Heart Chatter Re-Release

Two distinct voices, two stories interwoven within the walls of family and love.

Abby needs some magic in her life, along with a white knight, respectful children, and an exciting career plan. Instead she is drowning in unfulfilled expectations, disappointments, and unmet needs. What she doesn't expect is to find the true essence of magic in the strength, friendship, power, and energy of the female spirit found in her mother and her mother's zany group of friends. Krista cannot believe it's happening again. Her father waltzes in and announces another move. And what does her mother do? Nothing. Don't they realize she's almost thirteen, and this could mean the end of her life? In the midst of teenage melodrama, she is determined to survive a new school, defeat the annoyances of two scene-stealing sisters, and deal with out-of-touch parents. Yet she quickly realizes the double-edged sword of growing up.

A Little More About Heart Chatter (Depression Cookies #1)

2011 Readers Favorite Book Awards, Silver Realistic Fiction and Finalist Chick Lit
2011 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, Finalist Chick Lit

Amazon Ebook

Amazon Paperback 

Tia Silverthorne Bach has been married to her college sweetheart for twenty years, has three beautiful girls, and adores living in sunny California. Her daughters were born in Chicago, San Diego, and Baltimore; and she feels fortunate to have called many places home. She believes in fairy tales and happy endings and is an avid reader and rabid grammar hound.
She is an award-winning, multi-genre author and an Editor for Indie Books Gone Wild. From an early age, she escaped into books and believes they can be the source of healing and strength. If she’s not writing, you can find her on the tennis court, at the movies, reading a good book, or spooning Jif peanut butter right out of the jar.


Angela Beach Silverthorne I was born in West Point, Georgia, but hail Eastern North Carolina as home. Writing has always been a part of my life. As soon as I could hold a pencil, I was writing. I’m a firm believer that reading and writing go hand-in-hand. I devour books in all genres, but I love stories that focus on reality within families. I want it to be real, even if it’s messy and painful. That’s real.

In 1970, I married my teenage sweetheart, Dallas. Our family has grown from three daughters to three wonderful sons-in-law and nine grandchildren. In the large bulk of time between marriage, family and retirement, we moved ten times. I’ve worked various jobs—fifteen years with Hospice; ten with Literacy; six with Habitat for Humanity; three as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for neglected, abused and abandoned youth; and as a Director of a preschool for at-risk children. I have served with Pamlico Emmaus, taught Sunday school and written countless Bible studies. My joy is teaching seniors who actually end up teaching me. Isn’t that the way God truly intends it?

Between all the moves and a full life, I’ve always craved learning. I attended five colleges, finally graduating from the State University of New York, Albany, with an English degree. Every school I attended, I'd fall in love with a new discipline—accounting, microbiology, creative writing, Shakespearean studies, or Young Adult Literature. Each of these were tentative, a hobby.  My lifelong learning has been within the Word of God.  That's my passion.

Like most people, life has thrown me into a lot of deep pits, health crisis, death, anger, frustration and insecurity. In each of these seasons of life, I have grown to realize that all my effort and angst did nothing to ease me through them. Only waiting on God’s timing, trusting in His plan, and working in His kingdom helped me maneuver through these hard times. Trust me, nothing prepares you more to be a comfort to others than the trials and sufferings you have been through and will experience. It gives life credibility.  It braids your life to others.  What a joy to know if we allow God to use us, he will take every struggle and heartache, and turn it into glory for Him. 

You can find out more about Angela by visiting her website or follow her on Facebook.

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Chasing Eternity (Tala Prophecy, Book 4) — publication date: 5/26/16

Heart Chatter Cover Reveal & Winners Announced

Thanks to all the amazing people who shared about my giveaways. It was such fun. I only wish I could give a prize to all the awesome readers and supporters out there. Thank you so much!

As promised, today I'm sharing the cover for Heart Chatter. 

Heart Chatter is the rebrand of my first novel, Depression Cookies, co-authored with my mom. It's a book very close to my heart, and it will be re-released March 25, which is my 21st wedding anniversary.

Mom and I hope to release its sequel later this year.

Without further ado...

About Heart Chatter

Two distinct voices, two stories interwoven within the walls of family and love.

Abby needs some magic in her life, along with a white knight, respectful children, and an exciting career plan. Instead she is drowning in unfulfilled expectations, disappointments, and unmet needs. What she doesn't expect is to find the true essence of magic in the strength, friendship, power, and energy of the female spirit found in her mother and her mother's zany group of friends. Krista cannot believe it's happening again. Her father waltzes in and announces another move. And what does her mother do? Nothing. Don't they realize she's almost thirteen, and this could mean the end of her life? In the midst of teenage melodrama, she is determined to survive a new school, defeat the annoyances of two scene-stealing sisters, and deal with out-of-touch parents. Yet she quickly realizes the double-edged sword of growing up.

2011 Readers Favorite Book Awards, Silver Realistic Fiction & Finalist Chick Lit
2011 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, Finalist Chick Lit

A huge thanks to the awesome Jo Michaels for the gorgeous cover (including the original image). 

*****

Congrats to the winners of the Reader Appreciation Event:

Day 1: Monique Ruttlen
Day 2: Jamie Sexton
Day 3: Connie East
Day 4: Madelynn Wilde
Day 5: Linda Trinklein
Newsletter Subscriber Winner: Sandi Bednarksky

Goals for ROW80 Round One

Do you know what I did in the first few days of 2014?

Hopefully curiosity pulled you through to the next sentence... I sent Chasing Shadows (Tala Prophecy, Book 2) to my editor and a few beta readers. *squeals while dancing*

This excitement leads me to announcing my goals for Round One of A Round of Words in 80 Days (ROW80). For those who don't know about ROW80, it's the writing challenge that knows you have a life. To that end, participants set realistic goals and continually re-examine and adjust them in response to Life's machinations.

Round One Goals

* While waiting for beta comments and edits, I am going to write Chasing Forgiveness (Tala Prophecy, Book 2.5), a novella based on a character in Chasing Shadows. Hoping to join some #ROW80 wordsprints (2pm EST) for inspiration.

* Publish website.

* Put Depression Cookies on Smashwords (I'm embarrassed that I haven't done this yet).

* Increase my social media presence. The last quarter of 2013 left me struggling to find time to visit and comment on blogs and participate on Facebook and Twitter. Some of it was a lack of time, but a huge part was burnout. I hope to find a nice social media balance in 2014.

* Reach a minimum of 10,000 steps a day. I need to have an exercise goal. Since my husband got a Fit Bit for Christmas, I am making sure he and I achieve this minimum daily. I also plan to recommit to running and some Jillian Michaels tapes.

* A goal for the year: I heard about this challenge where you write a handwritten letter a week to someone who's important to you. I'm in (thanks for sharing the idea, Beth!). 

Wishing everyone good luck with their new goals! 

Pulling It Together: ROW80 Round 4 Goals

2013 has been a blur. I published my second book and first young adult novel, and my family and I moved from Maryland to California. My goals, both personal and professional, have been all over the place and always changing this year.

Round 4 is an opportunity for me to pull it all together and head into 2014 with momentum and a sense of purpose and achievement.

But before I state my goals, I wanted to share a great post by Julie Glover. A Round of Words in 80 Days (ROW80) has brought some amazing people into my life. Julie is one of those. If you don't follow her blog, please do. She's funny, always willing to share, and a fellow word nerd.

Yesterday, Julie shared her goals along with tips for choosing them: Tips for Choosing Writing Goals. Some of her findings...

* You should include goals in multiple areas of your life.
* Goals should be SMART (her post details the acronym).
* Consider your values when determining goals.
* Keep it simple.

Then she shared some goal strategies from the book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It's a book I have not read. But based on Julie's recommendation, I ordered it and will read it this round. I've been a bit scattered this year, so now is a great time.

Thanks, Julie. Please check out her post for some inspiration.

My Round 4 ROW80 Goals

* Write 1,000 words a day Monday through Thursday through October 31. Then, I plan to join NaNoWriMo. I did NaNo last year, and I found it focused me to keep writing first in my to do list. For that challenge, I need to complete 50,000 words in the month of November.

* I will attend #ROW80 word sprints (2:00pm EST on Twitter) at least three days a week. More if I can. This supports my writing goal.

* Finish 25 books to meet my GoodReads reading goal of 100 books this year.

I'm going to keep the main goals simple. But if my reading and writing goals are met for each day:

* Perform my ROW80 sponsorship duties.
* Visit blogs and be social on Twitter and Facebook.
* Write reviews and share book news here and on Mom in Love with Fiction.
* Put Depression Cookies on Smashwords (it's ready, I'm behind).
* Get my author website up and running (in process).
* Editing.

And finally, I will exercise at least 3-4 times a week. I started to put a focus on family goal, but that is always number one and will supersede everything here. Round 4 is always a bit tricky with Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I am focused.

Whatever your goals may be, I wish you well.

And for those of you who don't know about ROW80. From the website:

A Round of Words in 80 Days is the writing challenge that knows you have a life.

We are all different and we all have different demands on our time.  Why should we all have the same goal?  The simple answer is that we shouldn’t.  If you want to be a writer, then you have to be able to roll with the punches and adapt to your changing circumstances.  If that means changing your goals when your life blows up, so be it.  ROW80 is the challenge that champions the marriage of writing and real life.

Girl Power -- Why Female Characters Appeal to Me

In my first book, Depression Cookies, the main character is a sassy thirteen-year-old who struggles to find her groove in a constantly changing environment (multiple moves). She's also faced with supporting a friend, Alyssa, who is wasting away to nothing as she fights anorexia.

In Chasing Memories, seventeen-year-old Reagan's world is turned upside down when she survives a horrible accident and her brother doesn't. Beyond the pain and suffering of loss, she is caught in the middle of her mother and grandmother and their different ways to help her heal. To further complicate her life, her dreams are hinting at more than a simple accident.

What both books have in common... strong female main characters.

As both a writer and a reader, I'm most intrigued with young adult female characters. Men are great, too, but I have a more intimate knowledge of women's choices, hopes, dreams, and power.

First, I am a woman. But more than that, I am the oldest of three sisters and the mother to three daughters. I live and breathe female strength. I have an amazing mother and was fortunate to know both her mother and her grandmother--both women way ahead of their time with strength coursing through their veins.

They say you should write what you know. Women are complicated creatures, beautifully so, so I can't say I "know" everything about them. But, I have had a lot of experience and I'm constantly challenged to want to know more. After all, I'm responsible for growing three strong women.

Today, I just wanted to share some of these women.

My Mom, Dad and 2 sisters

My husband and three daughters

My parents with their 8 granddaughters
 

What inspires your characters? What characters speak to you as a reader?

Kicking Off Blogathon: Day 1

Wow. June 1 snuck up on me. The first day of the month should never start on a Saturday. It's too confusing.

If only I ran the world.

Today is the start of my third time participating in Michelle Rafter's WordCount Blogathon.

I'm so excited to interact with old friends and meet new ones.

For my new friends, a few hats I wear...

Mom
I am mom to three wonderful girls (ages 13, 11 & 8). As moms know, this "hat" could have a subcategory that included: chauffeur, cook, maid, counselor, soother, personal trainer, tutor, caretaker, boogeyman-wrangler, and countless other responsibilities. *smiles*

Wife
I have been married for 18 years to an amazing man. I'd follow him anywhere. Literally, I have followed him anywhere. Each of my kids was born in a different state, and we are now in the process of moving to CA.

Writer
My first YA novel, Chasing Memories, just became available in paperback (Kindle coming soon). I also co-authored an award-winning novel, Depression Cookies, with my mom.

Editor
I have edited two published novels and am working on several others. I am an editor at Indie Books Gone Wild. Some amazing folks over there, so be sure to check it out.

Blogger
I've been blogging since late 2010, and my first attempt at 30 days of straight blogging was my first Blogathon in May 2011. Lately, I've been in a bit of slump. 

I'm so looking forward to a fun month. Hopefully the rest of my posts will be a little more timely. Pressing publish at 11:32pmEST is cutting it a bit too close!

Radio Shows, Destiny & Moving Vans: ROW80 Update

Today, I'm excited to be on my friend Sandi Tuttle's BlogTalkRadio show: An Average Woman in a Superwoman World. Check out the interview here at 11:00am EST. I'll be talking about mothers and daughters as well as the novel I co-wrote with my mom, Depression Cookies. Oh, and I'll mention my upcoming release, Chasing Memories.

Normally, doing live radio makes me a wreck. But Sandi is amazing. She makes you feel like you are sitting in her lovely home having a conversation.

It's a great way to kick off my week, especially since my Chasing Memories cover reveal tour starts this Thursday, 5/23 and runs through Thursday, 5/30. If you can help spread the world, please visit my sign up form.

*****

Writers helping each other is such an important component of A Round of Words in 80 Days (ROW80). Fellow participant, Juliana Haygert, recently released Destiny Gift and it's on sale for two weeks (began 5/18/13) for $0.99.

A little information...

DESTINY GIFT

Genre: NA paranormal romance
Word Count: 73,000
Release date: April 1st, 2013

Thirty years in the future, a sinister New York City exists in permanent darkness.

A student at the secured NYU, nineteen-year-old Nadine has visions of Victor Gianni, an imaginary guy she has real feelings for. Afraid of being truly insane, she explains the visions away as simple daydreams, but she can no longer deny them when she bumps into Victor in real life. But this Victor doesn’t know her, and turns her away. After the encounter, Nadine’s visions change to those of eerie fates, gods she’s never heard of, demons with sharp claws they are not too timid to use … and instructions.

To discover if she’s losing her mind, Nadine follows the vague directions—with the real, rude and reluctant Victor—leading to a man who knows it all: Nadine can restore an ancient creed by unveiling the clues on her visions, and bring sunlight and peace to the world again. But that’s only if the demons and the other evil forces behind the darkness don’t stop her first.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Smashwords |  Apple | Createspace | Goodreads | Pinterest Board

Get it while it's $0.99!

*****

My writing and personal life are colliding right now. Chasing Memories is set to release on 6/10/13, the same day the moving van pulls up to my house. Isn't that just the way it works? 

So, I will be using all my energy this summer breathing life into two new experiences... a newly published book and a new place to live. Wish me luck!

I have been a bit absent on social media lately, but I plan to catch up on my blog reading early this week. I look forward to seeing what everyone's been up to!

No Frittering Away: ROW80 Round 2 Goals

Round 1 was a whirlwind. Goals and Life struggled. For the most part, Life won.

With a cross-country move imminent and living my life mostly as a single parent (hubby comes home for three days every three weeks), I need to simplify and prioritize.

Our life is frittered away by detail… Simplify, simplify. Henry Thoreau

So, let's get to it...

My A Round of Words in 80 Days (ROW80) Round 2 Goals

First, a quick recap (from the ROW80 blog): A Round of Words in 80 Days is the writing challenge that knows you have a life. We are all different and we all have different demands on our time. Why should we all have the same goal? The simple answer is that we shouldn’t. If you want to be a writer, then you have to be able to roll with the punches and adapt to your changing circumstances. If that means changing your goals when your life blows up, so be it. ROW80 is the challenge that champions the marriage of writing and real life. 

Now, my goals...

• Publish Chasing Memories -- finish editing, cover design, formatting, and all other pieces to the publishing puzzle
• Survive the A to Z Blog Challenge -- stay ahead of posts by at least four days (the first five days are done)
• Map out the sequel to Chasing Memories
• Make significant progress on the follow-up to Depression Cookies

Wishing everyone the best with their goals this Round. 

*****

I spent the last week with my family in Duck, NC--one of my favorite places on Earth. I wanted to share the view on my walk yesterday evening.

Nine-Year-Old Wisdom: ROW80 Update

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all!

It seemed fitting to find some writing relevant Irish sayings to share today. 

❝Always remember to forget, the friends that proved untrue. But never forget to remember those that have stuck by you!

❝A life making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing at all.

❝The future is not set, there is no fate but what we make for ourselves.

My writing friends have proven true, and I so appreciate their support and encouragement. Without them, I would still be in the writing closet. And I wouldn't know how to remedy those darn mistakes that make my life so honorable.

This weekend, my daughters and I started decluttering--preparing our house to go on the market (for our big move to San Francisco, CA). One of the girls found a writing piece I did back in 1982. In the author profile section was the following:

That made my day! Notice, too, that editing was also in my future.

What is something that has recently reaffirmed your choices in life?

And now, my A Round of World in 80 Days (ROW80) Update...

Only ten days to go this round. My main goal for this round was to get Chasing Memories to an editor. Done! But, I also wanted to focus on the Depression Cookies follow-up, but this one is still hanging. It will be a major focus of Round 2.

When I started this Round, a lot was up in the air for my family. My husband had been out of work since late October. Mid-February he flew to San Francisco to interview... by March 11, he was out there. It's going to be crazy to stay focused on my writing with a major move coming, but I'm hoping with some ROW80 encouragement, I can do just that.

But I am starting to freak out about the Blogging from A to Z challenge. I have to get some posts written. I loved this challenge last year, but I wasn't...

A) In the middle of publishing a book

B) Moving cross-country

I need to really focus on prioritizing goals for Round 2. Hope you'll all stick with me through the insanity! I hate to quit something once I've committed.

Oh, and if you missed my proposition for an online "dating" site to unite writers and readers, please check it out: Logophile... Matching Readers & Writers.

Painting an Image: IWSG & ROW80

It's the first Wednesday of the month and time for my Insecure Writer's Support Group post. A huge thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh for putting together this group. I appreciate the opportunity to share my insecurities on the #IWSG therapy couch.

When I set out to write a book, I thought the hardest part would be over once I held the finished copy in my hands. Little did I know how much time and effort I would put into marketing my book. 

My first book, Depression Cookies, was women's fiction. I wanted to present an authentic version of myself, as a woman, in order to gain readers' trust and create an online writing community. To that end, I often post pictures of my kids and talk about women's issues. It's been very fulfilling to connect with women.

However, my second release will be a young adult novel. Creating an author platform for younger teenagers to young adults feels like a completely different challenge, leaving me with several perplexing considerations.

Will young adult readers be turned off by too much of a mother image/older woman? 
Although it pains me to say older as a new 40 year old! I know my teenager, and avid YA reader, would be completely unimpressed with an author talking about women's issues and posting quips from her kids.

Should I use a pen name to differentiate between the two genres I write? 
My mom and I are currently writing the follow up to Depression Cookies, so I will continue to have a presence in women's fiction. 

My author name for that series is Tia Silverthorne Bach, since my mom is also listed as a co-author. I want readers to immediately see our connection. For my YA series, I had planned to use Tia Bach. But should I go for something completely different?

Does all of this leave me creating two distinct blogs?
Here, I often admit what an out of touch dork I am. Wouldn't YA readers want to think I'm at least an in touch dork, with little emphasis on the dork? 

Here I talk about insecurity, writing dilemmas, etc. Heck, look at my color scheme. I've noticed almost all YA authors have dark backgrounds, and mine is just screaming wholesome, clean cut writer.

It's not like the time fairy will visit to bless me with more hours in a day just because I have two books out in two different genres.

What's a confused author to do?

*****

It's Wednesday, and time for another A Round of Words in 80 Days (ROW80) update...

Writing: Slow progress here, because most of my time has been spent on edits. Plus, the kids are home for a snow day today. First real snow in the last two years. Sometimes, Mama comes first.

Editing: Waist-deep in edits on Chasing Memories. Off to Jo Michaels for editing on Friday. So excited to hit send and get on the road to publishing.

Blogging: Currently posting daily for the Winter Author Blog Challenge (WABC), then it's back to my MWF schedule until the Blogging from A to Z Challenge starts April 1. Who's joining me for that one?

@@@ And thanks to some things I'm learning with the WABC, I created an author Facebook page (before I had a Depression Cookies page). Please go and like if you are so inclined. Thanks! @@@

Reading: Posting reviews at least twice a week on Mom in Love with Fiction, but my TBR list grows daily. Maybe I'll convince the girls that a snow day is an excellent Family Read Day.

Wishing all my author friends countless words and minimal insecurities today!

Is Visual Marketing Key?: WABC, Day 6

Day 6 of the Winter Author Blog Challenge (WABC), and I have a to do list a mile long. 

I set up my blog in late 2010 and after my first book was published. I didn't know anything about an author platform, had never heard of Twitter, had a Facebook account to post pictures of my too-cute children, and occasionally visited YouTube to watch a video of other people's too-cute children.

Although I know I've come a long way since then, I realize (especially with the prompts this week) how much more I can utilize social media.

Today's prompt...

With more than 800 million unique visitors a month, YouTube is one of the most popular search engines. Do you have a YouTube channel? 

Have you made a book trailer for your book? If not, what kind of book trailer would you like to make for your book? Do you have a video camera? If you do and you’re not posting short videos, you’re missing out on a huge marketing opportunity. 

It’s especially useful if you’re trying to reach a global audience, as 70 percent of YouTube viewers are in countries other than the U.S. 

I don't even like to take pictures, much less subject myself to being on video. Do I realize the importance of book trailers? Yes. I plan to do one for my YA release this year, and maybe one of these days I'll go back and do one for Depression Cookies. However, I think certain genres (YA for instance) do better as book trailers than others.

Do I think readers want to see every facial expression an author possesses shown on a less than flattering screen? No. 

Early in my Depression Cookies marketing, I did an interview via a You Tube video. It took me several, thanks to nerves and never knowing exactly where to look. But in the end I was pretty happy with it.

Check it out...

If there were more hours in the day, I would love to play with book trailer ideas. The ones that are done well are an asset, but I've seen some that actually turned me off the book. 

The second part of today's prompt...

If regular video posts are still on your To-Do list, what are some of the most clever video posts you’ve seen, and how might you do something similar to promote your books or yourself as an author?

Honesty is the best policy, right?

I go to YouTube for entertainment. Often I hop over from someone's FB post touting the "funniest thing I've ever seen." Typically, there's a baby or animal involved. 

Again, it comes down to time limits. If an author has a video embedded in a post, I often skip it and only read the content. I'm a fast reader, and I have a lot of blogs I like to get to. If I see that a video is short (less than a minute), I'm more apt to watch than longer ones. Feel free to ignore that last bit and watch the 3 minute video above. *smiles*

After all, I don't think anyone wants a bunch of authors doing the Harlem shake. (And I only know about things like this thanks to having a teenager.)

What videos do you watch on YouTube?

Rocking Writer, Tweet Tweet Tweet: Author Blog Challenge & ROW80 Update

Welcome to Day Three of my Winter Author Blog Challenge journey. Today's prompt...

Are you on Twitter? Perhaps more than any of the other social media platforms, Twitter has developed its own language. Tweets. Twitterverse. Retweet. Are you invested in the lingo? So how do you make a statement in 140 characters? Are you following more people or are more people following you? How do you decide whom to follow? Do you reciprocate and automatically follow back everyone who follows you? What kinds of things do you post? How often do you post? What advice do you have for those who are just getting started? 

Admitting I'm a dork is nothing new, so it should come as no shock that I can't think of Twitter without humming Rocking Writer (makes more sense than robin for me), Tweet Tweet Tweet.  Every time I go on Twitter this little ditty plays in my head.

When I first started on Twitter, which I did in May 2011 as part of the first blogathon I ever joined, I was lost. What would I tweet? Would anyone care?

I may not be hip with the lingo, but I like the format. It forces brevity and makes users rely on words... pictures aren't as easily shared on Twitter as they are on FB (unless I'm missing something). I'm more of a word girl than a picture girl, go figure.

Hating to hurt anyone's feelings, I initially followed EVERYONE who followed me. But I found this made my Twitter feed a mess of stuff I didn't want to read. So now I look into the people that follow me and follow back those I find interesting. As of today, I have 1088 followers and follow 1011. Clearly I find most people interesting!

My favorite part about Twitter are word sprints. My #ROW80 buddies do a #teamsprinty sprint weekdays at 2pmEST (or at least I hope they still do... I need to get back in the habbit). There's also #wordmongering (jump on and see who is writing). I LOVE these! And I just discovered #editmongering... hold me back!

For those just getting started, I would jump into these types of hashtags and get to know people. It'll make tweeting fun! Also, search for authors who have written books you love and see what their tweets are like. If you write a certain genre, follow authors in that genre. Now that I've started writing YA, I'm looking in to different YA authors and their followers.

Most of all, have fun with it, in 140 characters or less of course.

*****

Now for my Sunday A Round of Words in 80 Days (ROW80) update (which is actually on Sunday this week because I have a guest post running tomorrow)...

Writing: Attended a writing conference this weekend. So stoked to get back to writing with a brain full of tips, strategies, and enthusiasm. I'll post more from the Pamlico Writer's Conference soon, but I had to share my wonderful news... 

I won first place in the YA writing contest!! *jumping up and down*

Editing: I'm applying my editor's comments and suggestions from the prologue and chapter 1 to the rest of the book. These edits will be sent on Friday, so no excuses!

Blogging: Posting every day until March 15 for the Winter Author Blog Challenge, and then back to my MWF schedule until the Blogging from A to Z Challenge starts April 1.

Reading: Lots lately! Check out Mom in Love with Fiction for reviews.