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Happy New Year! And stuff!

Blog news, Book news, Publishing

 

Yes, yes, I know we’re already a week in, but that’s okay! It’s still pretty new and sparkly!

If you read my last post, you already know what’s going on and what my goals are for this year, as far as publishing. I wanted to drop a quick line and let you know about my goals for content for 2019, as well.

Early last year, in February, actually, I made the announcement that I was going to be making a change to my posting schedule for this blog. Instead of weekly posting, I would be posting every other week. This was to free up time for my fiction writing.

That was a good plan, but what ended up happening was that I no longer felt accountable to post anything here. So every two weeks became every three weeks, which became…eh…whenever.

I am recommitting to posting every two weeks. Now, the posts may be updates, they may be reposts, they may be Tool Time Tuesdays, they may be Quick Edits, or they may be the more in-depth posts that I used to write regularly. I’m not committing to any particular type of post. But I am committing to at least 26 posts over the course of the year. I promise. As we say in my family, “Fingers up to heaven.” (I’ll tell you about that sometime, if you’d like.)

Are you a writer?

 

Most of my posts here have been about writing, rather than books or random things about my life. Maybe you miss that content?

Since last spring, I’ve been on a new journey of indie publishing. I’ll be posting some about that here, but I’ve also created a new avenue for that content! I started my own YouTube channel!

My channel is going to be really focused on my journey as an indie publisher. I’ll share the ups and the downs. I’ll likely be sharing more detail about the whole process there, because it’s quicker to talk about a thing than to write about it 😉

Don’t expect anything super fancypants. But I may also occasionally do the YouTube live from somewhere that is not my desk, surrounded by bookshelves 🙂

Here’s my intro video! Check it out and, if you’re interested, head over to YouTube and subscribe to my channel!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ksc85EUzVuQ

 

ALL THE BOOKS!

And don’t forget, Blue-Edged Soul will be released NEXT WEEK!

I should have the cover this week and will be doing a reveal very soon!

The 12,000 word short story occurs concurrently with the climax in Jivaja and features Ken, David’s brother. He has just arrived in London to protect Carolyn and Jenny Barron, at the request of his brother. But what he finds will change all of their lives forever!

Read Jivaja and then read Blue-Edged Soul. You won’t be sorry 🙂

And remember: If you’re a member of my Reader Group, you will be able to get Blue-Edged Soul for free! Make sure you sign up to get your copy!

 

 

I’m also going to be playing with a new website design, because this one is really old and tired at this point. So, yknow, in all my free time, I’ll be working on that too. LOL

Okay, that’s it! I’ll talk atcha later this week with the cover reveal for Blue-Edged Soul 🙂

Ciao!

 

Unless attributed otherwise, all images are CC0 licensed.

Also, links in this blog post may be affiliate links. This means that if you purchase something, I will get a small percentage of it, though it does not increase your cost in any way. I appreciate you using my links 🙂

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes…

Blog news, Website Update

I’ve decided that I will be updating the blog bi-weekly, rather than weekly. I’ve been writing (mostly) consistently for a year and I still have no engagement on the blog, so I feel as if devoting writing time to a post weekly isn’t as good a way to spend it as I’d hoped. So I will be cutting down. Tool Time Tuesday will still be monthly, usually around mid-month.

However, beginning in probably April, I will be adding a Fiction Friday feature, which will be weekly, so there is that. 🙂

I will be using the extra time I will free up from blogging to work on my fiction, which is to be focus for this year anyway. So win-win! 🙂

I’ll still be here, of course. I’m relatively active on Twitter and I poke around on Facebook. You can find me most often at The Writing Tribe. Feel free to join up and hang out with us!

Happy writing!
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Unless attributed otherwise, all images are CC0 licensed.

My Current Life: Crashing, Burning, and Horses

Life Stuff

Crashing and burning

I had a super productive early year. From January to April, I worked hard on a few projects that I wanted to get done. I made a lot of headway. None of those projects were writing, but I felt they were really worthwhile.

In April, I did a lot of traveling. In a span of 3 weeks, I had 3 conventions in 3 different states. Two of those were working gigs — I taught at them — the final one I was an attendee. Obviously, when I got home, I needed some time to get back on track, but I struggled. A lot.

I’m still struggling. There are a bunch of things that happened in between. A death in the family, logistics in dealing with a death from last year, family medical stuff, and a sick kitty. None of these are excuses not to get my work one, but they all contributed to my mental landscape.

And I have to face it. When I feel overwhelmed and bogged down, I become avoidant. I procrastinate, put things off, find any excuse not to do what needs to be done. I don’t think I’m alone in this behavior, either. But being in good company doesn’t really fix things, does it?

Getting back on the horse

I’m starting to come out of that funk just now. I can’t say I’m completely back on track, because I’d definitely not. But I have re-evaluated my track and have started aiming my car in that general direction. I’m not quite back in the race, but I expect that will happen soon.

I started my move toward getting out of the crash and burn phase by going back to my therapist. He’s amazing and I had stopped going in February, just because my life had gotten really chaotic and I didn’t really have the extra time to get out there. Then I was just out of the habit. This had been the first time  hadn’t seen him in more than a 3 week stretch in probably 5 years. So that was number one.

Number two was evaluating what I wanted to do. Did I want to stay on the path I was on? Did I want to diverge altogether? So I did some thinking and have made some changes based on that. Might that change again in the future? Sure. Pivoting is important. Being able to shift your direction based on changes in life or your own personal goals is an important part of living life.

As I said, I’m getting back on track, so plan to get the blog going on its regular schedule again. Thanks to the folks who reached out to check on me. It’s nice to know when you’re missed 😉

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Unless attributed otherwise, all images are CC0 licensed.

Be My Guest: Bestow Your Wisdom on the Masses!

Writing

Just a quick post today.

I’m officially inviting other readers, writers, editors, and publishing pros to come and be a guest on my blog! I’m open to topics so feel free to let me know what you’d like to write about. Some ideas, randomly:

  • who inspired you to write/edit/whateveryoudoinpublishing
  • your favorite authors/characters/worlds and why
  • how you launched your most recent book
  • how you got into publishing
  • what your writing process looks like
  • what your favorite genres are to read/write in
  • what genres you’re interested in trying out
  • how you navigate the social media world and get actual work done
  • what conferences/conventions you love to attend and why
  • how you got your big break
  • how the publishing industry has changed since you started
  • what you’re looking for in submissions (for agents/editors)
  • what marketing/promo stuff worked for you

That’s just a short list to get your brain going, but as I said, I’m open to discussing what you might want to write.

 

 

Interested? Head on over to the Contact Me page and drop me a line! Let me know who you are, what you do, what you’d like to write about, and a give me a link to your online presence.

As a note, I’m looking for people who take writing seriously — published and aspiring authors — not just “pro-bloggers” who are trying to get their link all over the web.

As always, stay awesome!

Back, with a Vengeance!

Blog news

Did you miss me? I’ve been away for awhile. 2016 was a rough year for me, both professionally, but more so personally. I spent most of the year dividing my time between my home in Atlanta and my grandmother’s home on the west side of Tennessee. She’d had a stroke, fallen, and broken her neck back in November 2015 and so when she went home in May, I became part of her caregiving team. I would spend two to three weeks at a time in TN. It was hard, but I wouldn’t trade that extra time with her for the world.

As a result, though, all of my work suffered. Daily structure was non-existent, since the times she was up and awake were different every day. Her naptimes would vary in length and I just found the lack of structure damaging to my productivity. But I wouldn’t have done it any differently, even knowing the hit I would be taking in terms of work.

A couple days before Christmas, my amazing, badass grandmother passed away. She was ready. It was time. But that means I have to get my crap together for 2017. And that’s what I’m doing! For me, and for my Gram.

So, what you can expect from me in 2017:

  • regular blog posts (at least 1x week, on Mondays, with the possibility of additional posts as well)
  • a really cool bonus in exchange for your e-mail address, which I’m hoping to roll out this week, so make sure you check back!
  • a new educational site for writers — I’ve got a target date for launch around mid-late March
  • I have a lot more in my head, but let’s start with that as a to do list start!

I’m also thinking about doing regular Facebook Live Q&A/Writing discussions. What do you think about that idea? I’d love your input!

Okay, so get ready! We’ve got some bit changes coming!

Website revamp!

Blog news

We’re working on revamping the site, so things might look a little odd at times, or things might change unexpectedly. We’re still playing with how all the new bits are going to fit together. So just bear with us! 🙂

I’ve got a lot of stuff planned for the site, so be sure to sign up for the newsletter to be kept up to date! Plus you get free stuff!

Link Love!

Website Update

Okay, I am re-compiling my blogroll since the move to WordPress. Are you one of my SHU peeps? One of my LI peeps? A writer I’ve met? An editor or agent? Someone who has an awesome writing-related website? If you’re interested in being on my blogroll, leave a comment on this post with your link, how you’d like the link presented (your name, your book’s name, your publishing house if you’re an editor, etc) and what category(ies) your site might fall into (writer, editor, agent, writing tips, education, contests, markets, etc). Alternately, you can poke me via my Contact Page and give me the same information privately, if you’d prefer. Two links, max, per person unless there’s a compelling reason for more.

A reciprocal link would be lovely, too. I enjoy link love! 😀

Please note: non-writing-related links will not be allowed and spam comments will be printed and summarily burned in a ritual in which I implore the Flying Spaghetti Monster to shrivel up your tongue (and possibly other body parts) and cause it to fall from your mouth (or other bits). Just fair warning.