Really....Life will return to "normal"

Okay...clearly I have let life get in the way of blogging...well any writing really lately, which is not the norm. And I'm ready for that norm to return...any day now.
For the past few weeks life has been hectic, between finding my wedding dress, working out wedding details, hair and makeup ideas, getting the guys all set with tuxes, unpacking so I'm not living out of boxes, and painting an empty apartment in the building to get money off of rent....the only writing time I've really had has been on my lunch break.
But all that is going to change as NaNo has begun its slow but inevitable march. Yay! My soo-to-be husband has even said that he will "pamper the shit" out of me during that month because he wants to read more books in my series. (Yes that is a direct quote!) He even had me show him how to make tea the way I like it!
Basically I need to get my butt in gear and finish fixing book 4 before plotting out book 5, so I can be ready to hammer it out in November. And on top of that as well as releasing book 2 in February, I want to release a novella with two short stories related to book 1. This week I met with the artist for the cover art, and that seems to be on track for having it ready to go, it's just a matter of me finishing and editing the short stories by then.

In other news today with the release party/signing of my first book! While the turnout in general was a little disappointing, my aunt from out of state made the drive and completely surprised me! I haven't seen her since my college graduation several years ago. I did end up selling five books at the event, and then two more afterwards, so it was a pretty good day.

Now to get to work on writing and planning in preparation for NaNo.
As always, keep writing my friends!

Book Update/ Preview of new project

Hello all! I hope that you've had a productive/enjoyable summer so far. I know that it is winding down to a close as labor day is creeping up on us. I've realized that despite work, and planning a wedding I NEED to get better at keeping new blogs coming!

Book News first!
I have received my second 5 star review on Amazon! *crowd cheers* I am so excited that people are reading and enjoying my book. It makes me incredibly happy to hear about people connecting with my characters and the world that they exist in!

The second update is that I have started working on another project that is tied to the Ryder Chronicles. In the books there are references to events that happened previously when some of the characters are children, or things that happen "off screen" so to speak. So I've decided to take some of those stories, and actually write them out into short stories. Nothing too grand, just a couple thousand words each, nothing over 10k, package them up into little novellas and offer them on Amazon as well! Currently I am working on the first story, which focuses on Riona and Damien when they were younger. I am not sure when these will be available, hopefully the first Dragon Tale novella will be out around the same time as book 2 in February! Until then, please enjoy the un-edited first draft of a few paragraphs below. :)
And as always keep writing my friends!

“C’mon Riona! We can’t be late!” The sound of her name broke whatever hold the late summer sun had over her. She whipped her head around, causing her long chestnut plait to wrap around her shoulders, to see Damien gesturing wildly toward town.

“Coming!” But she had no idea how she was to get down. The wind tugged at her hair and from her perch in the tree she had been watching the colorful wagons rolling in for the end of the summer cycle fair. From the varied fabrics, and the glint of oddly colored horses, Riona knew that the Sispwn would be there again. Her stomach twisted in delight as she thought about the delicacies that would soon be lending their spices to the air.

A twig snapped under her hand, and Damien yelled at her again. He hated climbing trees, so she always made the climbs by herself. Her nose filled with the crisp scent of pine needles as she considered her best options for descent. Bare toes gripped the rough bark as she placed first one, then the other foot on the branch below. Squirrels chattered above her head, and she could have sworn a small pinecone had not hit her on the head on accident. But she reached the ground safely, and laced up her boots before running after Damien as fast as her twelve-year-old legs could carry her.

The beating of drums, sizzling food over pits, and the neighing of horses filled the air as she came into the main area. Wagons of all sizes and shapes surrounded the area while a large fire pit was central. It remained unlit, but bales of dried hay lay heaped and ready to be lit at sunset at the close of the second day. In the expanse between the wagons and fire pit people moved like ripples of water around the tables and wagons loaded with wares for sale.

“There you are!” Riona turned in time to see her mother striding toward her, long blonde hair pulled back, and her bright blue eyes matched by the blue apron she wore. “I need some help unloading.” Sighing, Riona dutifully followed her mother back to the wagon.

Not only did people from out of town come for the trading, locals did as well. In fact, this was the fair where her mother made the most throughout the year. Some of the hides had taken on a weird odor from being packaged so long, and Riona wrinkled her nose as she laid them on the end of their wagon. Ellis, their workhorse, stood nearby, his tail swished through the air occasionally at the flies.

“Put that over there,” her mother directed, “and move that pouch to the other side.” Riona did as she was told, but her nose filled with the scents of cooking food, and her attention wandered.

“Can I go now?” She turned brown eyes to her mother.

“Are you going to behave?” Riona could only nod vigorously as her mother crossed her arms over her chest. “Are you going to stay with Damien?” Another nod. “Are you going to eat so much your stomach will hurt later?” She continued to nod, but tried to stop and failed. Her mother laughed.

“Well, go on then.” Riona smiled at her mother before bolting towards Talens, Damien’s family’s tavern, where she was sure to find him.

“Be careful!” Her mother’s voice just reached her over the noise of the people milling about.

Riona found Damien exactly where she thought he might be: hiding behind a wagon and watching Sispwn girls. As soon as she spotted his blonde hair, she slowed her run to a walk and moved on silent feet. She had always been adept at moving without making noise, and it usually came in hand with Damien. Riona waited until she was right behind him.

“Boo!”

“Ahhhh!”

Riona clutched her sides, and would have fallen from laughter had she not leaned against a barrel.

“That’s not funny.” She cracked one eye open to find her friend scowling at her. Peering around him, she noticed that the group of girls had disappeared.

            “Oh, did I interrupt your spying?” Damien grumbled a response under his breath, which she ignored. “C’mon let’s go get some food. I can smell the roast mountain goat from here.” They grabbed each others hand so as not to get separated in the sea of adults and managed to get to the specific they wanted without incident.

LIfe Update! (And an Apology...)

OK. Clearly I have issues committing to this blog now that I have almost an hour's commute to and from work. For that I apologize, I have a few topics I will be writing about and posting here, as well as a few reviews of self published books.

Now on to life updates!

Update 1: My book has been released both in print from and in eBook form on Amazon! *cue cheering* I am so excited to say this! After years of working, I am loving being able to share with anyone these stories and characters that been with me for a long time. The link to the Amazon page: http://www.amazon.com/Through-Mountains-Chronicles-Incalescent-Trilogy/dp/1512254967/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439648545&sr=8-1&keywords=through+the+mountains

Update 2: I was part of a book fair with fellow writer Rebekah N Bryan/Bek Castro! We shared a table and both sold several books and had a great day in the sun. Her links:
http://www.amazon.com/Rebekah-N-Bryan/e/B00RPMA1QE/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1439648728&sr=8-1 

http://www.amazon.com/Flowerantha-Bek-Castro/dp/1514364123/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439648791&sr=8-1&keywords=bek+castro

Update 3: I've had my first review on Amazon! And it was 5 stars! O.o

Update 4: Sooo...another reason I have not been very good with the social media posting and updates is that I have been seeing someone. The old saying "don't look for love, it'll find you", is very true. And we are now engaged (as of last night, August 14th), and planning a wedding for January 2016!!! He is so supportive of everything I do, and we are both excited to go down this path together.

Well...that is it for now! Like previously written, I plan on writing and posting more frequently now that things have calmed down. Also, I'll be moving closer to work, so instead of almost an hour's worth of driving twice a day, it'll be a 10 min commute each way! Bonus! :)

What's up Wednesday Update!

Hello All! I have some great news *pause for drama* I have a job again! *crowd cheers*
I accepted a position with a company that is similar to what I was doing before, and just finished my third day on the job. Currently I am in training which will last for at least 3 to 4 months, if not longer. There is so much to learn, and I am enjoying myself already!

This position is approximately 40 min. away from my house, and I will have "normal" hours, which, thanks to traffic coming home, means that my writing time just got cut a tad. What I plan on doing is taking this weekend to write and plan out a few blogs so that I will always have something to post for you guys! I will also jump on and do update blogs about my writing or life in general. But for the next couple weeks I need to get my bearings and figure out a schedule for writing and blogging.

I will say that in my month between jobs I kept myself busy. In fact, because of that time, I was able to edit both book 1 and book 2. Because of this, I am confident that I will be able to release them both this year! Maybe that time off was a good thing. I was able to clear my head, and dive into my writing like I haven't been able to do for years! It was really refreshing, and I am excited to be able to share these stories faster than I thought.

Next week we will return to more "regular" topics, as well as the upcoming July Camp NaNoWriMo session.
Until next time, keep writing my friends!

What's Up Wednesday- Don't lose that Spark!

This is coming a little later today because...pause for effect...I had a job interview! *cue cheering* Fingers crossed, and we'll see what happens!
Back to the blog post!

Since I have been without a main job, I have gotten so much writing and reading work done. I actually am a head of schedule. I had been working on this so much that it has begun to actually feel like work.

Let me clarify. I went to school for writing. I had to write lots of things throughout college and not once did working on my craft feel like work. The spark was gone. Not that my muse was gone, just that the fun was mysteriously missing. I still liked my characters, my story, the world that has been created- but the intensity was not where it used to be. Plugging away I finished the edits, early.

Then a few days later I visited a friend. While chatting and drinking tea, we got on the topic of my writing. As I started talking, I got more and more animated talking about all the different plots, characters, and places. My hands were gesturing, my voice rose, and I realized I was having fun talking about all of this. The spark was back!

Now I'm jazzed to get back to my stories. But how can we as writers feed that spark of creativity? Going to conferences, meeting with a writing group, making friends with writers, talking with a person who encourages your writing, even going for a walk around a museum and doing some quick writing exercises, are all great ways to foster that creative spark.

Until next time- keep writing my friends! 

What's Up Wednesday- Writing Partners

Writing can be a very solitary activity. The ideas, worlds, words, and characters are usually the product of one person's imagination. Putting those onto paper (or computer screen) can also be a solitary activity. The only way that this solitary existence is broken is through editors, writing partners, and when readers are able to see your work.

I am all for shutting yourself away to plan, create, and write your story. But there comes a time when either through excitement, or publication, that we have to share what we have created. This can be a hair raising experience for many, including myself, but it is a necessary step. A writer has to become accustomed to the experience of having others read their work, and their opinions on it, whether positive or negative.

This is where writing groups, editors, and writing partners swoop in. I will admit, my prose and grammar need help. No one writes a best seller the first time out of the gate. Many authors do not ever publish their first, or even second, novel simply because they are practice. All athletes, musicians, any life skill really, requires it. Even life itself requires practice- who remembers playing "house" or "school" before growing up? I know I do!

Writers have to hone their craft, and they do so through-what else- writing! Not only through writing, but by reading. Reading is just as important as writing! Through reading, and critiquing other works the observant writer will pick up nuances not only in their own writing, but in anything they are reading. I know I have found myself itching to pick up a red pen when reading a book-either self published, or traditionally published.


Writers need to build a network, or circle, of writing partners. Partners who can not only exclaim, weep, and shake their fists at the right times, but who can write in red pen all across the page. You want someone who will be honest, someone who cares about the quality of the work you present to the world. Someone, or someones, who want you to put out the very best book you can. People who push you to improve.

The problem is that it is hard to find such people. It can be done, and social media is a great place to start, or the NaNoWriMo forums can help as well.

But not only do you need a writing circle, but you also need people who have slightly different strengths than you do. This will help to balance out your own writing, as well as theirs.
When it comes to my works, I have four people whom I trust to really give me good feedback. One is spectacular in line editing and proof reading-and she is a life saver! (You know who you are :) ) Another is someone who knows the genre and questions the basic outline and world that I've created. And the other two? One is the idea bouncer-she has yet to actually read my work- but she is who I turn to when I need to run through ideas. The last? She usually doesn't read my genre, but has read them all, and liked them!

At the first writer's conference I attended, I had two ten page samples from two different novels critiqued. It was an experience that I recommend to everyone! It helped me so much, and has once again given me a prod to improve further. 

I need each and every person. They all challenge me and my writing in different ways. Without them to round me out, my writing would not be the best product I can put out there.

 Have you had experiences-good and bad- with writing groups or partners?

Until next time, keep writing my friends! 

Long Time Coming...

Clearly I have a problem with consistency in my blogs, but last month was Camp NaNo...so I was a bit preoccupied with doing a round of edits on Through the Mountains.
 And then my brother and sister in law had their baby! She came about 2 weeks early in the wee hours of April 26, 2015. Just a mere hour away from sharing a birthday with me! She is so adorable, and one of the happiest babies I have ever seen. Her name is Ava, and I have never seen a baby at under a month old try to hold her head up, push herself up on her arms and knees, or really trying to focus her eyes already. Ava is one determined little girl!

Another reason I have not been posting, and meaning to post this topic for a few weeks, is that on April 28th the company that I worked for had to downsize, and my position was dissolved.
One of my very worst fears came true, and I am currently unemployed. Since then I have had a phone and in person interview with 2 different companies, so there are prospects.
But for some reason I'm not panicking. In fact, I've almost felt at peace with the situation.

In the mean time, I have spent my time working on my own writing, as well editing a writing partner's book. I've also read like 8 books since April 28th, but who's counting? At least I think now I'm under 30 books on my TBR shelves....nope just counted, we are definitely still above 30. #bookwormproblems :)

Honestly with this time I've had on my hands I've set dates for the next two books in my first trilogy to be released, as well as getting more writing and reading work done than I've had time for in the past few months! Yes I want to find a full time job, and if I have to I will go back to working retail. But I have come to enjoy having weekends, and holidays off, especially with my growing family. I can't wait to watch Ava grow up, and hopefully she'll have an interest in books. An aunt can only try! ;)

Until next time, keep writing my friends!