One Page at a Time: IWSG Update

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 and to read how others are doing.

We've all heard the saying... one day at a time. But I'm starting this year with a slight variation... one page at a time.

Looking back on 2012, I can best describe it as wildly fluctuating. I'd have stellar months of focus and achievement followed by days (okay, weeks) of complete withdrawal. I was like a small puppy, either full steam ahead or collapsed in a corner.

I completed NaNoWriMo, but barely wrote at all in the months preceding. I completed three daily blog challenges in a row April through June, and then lost steam and struggled to keep a three-day-a-week schedule. Plus, 2012 was a rough year personally... my husband lost his job (and is still looking) and my daughter was diagnosed with EE (Eosinophilic Esophagitis). Neither helped keep me balanced.

Yesterday, I took some time to consider my New Year's Resolutions. Every year, I overwhelm myself with the idea that change is the only solution. Sometimes, it's just about sticking with what you know works and doesn't work.

So back to my one page at a time theory...

We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day. Edith Lovejoy Pierce

Each page of a book adds value, but not every page has a major revelation or climax. Yet a book needs each page to get from beginning to end. 

So, each day I vow to move forward, even if it's only in some small way. But I also plan to be more realistic about time. When I overschedule myself, one small blip in the plan causes huge ripples. I don't build in any flexibility. This year, I will.

Usually New Year's is all about Yes. Yes to losing weight, yes to writing that novel. I will say yes to both of those, but I think it's more important for me to learn to say No. I truly believe I can achieve more by trying to achieve less.

Am I making any sense?

There are two things I am determined to do this year... finish up my NaNo novel, Chasing Memories, and finish the follow up to Depression Cookies. Many other to-dos will flow from those goals, so it's about focus.

My plan for 2013 is to have a notebook with long-term goals (publishing two books, for example) and daily goals that support those. The tricky part will be finding a balance between what I THINK I can get done in a day and what I CAN actually get done.

This year, I'm going to view Life as a 365-page novel and focus on making each page relevant to the end.

So, my fellow writers, please share your tips for planning. How do you focus on one page at a time?

Wishing everyone a great 2013!

2013 To Be Read (TBR) Pile Challenge

This 2013 To Be Read Pile Challenge comes from Adam at Roof Beam Reader. 

I tried this challenge last year, and just let myself get way too far behind. So it's time to take it on and complete it (you can still sign up through the end of today, 12/31/12)!

I will be writing reviews for this challenge on my Mom in Love with Fiction blog, but I wanted to share it with my readers here, too. When I finish a book, I'll link here on this blog as well as on Mom in Love with Fiction. 

Here are the basic rules: 

1. Each of these 12 books must have been on your bookshelf or “To Be Read” list for AT LEAST one full year. This means the book cannot have a publication date of 1/1/2012 or later (any book published in the year 2011 or earlier qualifies, as long as it has been on your TBR pile – I WILL be checking publication dates). Caveat: Two (2) alternates are allowed, just in case one or two of the books end up in the “can’t get through” pile. 

2.  To be eligible, you must sign-up with Mr. Linky at Adam's website (done!) – link to your list and add updated links to each book’s review.  Every listed book must be completed and must be reviewed (doesn’t have to be too fancy) in order to count as completed.

3.  The link you post in the Mr. Linky below must be to your “master list” (see mine below).  This is where you will keep track of your books completed, crossing them out and/or dating them as you go along, and updating the list with the links to each review (so there’s one easy, convenient way to find your list and all your reviews for the challenge).  See THIS LINK for an idea of what I mean.  Your list must be completed by December 31st, 2012.

4. Leave comments on this post as you go along, to update us on your status. Come back here if/when you complete this challenge and leave a comment indicating that you CONQUERED YOUR 2013 TBR LIST!  Every person who successfully reads his/her 12 books and/or alternates (and who provides a working link to their list, which has links to the review locations) will be entered to win a $50 gift card from Amazon.com or The Book Depository!

5. Crossovers from other challenges are totally acceptable, as long as you have never read the book before and it was published pre-2012!

Here’s my list:
(I've included a few I never got around to last year)

1. This Year it Will be Different by Maeve Binchy
2. Little Bee by Chris Cleave
3. Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith
4. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
5. The Passage by Justin Cronin
6. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Caro
7. Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
8. The Host by Stephanie Meyer
9. The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
10. State of Wonder by Anne Patchett
11. The Magicians by Lev Grossman
12. Made in the USA by Billie Letts

Alternates:

1. Dead Man’s Walk by Larry McMurtry
2. Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston

When I review each of the above books, I'll link them to my post.

A couple of notes about my picks...

1. I've always wanted to read Binchy (she was a favorite of my book club gal, Dot Kellner, in Colorado).
2. A book I didn't get around to in last year's TBR challenge, and one that I missed reading with my Colorado book club. 
3. Can't believe I haven't read this one yet. I'll wait to rent the movie until after I read it.
4. Leftover from last year's TBR, and one I've been wanting to read (and really digest) for years.
5. Recommended by my brother-in-law, and then I went home and realized I have had it for at least a year. I understand book 2 is out, so good timing.
6. A great author friend, Shauna Kelley, recommended this to me. It's one of her favorites and one she re-reads every year.
7. Picked this up purely on the reviews. Hope it's good. It's been gathering dust, so I'm hoping this challenge will finally put it into my read pile.
8. Leftover from last year. I'm hesitant, but I want to read it before the movie.
9. Supposedly one of the best historical fiction books on the Civil War, and a leftover from last year's challenge.
10. I had a different Anne Patchett book on last year's list, but I wanted to read this one more.
11. From last year's list.
12. From last year's list, and I love Billie Letts. Shocked I didn't get around to it.

My alternates are the same as last year.

Wishing everyone a 2013 filled 

with great reads!

Merry Christmas - See you in 2013

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas.

I am taking a blogging break to be with family. I'll be back 1/1/13.

Thanks to everyone who has held my hand, even if only for a few minutes, along this writing journey.

See you all in 2013.

Finding Esta Christmas Launch Giveaway

Welcome to the Finding Esta Christmas Launch Giveaway!

I am honored to feature Shah Wharton both here and at Mom in Love with Fiction today. I first met Shah through A Round of Words in 80 Days, and I'm so excited to read her debut novel.

Wishing you all the best, Shah!

Yes - it's finally here. After three years of writing, re-writing, beta readers, editors, cover designing, book trailers, yet more edits and many agonising hours of formatting, the first instalment of The Supes Series if ready on finally up on Amazon. There are five e-copies (you choice of file: ePub/Mobi or PDF) up for grabs, so please have a go and get Finding Esta FREE for Christmas. It's $2.99 on Amazon, and will be for sale on Smashwords and Kobo in by February.

Between December 21 and December 25 (2012), enter for a chance

to win one of five e-Copies of Finding Esta.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
And now for the gorgeous cover...

BRIEF Blurb: A young journalist sets off to find Esta, but is unprepared for all she finds, and soon realises it's a journey from which she may never return. This is a new adult, urban fantasy about one woman's struggle to retain her identity while everything she knows crumbles around her. Finding Esta is the first book of The Supes Series.

 

Now take a moment to enjoy the book trailer... 

 

More about Finding Esta

An unusual young woman and fledgling journalist, Luna has various restrictive oddities, all of which prevent any kind of physical intimacy. Abusive parents take pleasure in Luna’s misery and isolation, yet Luna strives to make them proud, to finally earn their elusive love – something she craves almost as much as the painless touch of a lover.

When she learns of a tragic story involving the kidnap of baby Esta, she jumps at the chance to investigate, dragging her Shadows along for the ride within the murky depths of her mind.

Meanwhile, a dark stranger visits Luna’s dreams and stalks her reality. In lieu of the real thing, their intimate moments excite rather than terrify. Nestled within his presence, she begins to sense an urgent message of danger - a message she struggles to interpret, until they finally meet....

Her investigations lead Luna to a vibrant seaside town, hiding copycat aliens and an underworld of Supernaturals. Here, she comes face-to-face with her own, terrifying identity. Confronted with life-changing decisions and the harshest of truths, Luna questions her sanity, searching for logic, feeling deceived by both.

Is Luna trapped in a newfound supernatural world, or within her own delusions? And will anyone care enough to save her?

 

About the Author

 

 

Shah met many authors and bookworms galore when she began blogging in 2010, after she moved to Dubai with her husband. She’s since learned a lot about blogging and writing, mostly from the awesome advice of her online peer-group.

 

She uses her imagination to write short horror stories as well as poetry, but stumbled into writing her first novel after falling in love with Luna, a character in a short story she wrote back in 2010. That story grew into Finding Esta, the beginning of Luna’s journey to self-discovery.

Finding Esta is her début novel and the first of The Supes Series.

Her passions include blogging, writing, reading, movies, photography, music, theatre, travel, and fine dining. Her qualifications include BSc (Hons) psychology, counselling, and mentoring and she's worked in retail, counselling, and social care. Her favourite genres include anything dark with fangs and/or that will make her squirm or jump or scream out an expletive. She is an avid Kindle abuser and adores the indie writing community and being part of the e-publishing revolution.

She also has one short story published 'The Dead Party' & two poems published in anthologies.

Get Social With Shah

BLOG - Amazon - Goodreads - Email - Facebook - Google+ - Linkedin - Pinterest - RSS - StumbleUpon - Twitter

Acknowledgements from the Author

Praise to Derek Murphy at Creative IndieCovers

who developed the incredible book cover

 

& AubrieAnne at Who's Your Editor?

who did a wonderful job of the final edit.

And huge thanks to all the beta readers, patient and enduring online friendships,

and to the mass of wonderful writer resources, all of which took me from thinking,

"Could I do that?" to "Hell yeah!"

Happy Holidays to everyone and good luck on the giveaway!

Beyond the Dust: ROW80 Round 4 Wrap-Up

Today's One Word Thursday writing prompt at The Write Prompts: Dusty.

Looking around my sad overlooked house, the layer of dust mocked me. "Dust me. Clean Me." The words repeated over and over in my brain. 2012 will not go down as the year of the guest-ready home. Dust became synonymous with Busy. In a sad way, I wear the dust as a badge of honor.

Let me explain. I was raised by clean freaks, loving and supportive clean freaks, but clean freaks none the less. The best story to prove my point... when I was a teenager, a major hurricane was threatening our town. Mom and Dad decided we should drive inland a couple of hours for safety. But we had to clean the house BEFORE we left. Clearly, the thought of a hurricane destroying a messy house was only adding insult to injury.

I rebelled during my college years... my dorm room should have been condemned. But, pride in owning my own home, brought out the cleaner in me. Then children came. Children, at least mine, seem most comfortable when surrounded by mess. Who knew?!

But back to dust being my badge of honor. Quite frankly, 2012 has been a year where other things were more important than keeping a pristine home. With the constant hurricane of life on the horizon, I decided the dust proved I was focusing on what really mattered. Right? But, don't worry, the cleaning panic hits every time family or friends come to visit. With the holidays quickly approaching, dust beware. I am onto you. I am proud to have ignored you, but it's time to pull on the yellow rubber gloves and get to business.

A Round of Words in 80 Days (ROW80) has become the dust-acceptance cornerstone of my life. Thanks to the amazing participants and our leader, Kait Nolan, I am slowly beginning to accept that I am only human. Life (or Dust) always has its own plans, but goals and a support system have helped me with a flexible focus.

Instead of lamenting the things I didn't get done, something I do too often, I want to look at the things I accomplished this year.

Blogging from A to Z Challenge
I participated for the first time this year and survived. I loved it so much and will start planning for my next one in January. Writing ahead is the key, and something I didn't do enough of last year.

WordCount Blogathon
This was my second year, and just as sweet. Michelle Rafter is an amazing host. I have met some amazing bloggers and gained a lot of knowledge through this month-long challenge. (Even if it does require another month of daily blogging right after A to Z).

Author Blog Challenge
Loved the first year of this challenge. A lot of great information for authors and great prompts. I met some amazing new authors during June. (But yes, that was THREE months in a row of daily blogging). I hope Laura Orsini will bring it back in 2013.

Insecure Writer's Support Group
I joined this amazing group, led by the awesome Alex J Cavanaugh, in July. Although I grow every day as a writer, I still hit bumps along the road. This group offers the support I need when that happens.

A Round of Words in 80 Days
I completed all four rounds this year, and was a sponsor for two of them. I hope to sponsor again next year, but I will definitely be participating. ROW80 rocks! See you January 7th.

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)
I participated, and completed!, my first NaNo. 50,000 words in one month was quite the challenge for me, but I needed it. The idea for Chasing Memories came to me late last year, but I just never seemed to get around to it (especially since I was already writing the follow-up to Depression Cookies). NaNo stopped the excuses. I look forward to starting to edit it in January.

I am quite proud of the badge to the right.

(My goal for 2013 is to write Book 2 of this 3-part series during June's CampNaNo.)

Other Accomplishments

- Mom and I attended the Readers Favorite Awards Ceremony in Miami, Florida in November to accept our Silver Medal for Realistic Fiction for Depression Cookies. Our novel was also a Finalist in Chick Lit.

- More than halfway on the Depression Cookies follow-up. Finishing it will be the major focus of Round 1 ROW80 2013.

- On a personal note, I finished my first Half Marathon in September in Virginia Beach. 13.1, baby!

My biggest disappointment in 2012 was not publishing. I plan to remedy that in 2013.

And something I have yet to share, my husband lost his job (thanks to yet another corporate merger) recently. He is looking, and we are blessed with a severance package (especially since it covers our medical insurance for 18 months), but this usually means another move. But, with our economy, I will be grateful for my husband to find a job, wherever it may be. I know I can get my girls, and myself, through another upheaval should we need to.

This year I'm grateful...

- That we finally found some answers for my daughter after years of medical tests and various doctors. It's meant a lot of changes for my family, but it's progress.

- My dear Uncle Theo survived a heart attack and is on the mend.

- For my family. Without them, I would be lost.

- My sisters (and their families) and parents have all gone through their own issues this year. I am grateful for the bonds we share... how we are always there for each other.

- For all my blogging/writing friends, so many of the accomplishments above would not have happened without your encouragement and support. I hee-hawed myself out of NaNo last year. Thanks to everyone who convinced me I could do it. I wish I could name you all here, but I hope I've told you enough that you know who you are.

- For my friends, both near and far. I may not pick up the phone as often I would like, but you are always on my mind and in my heart.

- For all the writers who bring such wonderful stories into my life. According to my handy GoodReads calculator, I have read 77 books so far this year. I'm hoping to reach 100 in 2013.

- And for all the things, both big and small, that I haven't mentioned here.

NOTE: Something I really missed in 2012 was Rach Writes Fall Writers Platform-Building Campaign. I hope it's back in 2013.

Wishing everyone the happiest of the

holiday season and many blessings in 2013.

 

As a small way of paying it forward...

I am giving away a signed paperback copy of Depression Cookies

 to the first two readers to comment below

(please say, "I want one" just so I know).

Open to US residents only

I Disagree with What Confucius Say

I love the BlogHer network. Today, I saw an interesting prompt there.

Discuss this quote by Confucius: "Choose a job you love,

and you will never have to work a day in your life."

Source

Sorry, Confucius, I beg to differ.

I am blessed to do several jobs that I love, but I'll use my favorite two as examples.

I Am A Mother
Twelve, almost thirteen, years ago, I chose to stay at home to raise my beautiful daughter, Jackie. My husband and I made the necessary sacrifices when I left a good job to do so. I have never regretted my choice, but I have also never worked so hard. I now have three daughters, and some days the only time I stop moving is to sit to write or to finally lower myself into bed way too late.

No matter how much I love my girls and my husband, it is constant work. It's better than doing work I would hate, but I used to get paid to do a lot less.

I Am A Writer
I never thought I'd get to truly own those words, and I know how blessed I am to have time to devote to something I love. Still, I work hard at it. And if there were more hours in the day, I'd work even harder.

It is a dream come true to have a book out there with my name on it. In 2013, I plan to publish two more books. Crazy! But it is only possible with a lot of long hours and dedicated time.

I know what Confucius meant when he said, "you will never have to work a day in your life." But, I think it diminishes the work you put into something you love to suggest it is not work.

Do you do something you love? If so, is it work?

Tears & Fears: ROW80 Update

As I sit down to write my Sunday ROW80 update, I'm finding it hard to focus on anything except what happened in Connecticut. I can't shake the horror of what that evil man (yes, evil) did, much less the horrible sadness that each of the families affected is going through. It's senseless. The fact that it happened during the holiday season, a time when we are all focused on family and giving, makes it that much harder to digest.

At the end of the day, trying to understand the mind of a mad man is a lesson in futility. People will start debating various ways to stop situations like these. Although I hope there is an easy answer, I truly believe there isn't one. Nothing terrifies me more than a person determined to cause harm to others. They will always find a way. It's a helpless feeling. One that has brought many tears.

What can we do?

We can show love to everyone we care about, even to strangers. Let's all make a real effort to put as much goodness as we can out there, to both honor those who died and to try and tilt the balance back to good as much as possible. And we can pray. In whatever way you choose to, we need to keep the families in our thoughts and hearts.

It's a time to perform as many random acts of kindness as you can. I'm going to try, and I plan to share them here. If you would like to join me, please share them as well.

I'll be back to goals and writing tomorrow--I did make some progress, but I'll catch everyone up on Wednesday--but today I wanted to focus on what matters most to all of us... life and the people we love.

 

My thoughts and prayers go out to all the families affected by the events in Connecticut.