Monday, September 3, 2012

GUTGAA Blogfest September 2012 Meet & Greet #GUTGAA

GUTGAA 2012

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.

16 comments:

VikLit said...

Great post! You sound very motivated, with many projects going on. Good luck with them.

Unknown said...

Good to meet you. Love Good Earth's Sweet & Spicy, too. Congrats on the taking care of your health and best wishes on the path to publication. ^_^

Jacob Chastain said...

You write at might!!?? lol I used to be able to, but once I discovered early mornings my output increased. Always like to hear how people work. Glad to meet you

Stephsco said...

What a great story -- congratulations on your weight loss. And your 7 children! You must know a thing or two about dedication to write with all the activity in your household.

good luck with GUTGAA!

Here's my GUTGAA Meet & Greet: A Girl and Her Diary

Carrie-Anne said...

Congratulations on losing so much weight! That's a huge accomplishment. Having seven kids must keep you busy. My primary rabbi and rebbetzin also have seven kids so far, six girls and one boy.

Michelle 4 Laughs said...

Nice to meet you. I don't know how you do it. Juggle so many projects, I mean. I like to stick with one at a time.

There are quite a few folks living in the UK in this contest. I feel very international.

Dawn Allen said...

Wow, I don't know where to start; the weight loss (Congratulations!) or those kids (WOW! I thought 2 would kill me). Totally impressed. Looking forward to finding out more about you and your writing.

Johana Vera said...

Hi from Paraguay! Inspiring post, and your advice is one of the best I've read at the Meet and Greet so far (and they are all awesome, BTW)
Looking forward to reading you around :)

Johana Vera said...

I literally have no idea where my previous comment went. Anyway, lovely to meet you.
Read you around :)

Anonymous said...

Great bio! Seven kids, wow. I have three and think I lost my sanity a while ago. Nice to meet you.

Alleged Author said...

I absolutely love root beer. Yum! I'm your newest follower. Very nice to meet you!

AA
http://anallegedauthor.blogspot.com/

Kelley Lynn said...

Oh man, my drink of choice is Cherry Coke Zero. I've got an IV for that stuff ;)

So nice to meet you!

Jenny said...

Congratulations on all your successes already! I also love Good Earth tea. I'd never had it until I moved to California two years ago, but now I'm obsessed! How do they get it to taste so sweet without sugar? Magic, obviously.

jennymherrera.com
jennymherrera@wordpress.com

Jeannette said...

I'm still picking my jaw up about the 7 children. Congratulations on not being a total basketcase - I would be. :) Nice to meet you, and good luck!

Liana Brooks said...

I'm blown away that you can find time to write with seven children, I have far fewer and find my day fills up beyond reason half the time. Good for you!

Jessica L. Celaya said...

Oh believing in yourself is very important. Excellent tip. Sounds like you are very busy which is great. Good luck with your writing.