Sorry

Sorry for the missed post on Friday, my family and I are going out of town for a missions project and I had to get things ready. Which means I won't be posting next week (sorry, no computer access) I'll be back to normal in July. Have a great week everyone!

Small Things

Today I’m going to celebrate the small things with something rather significant, at least for me.

I had my first encounter with public speaking on Monday night. It was a small group, maybe thirty, all women, all of us there to promote ourselves to each other. There were massage therapists and realtors, insurance agents and jewelry designers, and me. We all were given three minutes to talk about ourselves and the business we were in. Everyone was very friendly, probably because we were all in the same boat; every eye would be on each one of us in our own turn.

Did I mention there was a timer? Yes, there was. When my time came, I did a brief introduction to myself and my book. Thankfully, I brought a copy of it with me, so I had something to hold in my shaking hands. After the intros I looked at the clock. Only a minute had gone by. I flipped open my book and read the first page or so. My heart was pounding in my chest so hard I could barely hear my voice. I glanced up again. Thirty Seconds left.

“Questions?” I asked, looking around the room for the first time.

Have you ever seen someone’s face when they were really into a story? That rapt look with gleamy eyes and an expectant smile? That was what met me. On every face. It was wonderful.

I hope all of your small things are really rather significant, too.

The question for Express Yourself this week is What questions do you hear all the time? That's an easy one- "Why?" (I'm a mom. I hear the question "Why?" a minimum of eighty-six times a day)

 

Public Speaking

Today I’m doing something I’ve been dreading for weeks. I’m going to stand up in front of a large group of women and speak. About me.

Now I know for some of you this is no big deal, and it shouldn’t be for me, either. I’m not shy in any way. I talk. As a psychiatric nurse, that’s what I do. But in that case I’m talking to and about them, not about myself. Tonight, for three minutes, a large room full of women will be looking at me and expecting something rational and hopefully interesting to come out of my mouth. And the worst part? I’m not even remotely prepared for it. Like a bad dream, I kept pushing it to the back of my mind…later…later I said; only now there is no later. The day has come and I have nothing.

I’ve thought about just reading the first few pages of my book, and that’s probably what I’ll end up doing. It’s the safest route, anyway, and requires little to no preparation on my part. But I feel like that’s not quite enough. Have any of you done any public speaking, and if so-what do you talk about?

You probably noticed I didn’t post a short today, that’s because I’ve been working on one for DL Hammon’s Write Club. For the month of June he’s accepting 500 word shorts for his Write Club competition this summer. Check it out at: www.dlcruisingaltitude.blogspot.com

On Wednesday, I’ll post about how tonight went and then on Friday I’ll be doing a review of Immaterial Evidence by Milo James Fowler.

How to Publish and Promote Your Book Now!

Today I’m doing a review of the book: How to Publish and Promote Your Book Now! by L. Diane Wolfe.

This book caught my attention some time ago, because I’m very much a newbie at this whole promoting thing. I first found Wolfe’s blog during A to Z where Spunk on a Stick, the name L. Diane is affectionately called, listed promotional tips. They were all brief and relevant, making me have high hopes her book would be the same.

I was not disappointed.

I bought the ebook copy, and probably tagged at least half the chapters to refer to later. It’s that good. I’m sure if I had the book variety, there would be yellow post-its sticking out everywhere. There are 87 chapters ranging from editing to book trailers and everything else you could think of, all are concise with lots of web addresses to keep you going long after you’re done with the book. All that was great, really great, but let’s face it, there are a lot of books out there in this area you could choose from- why should this one stand out? For me it was personality. Spunk’s wit and humor and encouragement shine through on every page. She’s like your own personal little cheerleader telling you every step of the way that you can do this. And then she shows you how. Thanks so much for this book!

 

Her blog:

  http://circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com

A Good Practice

Every morning one of the first things I do is go outside to scope out my garden. I’m looking for any potential problems that may need to be taken care of. For example, today I noticed a funky kind of mold growing on one of my plum trees that I cut off right away; don’t want that stuff spreading. And I found a snake slithering its way through my mint. That one I’m leaving for my husband. I’m also looking for what’s ready to harvest. There’s nothing better than seeing something so beautiful and alive grow out of what seemed to be nothing more than a dead seed.

Because gardening is such a part of who I am, I’ve learned a lot of lessons that way. And like most things in life, what works in one place usually works in another.

Each day we should examine our writing. Is it working- is there mold that needs to be cut off right away before it corrupts the rest of the story? How’s the harvest coming? Are those plants growing nicely or do they need a little fertilizer by the way of travel to find inspiration or maybe getting a beta reader? Only you know. It’s your garden.

This practice needs to be performed daily. It would suck to come back to it in a week and find a big old weed growing where you thought you planted a tomato bush.

A Thorn

Hello everyone, for the first time in what feels like forever, this will be a “typical” week, both on this blog and in my life. Funny how rare typical is-isn’t it?

Today I will be posting a short story, Wednesday will be a regular post, and Friday will be my review of How to Publish and Promote Your Book Now! by L. Diane Wolfe.

A Thorn

Daniel, my new boyfriend, is perfect. We’ve only been out a few times, but I know he’s The One. He works for his dad at a very lucrative business and being an only child, I can only assume he’ll take it over one day. Then it will be us in that big mansion on the hill, us in the Beemer. But, lest you think I’m a money-driven-diva, let me take this opportunity to say that it isn’t only his future prospects that make him perfect, it’s him, too. He’s tall, maybe six one or so, and takes really good care of himself. His hair is just the right color and just the right length, like I said; perfect.

In fact, tonight he’s taking me out to meet some of his friends, so he must be as serious about me as I am about him.

He pulls up to my house in his six year old Chevy Cobalt.

I groan. His father has so many cars; why does he insist on driving that one?

He walks up to my house with a big smile on his face and that’s when I see it. He’s cut his hair. And not just a little. He’s shaved it off.

I open my door. “Daniel, good to see you,” I say, looking past him.

“It’s good to see you, too,” he says warmly, handing me a rose he’s picked from one of my bushes.

I grab it and of course my finger gets jabbed with a stupid thorn.

“What happened to your hair?” I ask, finally letting myself look at him.

He looks surprised. “Oh, didn’t I tell you? One of my friends is getting Chemo, so all the rest of us shaved our heads so he won’t feel so out of place.”

“Great. So you’re telling me all of you are going to look like that?”

His head tips to the side, as he looks at me.  A slow smile spreads across his face. “Why-you want to do it, too? I’ve got the clippers in my car,” he says, pulling on my hand.

I yank my hand back and we both get splattered with the drops of blood from the hole the thorn has left.

“No. Thanks,” I say. “Actually, maybe I’ll just stay home.”

He smiles bigger. “Maybe you should.”

Faerie Prince Review

Good morning everyone! Today I’m reviewing The Faerie Prince by Rachel Morgan

Genre: YA Fantasy
Published: May 8, 2013
Series: #2 (Creepy Hollows)
Length: 360 pages
Source: (author) review copy

“Guardian trainee Violet Fairdale is just weeks away from one of the most important occasions of her life: graduation. After messing up big time by bringing a human into the fae realm, Vi needs to step up her game and forget about Nate if she hopes to graduate as the top guardian of her year. Everything would be fine if she wasn’t forced to partner with Ryn, her ex-friend, ex-enemy, current ‘sort of friend’. They might be trying to patch up their relationship, but does she really want to spend a week undercover with him for their final assignment? On top of that, the possibly insane Unseelie Prince is still on the loose, free to ‘collect’ as many specially talented faeries as he can find—and Vi is still at the top of his list. Add in faerie queens, enchanted storms, complicated not-just-friends feelings, and a murder within the Guild itself, and graduation is about to become the least of Vi’s problems.”

This book picks up right where the last left off, which personally I love. I hate when books give long intros for all those who haven’t read the first one yet. For me it’s a given: read book one first if you want the backstory. Now that my little rant is over, I’ll get back to my review. In book one there was a lot of relationship building and breaking and you’ll find more of that here. You’ll also find yourself routing for people you never thought you would (aka Ryn).  That was probably what I loved most about this book, both books really. You never quite knew who to trust. Morgan’s style of writing is a pleasure to read; all twists and turns and wondering. It truly keeps you up into the wee hours trying to discover what happens next.  I know I’m being maddeningly vague, but I don’t want you to lose that perfect moment that Rachel has created when you make all of these lovely discoveries for yourself.

You can find out more information at www.rachel-morgan.com

The book is available on Amazon and Kindle.

Heroes and VIllains

Hello, today I’m participating in the Villains and Heroes Blog fest hosted by: Jackie at www.jackiefelger.blogspot.com and Dani at www.danibertrend.blogspot.com

 

 

The Villains

Please excuse my villain choice; I’m deep in the throngs of dystopias to get my mind where it needs to be while I’m writing Rephaim, so I’ll have to say Big Brother from George Orwell’s 1984 and Napoleon from Animal Farm by the same author.  Both of these characters freak me out, mainly because they are real, or could be. In Animal Farm, you see the creation of a dictator. In 1984 you see him in full force.

The Heroes

Joel. All the way. I know I have to think that because he’s my MC, but I can’t help it. He’s the only face that comes to mind when you say the word Hero. He’s Strong. By that I mean loyal, protective, and perfectly able to defend himself and anyone else who needs it. But he’s a quiet kind of strong; a strong that doesn’t need other people to tell him who and what he is. Can you tell I have a bit of a crush on him?

 

 

The question for this week is what food could I eat every day? That’s easy: Pizza.  It’s the perfect food. Crusty bread with bubbly cheese, sweetness sauce and covered with any topping you want. Pizza is my staple, not a week goes by where I don’t have it in some form at least twice, especially in the summer when I’ve got the grill going. What could you eat everyday?

 

Stop back on Saturday for my review of The Faerie Prince by Rachel Morgan.

Insecure Writer's Support Group time

Hello, and welcome to my very first insecure writer’s post.

Maybe because this is my first, I find myself at a loss for what to write. Not that I’m a brilliant writer that has got it all together, far from it. My grammar leans towards the atrocious side (it turns out I love semi-colons), and thank God for spell check or all of you would see first-hand exactly what kind of grades I got in elementary school.

It’s that I’m not. I’ve never claimed to be a great writer, never had a bunch of degree letters to put after my name, never cared to, really.  I tell stories. I tell stories with the same passion and purpose as one sitting down on the edge of their children’s bed late each night.  With that comes freedom. Picture it: You’re on their bed, telling your latest version of the little people who live among the flowers-are they noticing the gaps or bad grammar? No. They’re begging for more, More!  With them I am fearless.

There is no insecurity in that.

I promise in future posts  you’ll hear how I cringe when I read a bad review and how frustrated I get when I read a typo in my manuscript that has been edited for like the thousandth time, but today, for my first, I wanted you to see how I really view my writing, or “story telling”, rather.

Please allow me one moment to do a few plugs for two very incredible people.

1.      Charmaine Clancy over at  www.clancytales.blogspot.com is having a kindle fire give away to help promote her new book Dognapped. It sounds like a very interesting read; go check her out.

2.      DL Hammonds at www.dlcruisingaltitude.blogspot.com  is hosting Write Club again this summer. For those of you who don’t know what this is, think Fight Club, only with a 500 word short story, instead. I, personally, can’t wait for this to start, there’s some great writing going on out there.

Overview

Good Monday everyone. I hope all of you had a rejuvenating weekend. We got a lot of rain here, which was good; my flowers were starting to look a little sad. Now everything is perky and bright.

The line-up for this week:

Today- just checking in and saying hi

Wednesday: Insecure Writers Group Post; my first ever!

Thursday: Heroes and VIllians Blog fest hosted by Dani at entertaining interests, as well as Expressing yourself, which is a weekly even also hosted by Dani. Is she a busy girl, or what?

Friday: Celebrating the Small Stuff

Saturday: My review of the Faerie Prince by Rachel Morgan

 

See ya’ll on Wednesday!