, just a puddle that looked suspiciously like urine in one corner and in the other, a makeshift bed fashioned out of—were those my good bath towels? 

No Matt. 

A quick rush of adrenaline kick-started my heart. What’s happened to him now? This is bad. Very, very bad. As if things weren’t bad enough already. What sort of person was I? What I’d done was unspeakable, so horrible even I didn’t know what I’d done.

Just as I was about to have a full-blown panic attack, he slinked out from behind the hamper. I should have been relieved he was still alive, but I wasn’t sure if his current state was much better. He stared up at me—his beady little black eyes blinking in the harsh fluorescent light—so much smaller than he used to be and covered in a thick pelt of black and white fur. My fiancé. 

The skunk. 

Here are some places where you can buy the book:

Amazon   

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

Apple 

(Do I have to mention again how much I love her writing style, and how much I know you will love it it too? Go buy her book!)

Also, add it to your "want to read" list in Goodreads. 

 Book Page on RAP

Author page on RAP

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2014 - Looking forward #newyearsday #writingchallenges #anthologies

Yesterday, I posted about looking back at 2013 and what I had managed to achieve during the year. Well, today, being the first day of 2014, is a day for looking forward. What does 2014 have in store for me (and others)?

Well, first off, I have to mention some of the challenges I am running or have joined.

2014 Writing Challenges

I need to create a new badge for 2014.

1. First up is the Chapter Book Challenge, also known as ChaBooCha. ChaBooCha is a challenge that runs from March 1st through March 31st. The goal of the challenge is to write the first draft of an early reader, chapter book, Hi-Lo book, middle grade book or YA novel during that month.

It's a very relaxed challenge in that some people join up for its designed purpose of writing their first draft, and others decide to be ChaBooCha rebels by deciding instead to finish a book that they have already begun or to revise and edit a book that they have already finished the first draft on. And that's allowed. You're not an official winner unless you've written a completed first draft, from day one to day 31, but the prize is only a really neat winner's badge for your blog or website.

And there are prizes, lots of prizes, which have nothing to do with whether or not you are succeeding at writing your story and everything to do with you being a signed-up member of the challenge and commenting on the author guest posts.

During the challenge, there are guest posts by published authors and agents with useful tips and helpful information. There's a Facebook page, to keep you informed throughout the challenge, and even a Twitter account for the challenge. (Use #ChaBooCha for posts related to the challenge.) The best part of the challenge though, is the Facebook group. It remains active all year and the members are helpful and insightful.

The challenge first ran in March of 2012 with a total in sign-ups of 23 members. In 2013, that total was 89 members. this year, we are already at 116 members and those numbers are still growing. I have a goal of us reaching 200 members before March 1st, so please spread the word!

Another benefit to joining the challenge is that signed-up members of the challenge get to contribute up to three stories to the Teapot Tales anthology. Our first Teapot Tales anthology of fractured fairy tales was created in 2013. The 2014 Teapot Tales has the theme of "Pirates, Mermaids and Monsters of the Sea." I am already taking submissions for it from ChaBooCha members. (Details about the 2014 Teapot Tales anthology submissions can be found here.)

Proceeds from the anthology go towards the Chapter Book Challenge, currently to help pay for prizes and shipping of prizes, but hopefully someday to pay for advertising, a revamped website and more. (I have so many ideas for the challenge in the future, including a ChaBooCha convention with kid-lit agents in attendance.)

As always, the Chapter Book Challenge remains free to join.

I haven't made a badge for this one yet, so this will stand in place of a badge until I make one.

2. Second up is another challenge I am running. This challenge is completely new and this will be its first year. The Blog Your Book in 30 Days is exactly what its name implies. Blog Your Book in 30 Days is a challenge to write the first draft of your book by posting one chapter a day for an entire month. During the month of the challenge, helpful blog posts will be shared on the website.

The challenge has been created to help you write the book you have always wanted to write but have never written. Whether you want to write a memoir, a fiction novel, a comic book, a children's chapter book or middle grade novel or a non-fiction book, this challenge is going to help you get it done. 

Every day, you are going to do any research that is needed for the day's writing and your are going to post a blog post of one chapter of your book. By the end of the month, you should have 30 chapters and a completed first draft.

This way of writing your books works best if you are planning to self-publish your book, but there are some instances where blogs have garnered the attention of agents and publishers and resulted in book deals. Those instances are the exception though, not the rule.

For those of you worried about making your chapters public, you can enter without actually posting your chapters as long as you continue to write them as if you were going to post them. 

The Blog Your Book in 30 Days challenge has a Facebook page and a Facebook group. At this time, it does not have its own Twitter account, but you can use #BYBin30 for Twitter posts about it. You can find out more details about the challenge on the Blog Your Book in 30 Days blog.

Again, this is a completely new challenge, so I would really appreciate any help in spreading the word about it.
And now for the challenges that are not run by me, but which I am participating in:

3. Julie Hedlund's 12 x 12 - This is a challenge to write and revise 12 picture books in 2014, one picture book a month. Julie posts on many useful topics concerning picture book writing and illustrating. There are three levels to joining the challenge, with the top tier costing the most but giving the most value. I am a 12x12 "elf," which means I get to help out during the challenge. I have participated in this challenge for two years so far and this will be my third year.

As it says on the site: "In 12 x 12, you’ll get the motivation and accountability you need to get those drafts finished, all with the support of the friendliest writing community on earth."

4. PiBoIdMo - PiBoIdMo is Picture Book Idea Month and is run by Tara Lazar. PiBoIdMo runs in November and is a challenge for picture book writers. The challenge is to "create 30 picture book concepts in 30 days. You don’t have to write a manuscript (but you can if the mood strikes). You don’t need potential best-seller ideas."

5. Start the Year Off Write - start the Year Off Write is run by Shannon Abercrombie. The challenge is "21 days and 21 writing exercises to start the year off write." It's free to join and there are prizes!

6. WIP500 - WIP500 is run byCara Micheals at Defiantly Literate. The challenge is to write 500 words per day for all 365 days of 2014, totalling 182,500 words for the year. It is free to join!

7. NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month occurs in the month of November. The challenge is to write a 50,000-word novel (or 50,000 words of a novel), first draft, in the 30 days of November, from start to finish. I have participated for four or five years now and won every year. One year, I even hit over 100,000 words written. I am also the Municipal Liaison for my region. The challenge is free to join.

8. ReviMo - This is a challenge hosted by Meg Miller to revise your completed picture book drafts between January 12th and January 18th.

9. 52inaYear - The idea is to write 52 stories in a year. YOU set your rules. Working on a novel? Fine! Set a chapter or a scene as your goal. Rewriting an old trunk story? Also fine! The idea is to get work completed and (if it is your desire) out the door.

10. Doodle Day - This is a challenge hosted by Alison Kipnis Hertz. The challenge is to draw one doodle a day for a month, and you can draw whatever you want or you can follow the prompts. It runs year-round, and I haven't decided yet which month I will do this in yet.

I'm probably missing one or two of the challenges I participate in, but I'm sleepy today, so, if I remember it later, I will add it here.

2014 Anthology Projects

1. "Teapot Tales: Pirates, Mermaids and Monsters of the Sea" - Submissions for this anthology are only open to signed-up Chapter Book Challenge members. Stories are flash fiction and are not to go over 800 words. The stories do not have to be written for children, but they should not have anything in them that would horrify a parent to find out their child had read. Aim for PG-13. This is the second book in the Teapot Tales series. The first book was "Teapot Tales: A Collection of Unique Fairy Tales" and was released in August of 2013. Proceeds go towards the Chapter Book challenge.

2. "Halloween Echoes: Spooky Tales from Around the World" - Submissions are open to everyone. Your stories should have a word count between 300 and 1,200 words. These stories are aimed at children of all ages. Aim for G or PG. This is the second book in the holiday series. The first book is "Jingle Bells: Tales of Holiday Spirit from Around the World" and was released in November 2013.) Proceeds go towards the Chapter Book Challenge.

3. "SuperHERo Tales 2: A Second Collection of Female Superhero Stories" - This is the second in the SuperHERo Tales series. The first book, "SuperHERo Tales: A Collection of Female SuperHERo Tales," was such a hit that I have been asked to do a second one. The rules are the same as in the first one. As with the first one, proceeds will go towards Because I am a Girl, a foundation that helps girls in third world countries.

4. "Paw Prints: Cat Stories to Warm the Heart" - (This is a working title and might be changed between now and publication.) This is an anthology of cat stories. Each story must have a GOOD photo of the cat written about to go with it, and the author must have permission to use the photo. This anthology is a great way to remember those cats who have left paw prints on your heart. Stories must be either moving, funny or cute. the word count should be between 300 words and 1,000 words. This is a new anthology series. Proceeds from this anthology will be going to the Cat's Protection League in the UK.

5. "The Superhero Chronicles" - (working title) The original anthology, "The Talisman Chronicles: A Collection of Stories Written and Illustrated by Children," is an anthology of stories written and illustrated by children. It has been requested by my kids that we create another anthology and the topic requested is superheroes. This is a direct result of the adoration they have for "SuperHERo Tales: A Collection of Female Superhero Stories" and for the incredible cover artwork for it done by Julia Lela Stilchen. Whatever the reason, this is the new topic for children to write about for a new anthology in 2014. I think the world needs to read more stories written by children. Don 't you?

6. (possibly 6 through 9) "World of the Fae" - (working title) This is the anthology that I am super excited about. This one will either be one large anthology or four smaller ones. The four themes are Autumn Court, Winter Court, Spring Court and Summer Court and may include both dark and light Fae (Seelie and Unseelie). The word count should be between 300 and 3,000 words. Not all submissions will be accepted. These are adult stories, but gratuitous sex, gratuitous foul language and gratuitous violence will earn a rejection. Depending on the quality of the stories sent in, there will either be a one volume, 50-story anthology or four volumes with 25 to 35 stories in each (depending on average length of stories). At this moment, I cannot afford to pay for stories that are accepted, but there will be a $10 Amazon gift certificate awarded to the best story in each category ("court") and a $25 gift certificate for the best story overall. At the moment, the closing date remains open. Submissions will remain open until the correct number of acceptable stories is reached. Once all stories have been chosen for the anthology, winners will be chosen. winners will get winner badges for their blogs or websites. I am hoping to be able to begin work on the anthology during 2014.

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All anthologies will be published through Melusine Muse Press and will be made available on Amazon in print and for kindle.

Go look at guidelines for formatting your submissions here before submitting your stories.

Please be professional with submissions. Include no more than one space at the end of a sentence, not two. Make sure typos are corrected and that there are no punctuation or grammar mistakes to distract from the story.

Details for each of the upcoming anthologies, along with submission guidelines, will be posted on Melusine Muse Press's anthology submission page tomorrow.

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My own challenge for the year ahead is going to be keeping up with all of the challenges I am joining or running while also putting together, and editing, the anthologies, while still managing to finish writing, editing and revising my own novels and stories.

Wish me luck?

And I wish you all a successful, magical and fabulous 2014!

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Moving Forward - Insecure Writer's Support Group for July 2013 #IWSG

This is my sixth monthly Insecure Writer's Support Group post. The IWSG is hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh. The purpose of the IWSG is:

 "to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!"

Moving Forward

No matter how often I try to be "good" and not let my fears take over, I still suffer from self-doubt on a regular basis, especially as it pertains to my writing. I am trying to behave in such a way as to suggest that it doesn't have an effect on me, but I don't always succeed.

I've been sharing more of my short stories and flash fiction writing on my blog. I don't get many comments on my blog posts, no matter what the topic is, but the few comments I get on my stories that compliment my stories make me feel better, if only for a short while, about my writing.

I think I am what might be called a "lazy writer." I love writing my stories, and I feel great when I have finished a longer novel. But the hard part, the nitty-gritty work that is involved in editing and revising, that part I put off, leaving my novels to languish forever in obscurity, never to be read by others. Naturally, I can't possibly share my novels with my critique groups or beta readers or even an editor until I have at least made a first pass-through at perfecting the writing.

I'm really good at proofreading. I can catch spelling errors, typos, grammatical errors and punctuation errors EASILY. But going through a piece of writing and making it go from writing that tells a story to writing that sucks you into another world and hangs on to you until you have emotion roiling through you and you never want to leave, THAT is something I need to work on. And I will not be happy with my novels until they can do that to a reader.

But, as a writer, I have to move forward. If I leave my writing as is, then it never changes. My writing will never raise from the level it is at unless I am willing to work at it and let it grow. So, to move forward with my writing and with my goals this year, I am determined to make ONE of the many novels I have written SHINE. And I will get it past the first edits and send it off to a professional in order to help it get to the shiny stage.

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For those of you who don't know, the Chapter Book Challenge has a fairy tale anthology coming out, hopefully by August first, in both print and Kindle format. The title and cover are still being worked on,  but you can head on over the ChaBooCha to find out more about it.

The Creating a Female Superhero Challenge came up with 27 female superheroes for the anthology and 23 entries for the contest. The winner of the contest will be announced on August 7th, along with the charity that won the vote for the proceeds to go toward. The stories are all from 500 to 1,000 words long, and have varying lengths for each of the "about" sections for each superheroine. I think it is going to be a pretty decent little anthology. (I am open to new submissions for the anthology before its creation is complete, because it is for charity, so more stories can only be a good thing.)

I also am in the process of creating a story for the Crock of Charms project, which is a short story project where everyone will be writing interconnecting stories suitable for young children through teenagers. They have a new project out, for adults, called Keepsakes, that I am currently looking into. (I like challenging myself by writing short stories. It helps hone my writing.)

I love hearing from you, so let me know in the comments what you have been up to and what your plans and goals are through this year.

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Insecurity - Insecure Writer's Support Group post for April 2013 #IWSG

I almost missed the IWSG post for April. It had to be written today and it's now late evening and I only just remembered due to some terrific people who are also part of the IWSG group leaving me comments on the last post today, wondering where this month's post is. (Yes, I know that's a run-on sentence, but this is a blog post, not a book, so deal with it.)

Today, writing about insecurity seemed appropriate. I just completed the Chapter Book Challenge. I run the challenge, so I had a lot of stuff to deal with over on the ChaBooCha blog, on the ChaBooCha Facebook group and organizing prizes to send out. And I did all of this while also writing a complete first draft of a chapter book. I am not very confident about the story though.

Most of the Chapter Book Challenge members are at the stage where they are exchanging their stories for critiques, and I am not confident enough in my own story to be willing to share it yet. I'm not confident enough in any of my stories yet to share them. I know they all need revision, and I know that, through critiques from others, I will be able to get some perspective on where the revisions are most needed.

But there is that awful niggling voice in my head that tells me my friends and critique partners will lose respect for me when they see how awful those manuscripts are. Once they read what I have written, they'll think to themselves that I shouldn't even be bothering. Part of this insecure feeling comes because, well, on these first drafts, maybe those thoughts would be partly right. They need a lot of work. But my stories aren't meant to be perfect on the first write. The first draft is meant to get the story down and then revision and editing and re-revision have to take part in making the story stronger. Beta readers and critique partners and eventually an editor all will take a hand in making my stories shine. I shouldn't feel this worry about what my friends will think of me if they read my first drafts; instead I should be hoping they will come up with some great insight as to how I can make my stories stronger.

The other part of this worry comes from the fact that I have read some really wonderful books out there, books I can not even hope to write to the level of, but I have also read some really poorly written self-published books out there. Most self-published books are terrific, but a few writers are so eager to be published that they publish before their writing is ready for it. They have the basis of what could be a good story but instead it lacks the necessary element to draw the reader in to the story. They have some brilliant writing, but it's mixed in with a lot of tedious writing. They could be so much more, but they jumped the gun and published too soon, without enough revision and practice. I worry that I will do the same, or that I will never be able to make my stories shine enough to be published.

But I have to stop letting those niggling thoughts bother me and get back to the writing, to the editing and to the revising. I am a little bit in love with each of my stories and it is my job to shine them up enough so that when others read them, they will fall in love with them too.



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NaNowriMo 2012: Week 4 Update & The Joy of Getting Comments

National Novel Writing Month has just completed its 4th week. Today is the 28th and we now only have two day left until we are supposed to be done with our 50,000 words.

For me, 50,000 words is not a complete novel. It's more of a novella. I have never completed a full-length novel, despite having successfully completed NaNoWriMo three times previously. This year, I decided I was going to write a full novel in the month of November, rather than just 50,000 words. I write over 75,000 last year, so I knew it was possible.

My goal was to write a minimum of 85,000 words. I've already done that, so I revised my goal to reach 90,000 words. Then I decided that I might even try for 95,000 words. I've still got two days of writing to go and only a little under 10,000 words left to get there, so it's possible. And I like stretching myself by setting these personal goals that push the boundaries of what I can do each time.

I don't just want to reach 95,000 words; I want to have a completed first draft to my novel. Every previous year, whether I wrote 52,000 words or 75,000 words, I stopped at the end of NaNoWriMo and never picked up the story to continue with it afterward. This year, my goal is to get to a first draft and then I am giving myself three months to finish the first round of edits on it.

Once I've gone through the first round of edits on it, I will start having writing friends do some critiquing for me. And then I will go from there. This story is going to make it to publication eventually, just not until I know it is ready.

As a blogger, comments on the writing I do on my blog mean a lot to me. It's rewarding to know that people are reading what I write and if it helps them or interests them or gives them something to say, it is extra rewarding. I don't know if anyone is reading what I write unless they comment.

As a writer, when I share bits of my creative writing, it is even more important to get comments. I suffer from a common writer-disease called self-doubt. It is more prominent when it comes to my fiction writing. When someone reads some small story or snippet of writing I have shared and tells me they enjoyed it, it literally gives me a happiness boost.

I started out, in the beginning of this year's NaNoWriMo, just posting my daily word count and total word count, at the end of each day's writing, on Facebook. A little ways through the month, I decided that it was a rather boring way to let people know about what I was doing, so I started sharing snippets from each day's writing along with my post about my day's word count.

Today, one of the people on my Facebook friends list, (someone I have known since she was a child who played with my own kids) gave me this comment when I wrote about my goal to finish the novel.

"Do It Becky I LOVE reading your snippet of the day...you got me hooked and I've only been reading little bits!!"

She has never before commented on one of my word count posts, so I had no idea she was even reading them. And her comment has really brightened my day and given me a slight confidence boost for the story I am writing. It's also made me wonder how many others are reading my daily snippets without commenting.

So please, if you enjoy someone's writing, let them know!


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NaNoWriMo 2012 - Week 3 Update & Excuses

Week three is over now and we should all be getting much further along in our stories. How is it going? Are you learning more about your characters and how they would react in the different situations you throw them into? (Please, let me know in the comments below.)

I hit the 50,000 word mark on the 15th, and, for me, that was just a little over half-way through my novel. My goal is to complete the first draft of my novel by November 30th. My novel should be somewhere between 85,000 and 95,000 words long when it's complete.

But there's a problem. My writing is slowing down. I'm not bored with my story. I still love the story and the characters, and I'm still excited about where the story is going. But I am bored of writing the story.

In order to fit writing time into my day, I have started writing in a notebook while I am on the two buses I take to get my children to their schools and again on those two buses on my way home. This "school run" happens twice a day. Add in some time walking between schools and walking to and from the bus stops and these trips take me two hours each time. So I spend two hours in the morning taking my kids to school and then going home again, and then I spend another two hours picking them up from school and going home again. If you take out the walking times, I spend about 3 hours a day on buses. And now I spend that time writing.

Not only am I starting to get pain in my hand because it's starting to cramp up from all the writing I am doing, but I miss chatting with the people I have gotten to know on the bus journeys. Add to that the fact that typing up, in the evening, everything I write in notebooks during the day, and my evening becomes mind-numbingly boring.

So I am finding myself making excuses to not write as much. I've already reached the 50,000 NaNoWriMo goal, so it has become one excuse I use, despite the fact that I know it's not enough to complete my book. "I'm tired" is frequent excuse I use, which, though true, is not a good enough reason to write less. The other excuse I use is that I don't have time. I've decided to only allow myself that excuse for the typing part of my writing and not the notebook writing and only if I don't then spend any time watching television or on Facebook, etc. It's only a valid excuse if I really am busy doing doing other necessary things all day.

So what excuses have you come up with during NaNoWriMo for not spending enough time writing? Are they legitimate? I'd love to hear them.


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One Week Into NaNoWriMo - Check In

Well, we are now seven days into National Novel Writing Month. this is my official check-in and I hope some of you will be willing to check-in by leaving a comment on how you are doing.


Last year, I blew past the 50,000 word count goal within 14 days. this year, I am trying to take it more slowly. Last year, I felt like I was going insane during those two weeks. the pressure to write all the time really started to get to me. this year, I still feel just as crazy, which I didn't think would happen with my slower pace.


I have written 15,385 words so far. I am averaging 2,197 words a day at this moment in time. At this rate, I will reach 50,000 words on November 22nd. If I keep up this pace, I will be at 65,916 words by November 30th. I might try and up that number to reach an even 70,000 words.


Here's a quick (and very unprofessional) synopsis of my story:


Marie is a single mom of four who finds herself helping a couple of guys who fight demons and spirits. She's blown away by meeting these guys and some of the creatures they hunt because it changes how she views her world and how safe she feels she can keep her children. She's not a demon hunter and has never before had any dealings with the paranormal; she's completely ordinary, or so she thinks until strange things start happening, suggesting she might have some inhuman powers of her own.


Please share in the comments about your word count so far and your story. How are you feeling about your progress at the moment? Do you like the story so far or do you already think it's terrible? (I'm caught somewhere between the two.)


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NaNoWriMo 2012!

Today is the beginning of National Novel Writing Month 2012.


Here is what the NaNoWriMo site has to say about their purpose:

National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing on November 1. The goal is to write a 50,000-word (approximately 175-page) novel by 11:59:59 PM on November 30.


Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved.


As you spend November writing, you can draw comfort from the fact that, all around the world, other National Novel Writing Month participants are going through the same joys and sorrows of producing the Great Frantic Novel. Wrimos meet throughout the month to offer encouragement, commiseration, and—when the thing is done—the kind of raucous celebrations that tend to frighten animals and small children.


In 2011, we had 256,618 participants and 36,843 of them crossed the 50K finish line by the midnight deadline, entering into the annals of NaNoWriMo superstardom forever. They started the month as auto mechanics, out-of-work actors, and middle school English teachers. They walked away novelists.

I have participated in NaNoWriMo for three previous years: 2009, 2010 and 2011. I've succeeded at it every year, usually going well over 50,000 words. Last year, I managed over 75,000 words, having reached the first 50,000 words in two weeks. (I wrote a blog post about how to write 50,000 words in 14 days.) I have not yet published a novel, but I have managed to create several short stories from my NaNoWriMo novels which I have been able to enter into competitions (with a only a few alterations to them) and I have even won some of those competitions.


Today, the first day of this year's NaNoWriMo, did not start out well. I have been sick for a couple of days now. Every muscle in my body has been aching and every movement I make hurts. I have a raging headache and a fever. I woke up today to find that my cats had made a huge mess of the litterbox, so my first act of the day was to clean out the very messy cat litterbox. Then my dog, apparently also ill today, had diarrhea all over the hallway floor which I had to clean up and then disinfect the floor. Then one of my sons wrote on my bedroom wall and that had to be cleaned up. Then my 6 year old started complaining that he felt cold. I checked his temperature and he was running a fever.


So basically, today sucked. However, despite all of this, I managed to spend some time this evening writing and I wrote 2,009 words of a new novel. Although I had been determined to plan ahead and outline my novel beforehand this year, I didn't actually decide on which story idea to use for NaNoWriMo until I sat down to write this evening. Now I am so excited about the story that I can't wait to get back to it!


And that, in essence, is what draws me back to NaNoWriMo every year, what keeps me writing my novels: The excitement of writing a new story, of being pulled into a new world that I get to create and meeting new characters who always seem to dictate to me where their story is going to take us.


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Writing: Blogging Momentum

This is my post for Day 28 of the Author Blog Challenge. (This is the final day of the challenge.)




What are you going to do to keep the blogging momentum going? What plans do you have to continue your connection with other Author Blog Challenge participants?


I am making plans to keep my blog momentum going, mainly, by continuing to post. I won't be posting every day, as I was doing for this challenge, but I intend to be posting once or twice a week, every week. Posting every day has eaten into my novel-writing time, so I don't want to be posting every day, but once or twice a week should be manageable.


Before doing the challenge, I was neglecting my blog and letting weeks go by without posting. That won't be happening any more. There are two blogs in my writing life that I intend to continue keeping updated and current, and those are this blog and my Skinny Dreaming blog. (I have over 20 blogs but not all of them are kept current.) The reason I want these two blogs to be kept current is that they are both about important aspects of my life: my writing and my fitness/healthy lifestyle. (My children are also super-important to me, and I have to admit that I have neglected my family blog for way too long.)

I have been building a list of topics for future blog posts to keep me posting more regularly. Having prompts has helped keep me posting, so I decided to create a bunch of "prompts" for myself to keep me full of ideas for posts for this blog.


I have joined a critique group with others from the Author Blog Challenge, and have connected with several members of the challenge on Facebook and Twitter as well. I'm really glad to have made these new friends who share my love of writing, and I hope we all can help one another.

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Writing: Book Subjects

This is my post for Day 26 of the Author Blog Challenge.




What is/will be the subject of your next book?

I am still writing several books, so I will list them, giving you a brief insight into the stories/themes of the ones I am working on the most right now. (The rest will just be listed.) The titles are all just working titles at the moment. I must admit that my synopsis of these stories will not be very good right now. I am writing this late at night and not putting as much thought into them as I should. I will try and come back at a later date and spend more time getting these written in a more attractive way.


Follow the Moon - This one is a werewolf story. The main character finds herself waking up, injured, in an alley with no recollection of what happened. She is rescued by a stranger who has a good idea of what happened to her. But can she trust this man who claims to be a werewolf? And can she accept her new existence while trying to find out what happened to her on the night that changed everything?

Walking With the Dead - This is about a girl who starts seeing ghosts. The ghosts she sees are malevolent and creepy, but there is a reason; there is a sickness plaguing the ghost realm, and it is up to Janie to find a cure before it crosses into her own realm. While she tries to find a cure, the ghosts try to make her a permanent part of their realm.


The Thinning of the Veil - This is a story about the veil between dimensions growing thinner. One girl can see the creatures that come through the dimension and fight them. Together with her vision-seeing friend and twin friends with gifts of their own, she has to fight to save her world before anything else gets through and before anyone else finds themselves crossing into the wrong dimension.


The Magic Necklace - This is a children's chapter book. A young girl finds a necklace in her attic and starts hearing the thoughts of others. But is that the extent of her powers? And why is the man she overhears plotting a burglary following her?


Skinny Dreaming - This is my non-fiction book about healthy living. It's a diet and fitness guide that is also full of inspiration and even some healthy recipes.


Come Dance With Us - This started off as a flash fiction story, but I enjoyed the story so much that I have continued the story and intend for it to be a full length novel. A young woman finds herself dancing with the fairies, caught in their spell for three nights. But when she gets home, she finds out that the fairies are not so eaily left behind.

Just listing the rest:

Dream Walker -

Extraordinary Magic -

Creating Magic -

Enchanting Rose -

Story Magic -

Fire Starter -

Lady of Shadows -


Ordinary Magic -


Keisha & the Flight of Dragons -

Cat's Eye -

The Guardian -

McKay's Might -



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Writing: Acknowledgement Pages

This is my post for Day 25 of the Author Blog Challenge.


Time for some shout-outs. This may mimic your acknowledgement page, but whom would you like to publicly thank for their help in creating your book or completing it to the point where it is presently?


My books aren't finished yet, so this will be a more detailed list when they are complete. Also, my acknowledgements page will be different for my different books.

I will be thanking my husband for putting up with all of the itme I spend writing and for his help brainstorming during our walks at night. I will be thanking my children for constantly being sources of inpsiration for me. I will be thanking my friend Barbara Mack for believing in me and giving me that push to believe in myself. I will be thanking my writing critique group, the Swindon Free Writers, for their helpful adivce and critiques of my writing. I will be thanking all of my on-line friends on Facebook, Twitter and Triberr for their support, and I will be thanking my blog followers as well. When it comes to my children's chapter book, I will have to thank all of the members of my Chapter Book Challenge Facebook group for their support and encouragement.

As I mentioned previously, this list will be longer and more detailed once my book sare actually finished and ready for publication.


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Writing: Treating Your Book As a Business

This is my post for day 24 of the Author Blog Challenge.



photo copyright Slimming World/PAUL BULLER
If your goal is to sell books, you must view your book as a business. In what ways do you treat your book as a business? Where could you improve? What resources could you leverage to improve your book business?


The main way that I treat my book(s) as a business is by spending a certain amount of hours dedicated to my writing every day. Well, I intend for it to be hours, but really it ends up being one hour if I'm lucky. I spend enough time for it to be equivalent to a part-time business. Ideally, I would be able to sit down each morning at 9:00am and spend that time focusing on my book(s) until lunch time and then again after lunch time, so that I would be spending a proper work day writing and marketing my book(s).


What really happens is that I get up in the morning and get my kids ready for school. I then spend two hours of my morning taking my kids to school and getting home again. Is that when I sit down to write? No. That's when I spend the 90 minutes on my elliptical crosstrainer that my body requires to maintain the weight I am at, and then spend another 20 minutes showering. Is that when I sit down to write? No, that's when I start a load of laundry and wipe down the kitchen table from the mess the children left while having breakfast that morning. I make myself lunch and a coffee. Then I sit and get about 30 minutes of writing done and answer a few e-mails before I have to get ready to spend the next 2 hours picking my children up from school and getting home again. Then I am busy making dinner, serving dinner, eating dinner and getting the kids ready for bed.  Once the children go to bed, if things are going my way, I can sit down to write for an hour or two. (It's getting to the point where my husband is starting to feel as though we have no time together.)



photo copyright Worldwide Media

I have found a sort-of compromise by carrying a small notebook with me on the bus each morning and afternoon during the school runs and getting some writing done during the bus trips. Typing up what I have already written takes less time than typing while thinking up what to write, so typing it up later actually saves me some time. And I even get a brief bit of editing done while I type my handwritten stories into the computer.

I do spend some of my writing time on social media. This is a necessary part of "treating my book as a business", because if no one on-line knows who I am, my book is starting out at a deficit when it comes to getting people to find out about it.  I have many friends who will plug my book when it is completed, and I have plenty of Facebook friends and Twitter followers to help me get the word out about it when the time comes.


The resource that I have to leverage and that I am finding the hardest time with is time. I am having to make time that I wouldn't otherwise have by prioritizing my writing. The other resources I have are my many on-line friends who are amazing and giving and always willing to help one another. The other resources I have in regards to my health and fitness non-fiction book are that I have a following on my Skinny Dreaming blog and it's Facebook page, I have the experience of losing over 145 lbs, I have been featured for my weight loss in several magazines and national newspapers and I have been on TV twice to discuss aspects of my weight loss.

I just wish I had written my book before all of the media exposure, so I could have plugged my book at the time!


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Writing: The Hollywood Version of My Book

This is my post for Day 23 of the Author Blog Challenge.




If a Hollywood agent were to come knocking on your door with an offer to turn your book into a movie and told you that you could call all the shots, who would you have direct and star in it? Write the first paragraph of Roger Ebert’s review of your film.

I'm not sure I can do this challenge properly. First of all, it has been too many years since I have heard Roger Ebert review a film, so I have no idea what he would say if he liked a film. Maybe that's because I live in the UK now and have for the past 11 years.

The only person I would want directing a film based on of my books would be Joss Whedon. I'm a massive fan of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series. I enjoyed the Angel series. And I have recently discovered the Firefly series and found that I adore the show (and liked the film Serenity too). One of the newest films out right now that my husband and I went to see was The Avengers and we LOVED it. It had so much humor mixed in with the more serious moments of the film, all combined with adventure and action, so that we had more fun watching it than any movie we have seen in a very long time.  Another reason I would want Joss Whedon to direct it would be the fact that my books, both the YA and the adult, are based in the paranormal genre.


I don't know who I would have star in my film, but I don't think I would want it to be the big name actors and actresses that everyone knows, even if well-known names create a bigger draw. I would want them to be actors and actresses who were amazing at portraying the emotions of their characters. But I would want some new faces. I'd want my story to give someone new and talented their chance to shine.

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Writing: Book Signings

This is my post for Day 22 of the Author Blog Challenge.

Describe your first book signing – real or imagined.

For me, this book signing will have to be imagined. I have to have a completed book before I get a book signing set up. What kind of book signing it would be would depend on which of my books it was focused on. I have novels that are aimed at adult women, YA and books aimed at children of various ages. I also have a non-fiction book being worked on. So which one would it be?

A part of me thinks that doing a book signing for one of my children's picture books, because of the props, would be more fun, especially because I love children. Children, unlike most adults, can usually be counted on to come up with something to say that will make me laugh, said in a way that only children could say it. Adults tend to be way more circumspect about their conversation.


Ideally, whether a book signing for children or adults, there would be a lot of interest in it and a nice crowd of people (although I somehow doubt that is likely for most book signings). While I'm talking about a dream book signing, I guess I would also need a Hollywoood movie producer to arrive in the store to implore me to let them buy the rights to make a movie of my book. *wink*


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Writing: Advice for Writers

This is my post for Day 21 of the Author Blog Challenge.




What is the single best piece of advice you’ve ever received about the publishing process and/or would advice would you offer to a first-time author?


I'm not really sure how to answer this one. I suppose the best piece of advice would be from all of the authors out there who have repeated the phrase, "Don't give up." I've heard many published authors say that their writing was rejected many times before finding a publisher who loved it. And other authors have mentioned not being able to find a traditional publisher who would take their story on but later becoming quite successful at self-publishing, despite the lack of interest from traditional publishers.


If I was going to give advice to a first time author, here are the three things I would say:

1. Believe in yourself and in your writing. Even when you are struggling to find the words, even when no one else seems to appreciate what you are writing, believe in yourself. You can write the story you have in your head if you are willing to work at it and willing to believe in yourself.

2. Learn everything you can about the craft of writing and be patient with yourself while you learn. No one creates a masterpiece without some missteps. No one finds perfection without first practicing their art. Read everything you can get your hands on within your genre. Write daily, even if you need a break from your story and end up writing something completely different for an evening. Go to writers' conferences. Talk to other authors. Read about the craft of writing and practice what you are learning.

3. Be willing to work for your dream. Writing, editing, marketing our books, it can all be a lot of hard work. But dreaming about writing a book isn't going to get your book written. Thinking about your story isn't going to get it typed for you. Talking to others about your novel isn't going to get the novel finished. Sure, you can come up with fresh ideas by dreaming, thinking and talking about your story. But if you want to have something publishable, you are going to have to sit your butt in a chair and start writing your story.

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