We have a Cover! - Why a Fantastic Cover is Crucial

First, I want to share my totally awesome, shiny new WINDY HOLLOW Cover!

I'm so enamored! enchanted! encouraged! I have to thank my wonderful, talented cover artist Ricky Gunawan--he's a genius! Covers are vital. Even for ebooks. Covers set the mood of your book, give a glimpse of what adventures await inside, and help readers make up their minds to buy it! So for IWSG this month, I decided to share some tips for great covers...

"Remember: Most people in book publishing believe that a cover is a book’s No. 1 marketing tool." Writers' Digest

Cover Tips I love, from Writers' Digest, KoboWrititngLife, and 99Designs

• TITLE - Big and easy to read. Keep it simple. And pick a solid font--nothing too fancy or silly, unless your book is a joke book!
• ART - hire a professional. Or pay for a photo. Don't chintz! Don't frame images. Don't scare readers with crazy colors.
• AVOID CLICHES - No sunrises, no sunsets, no ocean beaches or fluffy clouds...
• THINK LIKE A READER - and know your audience. Take a poll on social media.
• LURE READERS IN - make them feel something, send a message without spelling it out
• GET FEEDBACK - keep an open mind, listen, and go with your gut

Sounds easy, right? No, I know. It's immensely hard! Your vision isn't the same as your friends or readers. And these are just guidelines to help. If your book is set on a beach -- a beach on the cover works!

Yes, I have a cover, but I don't have a release date yet. Here's hoping and here's the blurb...

WINDY HOLLOW, Beast World: Book 3

Gabe just can't stay out of trouble, even when he's just trying to help.

It's summer break and the young beasts are riding dragons across the Great Sea for a week-long wedding extravaganza. But Gabe suspects Professor Hardaway is up to something more serious behind all the festivities. Sneaking around and eavesdropping, Gabe discovers news of a human village across the mountains--Windy Hollow--and they might be in trouble from the mysterious activity at the old castle above the Mist.

Despite the professor's warnings, Gabe and his friends venture over, risking more than they realize when they get caught up in the dangerous experiments of a deranged scientist who's recruited a large, vengeful beast. Gabe wonders if he's gone too far this time, but he's in too deep to quit. It's do or die, hopefully not die!

And lastly, more encouraging NEWS!
I was honored to be featured in, not one, but TWO high school newspapers!

• The school where I'm currently teaching is Badin High School -- article
• Mason High School is where my older boys graduated, and I sub frequently there -- article

Thanks for hanging out! Enjoy the rest of the month. I'm cutting back on posts until things settle down with work and getting Windy Hollow published... Hope things are well with you!

Writerly #News and Starving for #Reviews

Wow, this is going to be BIG! When I only post twice a month, the news piles up! But first...

A HUGE THANK YOU!! I thoroughly enjoyed my Cradle Rock Release Party because it really got me back out to visit my friends and make new ones!

Thanks for the tremendous response and supportive comments, everyone!
I'll be tweeting my thanks with links to the posts all month!
And the winner of my CRADLE ROCK RELEASE PARTY VOLUNTEERS is:

M.J. Fifield!

She will receive a $25 GC! 

Plus a free taco and my love! (name that movie)

My reconnection with blog and writer friends leads me to my monthly Insecure Writers Support Group check in. Releases are few and far between, so the IWSG seems to be the biggest reason I keep blogging. And communicating with my writer friends is the main reason I keep writing (that and the stories crammed in my head needing to be told!) I worry all the time that my books aren't selling and I can't seem to build my base - and I worry more that it might be because I'm only a so-so writer, which is very believable.

Last month, I shared my big plans. I wasn't working full time then, so I was very ambitious! Today, I started my long-term assignment that goes thru the rest of the year - great for sending first son to college, terrible for writing and marketing... Especially when I'm not encouraged to keep writing at home. That's why I keep participating in IWSG - you guys keep me going! Thanks!

Enough feeling sorry for myself, many others have much bigger problems than me. On to the NEWS!

>>>If you haven't seen this cover - you're in for a TREAT! LOOK!

INCENSE AND PEPPERMINTS.
by Cathrina Constantine
Release Date: March 10, 2017
Genre: YA/Coming of Age

During the Vietnam War-torn Sixties, a time of peace demonstrations, sit-ins, flag-burnings, and flower power, sixteen-year-old Mary Monroe has to choose between staying an innocent good girl or letting herself enter the exciting world of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll.

When her brother offers a solution to her dilemma in the form of a little pill, Mary ignores the rumba in her brain and takes a walk on the wild side. She plunges into popularity and a life she’s only imagined, and meets Michael Covington, the hot newcomer. She’s instantly drawn in by his less than flawless exterior and bad boy sex appeal. Drifting from party to party, underground fight clubs, and through a series of drug and alcohol fueled adventures, Mary follows her new crush into a world where young girls are never truly safe from the predators lurking in the shadows and young men hiding from the harsh reality of war.

Feeling buzzed and as if her life is spinning out of control, Mary is assaulted by an unknown man at a party, and she’s left questioning if the enigmatic Michael is truly her hero or if he's the face behind the terrible attack. With every piece of information Mary learns about Michael, her doubts grow deeper, but with every minute she spends in his presence, so does her love.

With the war and her fear threatening to separate Mary and Michael forever, only the death of a friend, a crushing confession, and her own sensibilities can carry her over the threshold between adolescence and adulthood.

Add to your TBR list on Goodreads!

Cathrina is also looking for volunteers to help with her Book Blitz!

>>>I'm also excited to introduce...


TIME & CIRCUMSTANCE
by Theresa Milstein
Release Date: March 21, 2017
by Vine Leaves Press

This is Theresa's moving poetry and prose collection, and some of it is autobiographical. It's been a long journey, and she's finally made it! Congratulations, Theresa!

Pre-Order here!

Theresa's Blog

>>>And here's a GIVEAWAY offer!
There's one big thing we can do to help each other is post reviews (I'm reading three books I plan to review soon!) And with second books needing more love, I want to give out some copies for review!

Here's my free offer - if you've read POP TRAVEL or BROKEN BRANCH FALLS, I would love to give you a free ecopy of either sequel for review. Just mention in the comments if you're interested.

LASTLY...
>>>Here are the results of January's Writerly Survey about Creativity!

I should've added an "All of the above" choice - that's what the purple really represents!

Here are some interesting characters from the respondants... plus some traits.

• Corten - mixed race, friendly but elusive about past
• Angela Mercy - editor of the fictional Persons Magazine.
• Raz - A drinking bad ass kangaroo. His name came off the top of my head.
• Gawain, Callan, Darrion
• Kálmán Ferdinánd Rein (later Shimron Amichai) - left angry, cynical, bitter, ranting, trigger-happy, wounded after surviving four concentration-camps. Plus his fiancée Klaudia and his best friend Móric
• Arthur Finley - mousey demeanor, high IQ, brown hair, pale skin with freckles; glasses work in accounting but is really a spy, not the action hero kind, but a numbers/information spy.
• D’Anar Gillin - He feels much, which often translates into action. He has a tendency to often make decisions for those he cares about or feels responsible, sometimes without asking permission. The irritating thing about him is that he is usually right.  He possesses a keen intuition and instincts, and he knows it. high intelligence, but has a blind spot for himself and those closest to him.  Honor is a natural - sometimes at high personal cost.
• Clarence - likes the water because he's a shark
• Hutch McQueen - The good guy in bad guy clothing. 

Only a few writers surveyed, have written in mixed genres...

• Contemporary verse
• Crime thriller/Romance
• Sci Fi/Fantasy

I hope you enjoyed this extra long post! More questions coming up on 2/13! This time I'll be asking about "one-liners"

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Sweetheart Month!

Beastly News and Video Reviews!!

Another break in the CRADLE ROCK Release Party action!
I have so much to share today!

When you think of bookworms, you probably think of shy, little, glasses-wearing, cuteness like this:

Well, Tonja Drecker with her Kidbits bookworm is now beasting up, creating video reviews! I was lucky enough that she had time to review CRADLE ROCK, and she did a fabulous job! Check it out!!

Talk about stepping out of the library and jumping off the page! She's awesome!!
NOTE: the perfect gift you can give a published writer is a REVIEW!

Now, check out these awesome HoPs and Giveaways!

• Sheena Kay is hosting a Thank You Giveaway, continuing through January 6! She's appreciating her friends, old and new, by giving away a free book of your choosing. Stop by and join the fun!
• Chrys Fey is hosting the I Survived Blog Hop January 20 to go with her series TSUNAMI CRIMES which will be on sale!
• Finally, Patricia Lynne has all sorts of goodies! 
• She's part of a reader/author blog hop hosted by her blog group, Story Dam called New Year, New Reads - This is a fun and useful blog hop for authors to promote their books and offer them on sale for 99cents AND for readers to use their shiny new gift cards from Christmas on these good deals. On New Year's Day - January 1!
• PLUS she's releasing an extraordinary new book with this alluring cover!

ABDUCTED LIFE

by Patricia Josephine

Savannah Janowitz’s perfect life was destroyed the night she and her boyfriend vanished without a trace. When she reappears a year later––alone––she’s a shell of her former self. Robbed of her popularity and her boyfriend, she has no memory of what happened to her. Savannah struggles to move forward as strange, new abilities manifest.

Evan Sullivan never gave extra-terrestrials much thought until the night he and Savannah were abducted. While Savannah’s memory was wiped clean, he remembers every horrific detail. Constantly reminded of the experiments that made him less than human, Evan hides in the shadows and watches Savannah rebuild her life without him.

But neither can let the other go. When their paths cross, Savannah and Evan finally see a glimmer of their old lives return. As they face what happened to them, they soon discover they aren’t safe. There’s more to fear than what’s hiding in the stars.

Connect with Patricia!

Goodreads -- Website -- Twitter -- Google+ -- youtube

And now, back to our scheduled CRADLE ROCK RELEASE PARTY!!

My two live December events went very well. I appreciate all who turned out!
LESSON LEARNED: With this being my 4th release party, it becomes clearer who the true book reading fans are, not just friends supporting me on a new venture. This revelation helps me understand myself as a writer. Very positive and eye-opening!

We've had a great turnout so far! Thanks for visiting the stops!

Today, and the rest of the month, here's where I'll be...

12/19	Christine Rains	Hiking Faux Pas
12/19	Alex J. Cavanaugh	Beast vs Monster - terminology
12/21	Ann Noser	CR Quotes
12/21	Heather M. Gardner	Discrimination - no joke
1/4	Ken Rahmoeller	Dragons
1/4	L. Diane Wolfe	Marketing Tips - Live & Online
1/9	C Lee McKenzie	Grownup Stereotypes
1/11	M. J. Fifield	Crazy Road Trip
1/25	Crystal Collier	Poetry & Songs in Stories on Writerly Wed

And don't forget to enter the Giveaway!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Trong the Goblin #fantasy #survey

That's me! My Beast name is Trong and I'm proud to be a Goblin...

Several of my CRADLE ROCK Release Party Beast helpers took the Beastly Survey to find out their beast names & species... Check them out!

These righteous readers are just a few of my awesome volunteers who offered to do ARC reviews of CRADLE ROCK. Reviews make the world go around, an author's world!

Juneta Key is really a Mermaid named Jade Katfish!





Christine Rains is a sweet but fierce Dragon named Cridge.

Michael Di Gesu is a sharp, troublemaking Pixie named Makev


Also helping with my Cradle Rock Beastly Blog Tour...

Flanju the intellectual Centaur is also known as Julie Flanders

Then there's Mia Jun, another Mermaid whose alter-human identity MJ Fifield recently moved to Florida, appropriately

Samber the Harpy is my wonderful CQ compatriot, Sharon Bayliss

And little Dodee the Elf is our beloved, petite Elizabeth Seckman!



Ever wonder what kind of beast would fit your disposition? Take my BEASTLY SURVEY to find out your beastly name and what kind of beast you really are!

And in other news...

I want to give a shoutout to Ashley Chappell! She is re-releasing her awesome YA Sci Fi adventure ALICE WILL on OCTOBER 5! (the talking cat sidekick is persnickety and hilarious!)

Fourteen year-old Trotter was still just trying to get the hang of the demi-godding business when the apocalypse began. In a world where the gods have withdrawn from humanity, leaving mortals bitter toward magic, she finds herself constantly torn between her human and goddess sides. When the world begins to fade away and she becomes the prime suspect, her search to find the cause and prove her innocence ends up revolving around a mysterious little girl named Alice. Then Trotter discovers that not all of the gods had been as distant as they seemed...

Now, with everyone against her and the gods fighting amongst themselves, Trotter is on her own to save her world and stop a vengeful god from using Alice to destroy everything.

Isn't it fabulous?!
Pre-orders are officially available! Get your own copy at Amazon for only $2.99. Plus she's giving away FREE e-copies of the second book, TILT to everyone who leaves a review for Alice! Email Ashley about the review and she'll send you an early copy just before Tilt is re-released in November.

Ashley Chappell currently resides in Huntsville, AL. When not writing, reviewing, or burying her nose in one of her well-worn Terry Pratchett or Neil Gaiman novels, she can be found sailing with her husband on their boat ‘Dupracity’ (Fans of Kurt Vonnegut will want to ask her what that means).

#Writerslife - When #Writers Write & A preview of MOTLEY EDUCATION

Thanks to everyone who responded to my Writing Time Survey! The data was very interesting, but not surprising. I was so happy with the feedback, I made some charts!

Numbers are fun to interpret in graphs - hope you enjoyed some statistics of writing!

And here's one awesome writer who's finished a mysterious MG paranormal book and is ready to share the very cool, creepy cover! SA LARSEN!

Motley Education (Book One: The URD Saga)
by S.A. Larsen
Release Date: October 10, 2016

Forget having a lively after school social life, Ebony Charmed is fighting to keep the entire Afterlife alive.

Ebony’s less-than-average spirit tracking abilities are ruining more than sixth grade at Motley Junior High: School for the Psychically & Celestially gifted. Her parents argue so much her dad moved out. And, even though he’s scared of his own shadow and insists on bringing his slimy, legless lizard everywhere they go, Ebony wouldn’t survive without her best friend, Fleishman. 

When Ebony’s Deadly Creatures & Relics’ project goes missing, she learns her missing project is one of the keys to saving the spirit world. Now Ebony and Fleishman must battle beasts from Norse Mythology to retrieve her project before spirits are lost, the Well of Urd dries up, and Ebony loses all hope of reuniting her family. But someone lies in wait, and he has other plans...including creating a new world of spirits without them in it.

ADD TO GOODREADS

Motley Education has been aligned with Core Standards for grades 4-7. A guide will be available on the author’s website to download for FREE after the book’s release date.

S.A. LARSEN is the author of Motley Education, the first book in a middle grade fantasy-adventure series. Her work has appeared in numerous local publications and young adult anthologies Gears of Brass and Under A Brass Moon by Curiosity Quills Press. Look for her debut young adult novel, Marked Beauty, set for release in 2017. Find her in the land of lobsters, snowy winters, and the occasional Eh’ya with her husband of over twenty years, four children, a playful pooch, and two kittens.

Follow her on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram and connect with her on her Website & Blog.

Enter her Rafflecopter Giveaway !

Five lucky winners will each receive a signed bookmark and assorted swag! Contest runs from 09/15/16 to 09/23/16. Winners will be chosen my random.com.

~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~
Lastly, a huge thank you to all my Cradle Rock cover helpers 

Here are the blog post hosts in cased you missed them:

Patricia Lynne - 9/2 - the End of the World as we Know it

Julie Flanders - 9/2 - Beast Bios: Goblins 

Heather R. Holden - 9/2 - Novellas: Pros and Cons

Cathrina Constantine - 9/5 - Trends in Fantasy
Christine Rains - 9/12 - What's Hot (and What's Next)

Coming up this week! Ken Rahmoeller (ChemistKen) - 9/21 - Fantasy Then and Now

I'm still planning my RELEASE BLOG TOUR - if you'd like to join us
 and enter yourself for the chance to win a $25 GC in the process.
I'll be open to volunteers until October! (Then I start writing the posts)
Here's the FORM.

DRAGONS ALIVE! Cradle Rock, the cover reveal!

Welcome to the Forest!

So excited to share my exciting, adventurous cover for CRADLE ROCK!

CRADLE ROCK
by Tara Tyler
Publication Date: December 1, 2016

Gabe and his girlfriend Ona are headed in opposite directions for Spring Break. After finding out humans might be a real part of their history, Ona is determined to dig up evidence of them in the mysterious mountains at Camp Cradle Rock. Being a logical goblin, Gabe tries to talk her out of it, but there's just no reasoning with a stubborn ogress.

When Ona goes missing, Gabe and his friends fly to Cradle Rock to search for her and discover a village of trouble, igniting an age old war. His physical skills may be lacking, but Gabe won't give up. With the help of his diverse group of friends, he will find a way to save his girl and maybe all beastkind. Humans, bah!

And here's the book trailer with awesome sketches by Laura Kramer, 

the wonderful artist of Cradle Rock's inner illustrations!

Add to your Reading List on Goodreads!

 

A huge thank you to all my cover reveal tweeters and blog hosts (linked):
Patricia Lynne - 9/2 - the End of the World as we Know it

Julie Flanders - 9/2 - Beast Bios: Goblins 

Heather R. Holden - 9/2 - Novellas: Pros and Cons

Cathrina Constantine - 9/5 - Trends in Fantasy
Christine Rains - 9/12 - What's Hot (and What's Next)

Ken Rahmoeller (ChemistKen) - 9/21 - Fantasy Then and Now

Juneta Key - Review

Sheena-kay Graham
Alex J. Cavanaugh
Crystal Collier
Michelle Wallace

Ann Noser

Sharon Bayliss

Amy Bearce

Adriana Arrington

I'm still planning my RELEASE BLOG TOUR - if you'd like to join us
 and enter yourself for the chance to win a $25 GC in the process,
here's the FORM.

A Month of #marketingstrategies

Welcome to this month's IWSG post - writers supporting writers every 1st Wed of the month! The question for August is:

What was your very first piece of writing as an aspiring writer? Where is it now? Collecting dust or has it been published?

My first piece of writing (and calling it a piece is very appropriate) went through many changes before I abandoned it in a file. It was called One Last Night when I started it. Now it's Jacks & Jills & Jezebels. It's about a group of girls who go bar-hopping in the 90s for a bachelorette party. There's lots of fun, excitement, and of course chick-lit drama. I even started a second story about the wedding and the bad behavior of the bridesmaids...

I had to give it up because it required way too much work, bad writing, no clear theme or direction, just a big mess! I would basically have to start over. Plus, it was based loosely on my twenty-something friends and experiences, but probably too closely for comfort. Not to mention, Chick-lit was on the way OUT!

But it was great reminiscing and growing and learning how to really write, which led me into the writing world and then on to get my first book published.

My IWSG worry this month and steadily this year is Should I keep going? Is my publisher going to drop me if my successive books don't sell well?

But I have to keep going. I have goals to reach and make new ones all the time. So that's why I keep coming up with new ways to market. Plus, I'm going to keep searching for an agent who can hopefully help me navigate the deeper publishing waters. I really just want to stay afloat!

My IWSG advice for today is GO FOR IT! If you have the drive, even if you change gears, keep steering for the goal!

And now, here's my BIG NEWS!

I'm counting down to the release of CRADLE ROCK! And I'm ready to start recruiting VOLUNTEERS. I really appreciate the interest some of you have already shown and will be sending some ARCs this week. Now, to get more organized I have a nice neat

FORM 

You guys are the BEASTLY BEST!! (and if you know me, you know I like to reciprocate and reward my helpers!) And I also have some fun, exciting, creative new ways to pump up the promos - check it out!

The rest of this month, I'll be talking about these and other OFF-the- beaten-like-a-dead-horse-PATH Marketing Strategies. It should be interesting (and possibly embarrassing). You don't want to miss it!



And one more thing - The Thing That Turned Me anthology is set to release Friday!! So many wonderful authors participate in showing how one moment can change a characters life.
Add it to your Goodreads list today!



Happy August! Have a great week! and Thanks for stopping by!

Spring is not my favorite season

Can you believe it's already May? There's only a few weeks left of school! And that means summer is right around the corner. And being the first week of May means it's also time for an IWSG post...

So, Spring. Spring is not my favorite season.
Spring is like a two-year-old child. It's cute when it first arrives, with a sunny disposition and hints of warmth. Then it goes through ten mood swings in a short span of time, turning all plans into disaster and no one knows what's going to happen next! Completely unpredictable.

Spring is also supposed to mean rebirth. And I do love the baby animal videos. But for writing, my calendar is off. I don't start new in Spring, I'm usually way behind, ready for summer to kick in because I think I'll get more done when school is out. I don't know why I delude myself each year! Oh, it's warmer, I'll go for more walks with my dog. Oh, baseball season starts, I can write between innings at my sons' games. Oh, summer is coming, I'll get on the treadmill and respond to some blogs. Oh, look at all the inspirations of nature blooming - and bugs and bees and pollen - ACHOO! Yeah, right.

So yeah. Spring. Not my favorite season. Fall. Now THAT's a season!

Anyone else un-enamored of Spring? Got any advice for my anti-spring lamenting?

But I can't leave you on a downer! Take a gander at the Thing That Turned Me anthology cover!

Add it to your GOODREADS list!

Comes out May 31!

Lastly, a HUGE THANKS to all the entrants in my JOLISSA giveaway. Here are the winners!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday Already?

I thought making a promotional video would be fun. And I did have a few laughs. But the editing was a big pain! I used several different apps and they all did different things but none of them turned out quite right... so I gave up. Now I'm cranky! I really could use an extra hour.

Oh, right. Stupid daylight savings STOLE my extra hour this morning!

Okay, I've griped enough. I know I can't be the only one struggling with making a promotional video, though I tend to be a perfectionist about publications... There's a ton of brilliant authors joining me for The Thing That Turned Me anthology, and we're all making videos. I'm sure everything will work out...

Now for some great news and views! I saw Annalisa Crawford's new cover and wanted to share it!

In You. I. Us., Annalisa Crawford captures everyday people during poignant defining moments in their lives: An artist puts his heart into his latest sketch, an elderly couple endures scrutiny by a fellow diner, an ex-student attempts to make amends with a girl she bullied at school, a teenager holds vigil at his friend’s hospital bedside, long distance lovers promise complete devotion, a broken-hearted widow stares into the sea from the edge of a cliff where her husband died, a grieving son contacts the only person he can rely on in a moment of crisis, a group of middle-aged friends inspire each other to live remarkable lives.

Day after day, we make the same choices. But after reading You. I. Us., you’ll ask yourself, “What if we didn’t?”

YOU. I. US. will be available June 10, 2016
Add it to your reading list on Goodreads
Annalisa's Website

Congrats, Annalisa!


I hope your Monday is going better than mine!

PS - I'm over at the Really Real Housewives this week, too - today I'm talking about teenagers!

What's with all the death? Embrace life!

We lost too many beloved celebrities and I know several who lost loved ones last month. And the deadly blizzard took a toll on millions. I'm glad January over. Lessons learned - embrace life and make the most of the time you have, especially with those you care about, and physical things don't last.

Which brings me to my  Insecure Writers Support Group post for February. Many thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh for establishing this totally terrific institution each first Wed of the month. It's so huge, he recruits special guest hosts to make sure we all get taken care of. And there's always room for more!

I usually write encouraging posts - I'm in a happy place with my publishing situation. But January brought me some unhappy moments. Nothing as severe as losing a loved one or a job, but I've gotten several blows to my self-esteem.

• I've been querying agents - and we all know how depressing those rejections can be
• Reviews are lacking... People tell me they enjoyed SIMULATION, but not many are reviewing or rating it... If anyone wants a free e-copy of any of my books for a timely honest review - please let me know! I'm sharing the love in February! Reviews are lifeblood to an author.
• When POP TRAVEL was on sale, it did well. Then I got two 1 star reviews which I can handle, but upon further inspection, the readers posted a ton of ratings on the same day, so it didn't seem like they even read it.
• Lastly, I'm in substitute limbo again and not working much, when I really need to.

All these negatives pile up and with the extra, get-myself-motivated, "free time" on my hands, it can be hard not to dwell on the downside, like: Maybe I'm not that great of a writer. Maybe I'm too old to get a permanent job. Being home also reminds me what a terrible housekeeper I am. Some days I just want to get in my car and drive away from it all... But I won't. Running away is never the answer. I know I have to keep going. I won't give up.

Instead, I come up with ways to motivate myself.

• It's not me, it's them... I can't please everyone. I know I'm not a "literary" writer. I'm a lite, entertaining, action-packed fun storyteller. And many people seem to like my books. One of my neighbors got so excited when Simulation came out, and several of my students keep bugging me, asking for the next Broken Branch Falls book - those are the moments to live for and keep in mind.
• Be productive - I've been getting lots of writing done, but it's all WIPs - emphasis on in progress. To feel more productive, I need more immediate results. I've started looking into freelance writing jobs - writing to get paid, what a concept. I love Shannon Lawrence's posts advertising publications looking for submissions. I also get updates from sites that are like want ads for writers. I'm going to start a short story file and an article file.
• This means I need to actually submit my writing. Which means more rejections. But I also know that the more you submit and improve, the better your chances of acceptance. It's a depressing process, but it's the only way!
• Lastly, I tell myself that this time off (that I'm always asking for) is a gift. I have time to do necessary domestic things, time to work on my online classes for recertification, and time to finish my writing projects! Like I was able to put Jolissa, chapter 2 onto Youtube!

my latest muse

We have to make the most of what we have. Find the positive. And keep going. It's just hard sometimes. Thanks for listening!

But enough of my whining. I do want to encourage you guys and I know you like to encourage others. So why not join Christine Rains, C. Lee McKenzie, and me the week of Feb 29 - Mar 4 for A MEME Blog Hop! Make a funny, cute, or inspiring MEME! Use any picture, use an app, or do it yourself, and sign up below. It's easy!

And I leave you with a gorgeous parting image of MURDER (open with death, close with death...)

The amazing COVER REVEAL (and new covers) for Yolanda Renee's MURDER collection!

Flames burn between a hardboiled cop and a gifted artist, but soon extinguish as another man’s obsession ignites into an inferno of desire, driving him to destroy the object of his madness.

As wedding bells echo like the ring of toasting champagne glasses in the ice carved mountains of Anchorage Alaska, detective Steven Quaid rehabs his grandfather’s cabin into a honeymoon cottage for his new bride.

When he returns from a hunting trip, Steven’s faced with five police officers, who “Want to talk.” Plagued by two unsolved murders, the Department is searching for answers.

Steven’s jaw clenches and his heart races. Images of Sarah streak through his mind. The silence breaks as an explosion of accusations vibrate through every fiber of his being. Steven bolts…

This Steven Quaid mystery is both personal and heartbreaking.

Yolanda's first two MURDER novels:

MURDER, MADNESS & LOVE, Book One

MEMORIES OF MURDER, Book Two

MURDER & OBSESSION, Book Three 

to be released March 10.

Congrats, Yolanda!

Now let's have a lively February!