Writing Update! News! Read All About It!
It’s probably not as exciting as the subject line sounds, but I thought I’d post to let you know what I have going at the moment. Summer is here in North Dakota USA, so I’m sweating and moaning about the heat and humidity. In five months I’ll be shivering and moaning and the cold and the windchill. lol But I should get to the point.
So, NEWS:
I will be part of a blog hop beginning Friday August 1 and ending Sunday August 3. That’s next weekend! I love these bloghops because they are so well run, and there are tons of great prizes. Not just gift cards and free books, but the grand prize is a Kindle Fire. I will be offering a download of any of my ebooks or audiobooks, plus I’ll be running another contest on my blog. If you are a cat lover, you might like to sign up. One winner will have the right to name and design Rose’s cat. This cat will be Sky’s mortal enemy, but even Sky has to love him when he helps to save Rose. You can signup for an email reminder at www.JustRomance.Me So, be sure to swing by next weekend.
The other thing is that on Wednesday October 29 2014 I’ll be having a Facebook Party. We’ll chat and you can ask me any question, and I’ll be having games and prizes. The main prize will be a (very raw and unedited) ARC of Wolf’s Princess. I’ll be sending out more info on that in a couple of months.
WRITING UPDATE:
We are coming to the end of Wolf’s Lady, the serial short story I’ve been posting on Tuesdays on my blog. I haven’t posted all of it, and I think it will be about 35,000 words long. I plan to have it released for free on December 5, 2014. It will be on my website, and Smashwords. I’ll upload it on Amazon also, but they don’t allow a book to be started at FREE. It must be at least $0.99, and then people can report it as free in other online stores and Amazon will match the price. So you might want to download it from Smashwords if you prefer a format for kindle. More about that to come.
I feel like I’m doing well with Wolf’s Princess. I love, love LOVE this story. Sky is half Alpha jerk and half tender lover. Rose is snarky, pragmatic, and brave. Once she figures out what she wants, she goes for it. Poor Sky doesn’t have a chance. Not that he complains after the first few chapters. I hope to have it ready to go out to the Beta readers by mid-October and hopefully will have it submitted to Liquid Silver by mid-November. I can’t tell you for sure when it will be released, because it depends on the publisher’s schedule, how long edits take, etc, but my educated guess is late February to mid March.
Well, I better sign off and get Rose and Sky going on their first kiss. Fireworks are about to erupt in the form of a jealous, mean feline who despises Sky. 🙂
How To Make Win Win Magnets
I have some old business cards left over, and I’m too darned stingy to just throw them away. My sister and my niece made me some fridge magnets, and while I was admiring them, a thought popped into my head. Hey! I could make some cute magnets out of my business cards! It took me almost no time to make a dozen of them, and didn’t cost very much, and now I’ve gotten rid of some old business cards that were just taking up space. That’s what I call a Win Win! And then I thought: Wow! What a great thing to do with lots of the swag that I’ve gotten. I mean, I hardly read paperbacks anymore, so I could recycle all those great bookmarks I’ve picked up at conventions that are too nice to throw away. Oh, and maybe my mom would like some magnets with the grandkids’ pictures! Or those Christmas cards I keep saving but never do anything with could be great seasonal magnets! And the more I thought, the more hooked I became on this quick and easy craft. And, being a nice, generous person, I thought I’d share how I did it.
Gather supplies. I used the following:
Glass bubbles.
I don’t actually know what these are called, but they are glass round things flat on one side and rounded on the other. You can get them in the floral section in the craft store, or in the mosaic making section. Mine are about 1 inch in diameter and about a quarter of an inch tall. Mine cost $2.99 for a 2 pound bag. You can get something like them for a buck at the dollar store. Or you can buy square glass tiles for a bit more.
A clear adhesive to glue the picture onto the bubble.
I looked at my glue supplies at home, and considered the Mod Podge, but it was pretty thick and old. I picked up some “Glossy Accents” at the craft store for $5.99. I couldn’t find Diamond Glaze, which is what others have used.
Magnets
I bought a 48 count pack of 3/4 inch round magnets for $7.99.
Glue
A good, strong glue is what you want here. I already had some E6000, but Goop would be fine, or whatever you like.
Pictures
Anything you want. Scan and print photographs. Cut out pieces of pretty wrapping paper, old Christmas cards, Valentine’s cards, paper swag from Romance Conventions like bookmarks, trading cards, and postcards, or whatever you want.
Hole Punch
This actually optional. I already had a 1 inch round hole punch from my scrap booking days. A pair of scissors would work just fine. If you decide to buy one it would cost under $10.00.
Directions:
1. Clean the glass bubbles to be sure there’s no lint or dust on them.
2. Cut out your paper. Should be a hair smaller than the flat side of the glass bubble. Doesn’t have to be exact. The glass isn’t always a perfect circle.
3. Smear a small amount of adhesive to the flat side of the bubble.
4. Place the paper on flat side of bubble, picture side to glass, and gently move it around to be sure the adhesive coats all parts of the paper. Smooth it flat to get any air bubble out. Let dry an hour or so, until it is completely dry.
5. Squirt a pea sized dollop of the strong glue to back of picture. Press magnet firmly into the glue. Set aside to dry.
Done! See how easy that is? Unique and fun gifts that take very little time and very little money. Even if you have to buy every item needed, including the hole punch, and pay to have old photos printed out, I think the magnets come out to about $0.49 each. But watch for sales and clip coupons, and it’s more like $0.28 each. A set of 6 would be a great stocking stuffer gift and could be tailored to the recipient. Know a quilter? Know a cat lover? This is a perfect, easy gift with a quirky, personal touch that won’t take weeks to make or break your budget. That’s why I call these Win Win Magnets.
The Tale of the RAGT Afghan
For the past four years I have attended the Annual Reader & Author Get Together in Ohio. One of the fun things about the event is the raffle baskets the attendees put together. The proceeds of the raffle go to www.OneWayFarm.org, an organization that helps neglected, abandoned and abused children. This year my raffle basket will contain a nice lap afghan that I crocheted out of a washable wool/acrylic yarn. But there is a story behind this afghan.
My newest kitty is named Dixie. She was rescued a couple of years ago from a hoarding house along with many, many other kitties. CATS Cradle Shelter in Fargo, ND does great work saving cats and finding them homes. You might have heard of them from my author bio. They are the shelter I donate a portion of my royalties to. They do amazing things to save kitties, and that takes money. You can learn more about them at www.catscradleshelter.org.
From the first I wanted Dixie. She is exactly the kind of cat I am drawn to: needy, frightened of people, and sweet-natured. However, I already had three cats when she first came to the shelter, and that is my personal limit. My landlord readily agreed that I could have four, but I have to look at the cost of food, litter and vet visits realistically. If I can’t afford to take care of four cats, I wouldn’t be doing me or them any good. Three was the most I could comfortably support.
Fast forward almost two years. I was down to two cats after Magic had to be put to sleep after her stroke. In a happy set of circumstances, I was able to bring Dixie home with me back in December. I was so excited! I had to control myself so I didn’t scare her. She came out of her shy shell slowly but surely. She sits in my lap about once a week. She loves demands to be petted. She’s not a cuddly kitty most of the time–when she’s in a mood, she tends to sit as far from me as she can get– but she’s happy and healthy, and I adore her. I think she’s coming to love me too, as more than just a set of hands that will stroke her on demand.
What, you ask, does that have to do with the afghan? Well, I’m always careful about yarn and cats. If they eat it, it could cause serious trouble, so I keep it shut up in project bags to be sure it’s out of reach. But Dixie has never shown much interest in my yarn until I began putting the blocks together. Then she seemed to become fixated on the afghan. When I was sitting in my chair working on it, she would sit inches away and carefully watch me.
If I had to get up for a minute, Dixie
would be curled up on the afghan when I came back.
When I’d put the afghan away in its bag, Dixie would drag it out and lay on a corner of it.
Dixie LOOOOOOVES this afghan! I was afraid it would break her heart when I’d have to pack it up to send for the raffle. So I began a new mini Dixie-ghan, just for her, hoping she would tranfer her attachment to it. And look! She likes it. Now I just need to get it away from her long enough to make it bigger. 🙂
Tuesday Truth 4/8/14
The snip from Miss Amanda and Sand’s story is going to be delayed this week. Sorry! I got sucked into the final line edits on Wolf’s Vengeance and ended up finishing them and turning the manuscript back into the editor tonight. I will work on Amanda and Sand tomorrow night after work and try to get something posted on or before Wednesday. Sorry!
Readers Anonymous
My name is Maddy and I’m a reader.
OK, that is supposed to be funny. I do not think reading is an addiction, at least not like alcohol, eating or gambling is. The huge majority of readers don’t go into debt to feed their habit, right? Okay, maybe I sometimes spend more than I actually budgeted for on books. And sometimes I read when I REALLY ought to be cleaning or sleeping, but I hardly ever call in sick to work because of it. Reading is actually beneficial for you. This study shows that reading fiction is good for your brain. So my brain must be very healthy! How about yours?
Here’s what I’ve been reading, with links to the books on Amazon so you can learn more about them:
Valiant by Laurann Dohner-This was a re-read. In my opinion, the best of the series about human/animal hybrids and the women they love. Sometimes a re-read is like seeing an old friend. What books do you like to read over?
Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop This is the 2nd book in Bishop’s Others series. Unique world building, excellent characters. A thousand books are about vampires and werewolves, but none do it this way! Start with the first book, Written in Red. I love this author because her stories are unique.
The Sylph Hunter by LJ McDonald I’ve been waiting for Ms. McDonald to continue her fantasy romance series and was thrilled to see this one had come out. If you haven’t read them, I suggest starting with the first book, The Battle Sylph
Hunter’s Claim by SE Smith This is the first in Ms. Smith’s new series. If you enjoy sci fi romances where Earth women are claimed by handsome aliens who fall in love with their mates, I think you’ll enjoy this one.
Eight Million Gods by Wen Spencer Another brilliant fantasy novel. If you enjoy manga and anime you might like this one too. I have gobbled up everything thi author has written. Her Ukiah Oregon series is an absolute fave of mine, and I loved Tinker too. If you haven’t read Ms. Spencer before, Tinker is a great place for a romance lover to start. A brilliant tomboy catches the eye of a handsome elf lord. This is a very simplistic description of this book. I loved it.
So what have you been reading? Tell me about it. I’m always looking for something new and fun to read.
My new kitty Dixie
is settling in! She and the two I already have don’t get along. But when I went into the bedroom just now to put clean sheets on the bed I found Merry and Dixie almost snuggling. Really! They were barely an inch apart on the jumble of fresh sheets, snoozing happily away. By the time I got my camera, they had apparently realized how close they were and separated. This means one of two things: 1. they are becoming friends or 2. both were anxious to deposit as much white cat hair on the navy blue sheets as felinely possible. Which do you think it is?
Aren’t they adorable?
2014: I Haz Goals!
For me, 2012 was kinda a bad year. 2013 was kinda a good year. So 2014 is going to be a GREAT year! I have some plans and goals to share, and I hope making them public will help to keep me on track.
This is what I have lined up for 2014.
I’m starting of the year with a blog hop this coming weekend, January 3-5. There will be a ton of prizes to win like a Kindle Fire, gift cards, lots of free downloads, and more, so I hope you’ll come along. Find out more at http://justromance.me/
I will be one of 6 authors hosting a boardroom at Lori Foster’s Reader & Author Get Together in June. We have fun plans for “Build Your Own Hero”, a historical costume show, lots of prizes to give away and more.
My Tuesday Teaser will evolve into an ongoing story about Sand, one of the wolves who went with Quill to rescue Ellie, and Miss Amanda, one of Sky’s working ladies who is just about ready to quit the business and settle down. I’ll be picking that up the second Tuesday in January.
My goal is to finish the rough draft of Wolf’s Vengeance by the end of January, and have the polished draft submitted to Liquid Silver Books by March 1. Unless, that is, I change my mind again and decide to publish it myself.
Next up will be Wolf’s Princess at last. This will be the finale of the After the Crash series and I would love for it to come out at the end of October, 2014. That is when the plane took off, so it would be a nice way to tie it all together. Of course, that depends entirely on how long it takes me to write it, and Liquid Silver’s schedule. I would need to have it turned in to the publisher by mid July at the very latest. We’ll just have to see about that.
I’ve been invited to be part of a Paranormal Halloween Box Set with authors I admire and respect like Paige Tyler, Tigris Eden, Michele Villery, Opal Carew, Randi Alexander and others. I have a story in mind that has to do with Eddie’s feline ancestors, but depending on what my available time is, I might just do a bit of a re-write of Sherry’s Wolf and use that one. The story has to be turned in by August 1.
I also want to write a Christmas novella. It will be a New Adult inspirational contemporary love story with a humorous touch, no sex but plenty of romance between a Marine home on leave and a recent college graduate. I’ll self publish that one and hope to have it out in mid November.
I’ll take December off from writing (I never seem to do any writing then anyway) and then be charge for 2015.
Whew! That’s four books I plan for this year, plus the ongoing Tuesday Teaser. Can I do it? We’ll find out. Wish me well!
Happy New Year!
A Look Back at 2013
It’s the time of the year when we tend to review where we’ve been and what we’ve done over the past 12 months. Here’s my review:
I worked at the day job. Wrote in the evenings and weekends. Worked overtime at the day job. Wrote. Worked. Edited. Worked more overtime. Knitted. Worked.
Not too exciting, huh? LOL
Well, let’s be more specific. Here are the highlights of my year as a writer:
Three books published this year. Eddie’s Prize in February, Ellie’s Wolf in August, and Wolf’s Oath in October. The first two were published by Liquid Silver Books, and I put Wolf’s Oath out myself. I wanted to see if self-publishing would work for me. The jury is still out on that, and my plans for future self-publishing are on hold.
Three books released in audio format. I had Sleeping With the Wolf, Wolf’s Glory, and Wolf Tracker put out by Brick Shop Audio, and Eddie’s Prize will be released early in 2014. There is a certain thrill in hearing a professional voice actress reading words I wrote and bringing characters to life.
Wolf’s Oath Chosen for a Book of the Month. Yes, this past month, December 2013, the a GoodReads forum chose Wolf’s Oath for their Book of the Month discussion. That’s a big deal for me and I’ve enjoyed that group and the people in it.
The last couple months have been difficult for me, writing-wise. The day job has been uber stressful, with mandatory overtime and deadlines that we race to meet. I leave home at 6:30am and get home at 5:15pm, scramble to make supper before I have to go out to church, or an SCA meeting, or my knitting group, or my writers group. Those are all things I enjoy, but overtime has sucked the fun out of it. On those nights when I am home and can write, I’m so tired I don’t seem to be able to write. I sit at the computer and try, but words just don’t come.
That sounds terribly whiny. Sorry! I get that way when my creative outlet is shut down. I need to write for my sanity, and since I haven’t been writing… That is going to have to change in 2014. It will change in 2014! 😉 I am going to try to focus on positives, and improve what I can instead of whining about things I can’t change. One of the things I feel really good about is reader feedback. Several of you have let me know that you enjoy the books, asked questions that made me think about aspects of the After the Crash world, and have made suggestions for future stories and characters. Thank you so much!
My next post will be about my plans for the New Year. My goals may be crazy, but we’ll see how it goes.
Name My Kitty Contest Results
I received 121 entries in my contest to name my new kitty. There were plenty of Snowballs, Snowflakes, a couple of Snows, 3 Yukis, 2 Crystals, a pair of Sinatras (blue eyes, you see), 3 Sophies and a Sofia, and many other wonderful names. I really liked the names that meant winter or snow in other languages. Some that stood out for me were:
Blizzard, Blanche, Bianca
Guenivere, Geneva, Gwyneira
Snow Angel, Angel, Angelica
Elurra, Neblina, Erehwon
Snow Queen, Artic Princess, Empress
Starfall, Winter, Ice Ice Baby
Indigo, Sapphire, Lily
Yukiko, Seto, Kabuki
Pearl, Petal, Penelope
It was really hard to narrow it down, but I finally settled on these 10 to select the name from:
Frigga – Jeffrey K
Luna Azzura-Martine D
Venitsa-Jane C
Eirlys-Quinn V
Snowbelle-Lily G
Miyuki-Betty B
Gwenllian-Linda M
Tansy (short for Tanzanite)-Gabriele P
Candida-Annette T
And the winner was Skyblu from Sally H!!
Congrats, Sally! I have emailed your gift card to you. Thank you everyone, for your wonderful names. I was completely overwhelmed!
And now for the kitty update. When I went to the shelter this afternoon to fill out the papers and get little Skyblu, it turns out there was a snafu. Someone else had put the little white kitty on hold before I did, so I couldn’t adopt her. That might sound like sad news, and I was pretty let down for a minute, but it meant I could adopt Dixie. Dixie and many, many other cats were found two years ago in a house where they had no love. On the TV show Hoarders it’s appalling to see how much stuff people just hang onto. Some people hoard cats. These helpless animals don’t get proper nutrition, or water, or litter boxes, affection, or veterinary care. At Dixie’s house the people bought jumbo bags of rice, slit the bags open and left them on the floor for the cats to eat. That’s all. Poor little Dixie (and she’s little. She’s three years old, and weighs less than 8 pounds. She’s petite!) has been at the shelter for almost 2 years. That’s a long time for a kitty to not be adopted. I once overheard some visitors say she was ugly. Maybe she’s not as pretty as the little white kitty, and she’s terribly timid, but I’ve loved her since I first saw her 20 months ago. Her markings are distinctive. She’s mostly white with random splashes of orange and dark gray.
She’s been Dixie for so long that I don’t think I’ll get used to calling her Skyblu. But at the Vet’s and on official papers she’ll be listed as Skyblu. If anyone asks me how she got that name, I’ll have a great story to tell!
Girls’ Weekend
My ten year old niece came to stay with me this weekend. I am single, with no children, so kids kind of freak me out. Still, we’re having a good time. We had pizza. baked chocolate chip cookies, and watched the movie Wreck It Ralph. The biggest hit so far was playing dress up with some of Auntie’s historical costumes. My niece is a free spirit who loves to ham it up for the camera. I wonder if she will be an actress or something in the public eye. She’s not shy! These were my favorites. Which do you like?
