The END, but it's not over! The LIST goes on!

The Month of Mondays celebrating my release of SIMULATION has come to an end.

Thanks so much to all my fabulous, wonderful helpers:

C. Lee McKenzie, Christine Rains, Shah Warton, SK Anthony, Elsie Elmore, Elizabeth Seckman, Julie Flanders, Heather M Gardner, Katie Teller, Rena Rockford, TB Markinson, MJ Fifield, Patricia Lynne, Tyrean Martinson, Tonja Drecker, Yolanda Renee, Sharon Bayliss

I'm giving them each a writer pin of their choice!
And here's the winner of the $20 GC

SHAH WARTON!

I also appreciate the tons of support from all the bloggers, reviewers, and commenters!
It's been a terrific tour!

SIMULATION
Amazon ~~ Kindle

Goodreads

But you know the work's not over! A writer's job never ends. And to help me stay organized, I'm sharing my next projects in a prioritized LIST.

It's the List Blog Hop. Bish Denham came up with this fun hop to celebrate eight years of blogging. I'm always making lists, so sharing one is easy!

1. Submit and query CRADLE ROCK - it's out there!! Yippee!
2. Finish rough draft of DISPOSAL, next Pop Travel novel - halfway there?
3. Start typing DISPOSAL for NANO!! unofficially participating!
4. Get moving on JOLISSA, chapter 2 (and tweak chapter 1)
5. Outline WHEN THE WIND BLOWS - Broken Branch Falls book 3
6. VISIT BLOG FRIENDS in between all the above!!

I'll start with my blog helpers and this blog hop!!

One more exciting shout out - check out this enchanting cover for Rena Rockford (aka, Dr Faerie Godmother) and her fantastical new YA urban fantasy!

Allyson fights acne, not trolls. As an inhaler-carrying member of the asthma society, she just wants to meet the father who turned her mother into a paranoid, move-across-the-nation freak. Now she’s trying to fit in at yet another school, but for the first time in her life, she has a best friend, Beth. When Allyson accidentally spits fire at kidnappers in the mall, she realizes why her father isn’t in the picture: she’s half dragon. Her acne? Emerging scales. Her asthma? The side effects of her dragon’s fire breath. Instead of freaking out, unflappable Beth reveals her own troll heritage and explains how things work with the supernatural creatures hiding within the modern world of smartphones and skyscrapers.

When trolls kidnap a unicorn, Beth gets blamed. Allyson is determined to prove Beth’s innocence and keep her friend off the unicorn chopping block. When they start looking for the kidnappers, they get a call from the last person they expect: Allyson’s father. He tries to warn them off, but he’s been put under a spell by the kidnappers to keep the victims from escaping. Nothing short of death can stop him. Now Allyson must choose between killing the father she’s always dreamed of, or letting her best friend die for a crime she didn’t commit. 

You can find Rena at her blog, follow her on Twitter, GoodReads, or find her on Facebook. Her debut novel, Acne, Asthma, and Other Signs You Might Be Half Dragon comes out November 23rd, 2015.

Have a great week everyone!

PS - Here are Rafflecopter WINNERS!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

the Final Week - #Halloween #WordsofWisdom #LazyHousewife

Week 6!

Even more THANK YOUS to my blog tour hosts from last week, Tyrean Martinson and Tonja Drecker

Here's where I'll be for the Final Week, Oct 19 - 23:

• Yolanda Renee - Special Halloween Interview & Short Story!
• Sharon Bayliss - Lazy Housewife - #WordsofWisdom on raising kids

**All my helpers will get a surprise from me and be entered in a raffle for a $20 gift card! They're so awesome! I hope you check them out.

I'm tired. It's been an eventful Blog Tour! And work has been kicking my butt too. Glad things will slow down now - HA!

It's also my week at THE REALLY REAL HOUSEWIVES. I'll be talking about costumes this week with some Punny Costumes on Wednesday and some Throwback Pics on Friday - but MONDAY we introduce our latest addition to the Really Real Housewife team!

And don't forget the Rafflecopter! ONLY A FEW DAYS LEFT!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have a good week, everybody!

Epic #Fantasy, Sequels, and Passwords

Week 5!

Even more THANK YOUS to my blog tour hosts from last week, MJ Fifield and Patricia Lynne!

Here's where I'm off to This Week, Oct 12 - 16:

• Tyrean Martinson - guest post (10/13) - Sequels: Pros & Cons
• Tonja Drecker - Lazy Housewife post - The Password Game

**All my helpers will get a surprise from me and be entered in a raffle for a $20 gift card! They're so awesome! I hope you check them out.

And speaking of MJ, I FINALLY finished EFFIGY!
It took a long time because I'm a slow reader and have very little time to read. But I stuck with it because it was fabulous! I gave it 5 whole-hearted stars. And here's my review:

If you like Game of Thrones, Effigy will steal your heart. Queen Haliene is strong and determined, even when her perfect life is ripped away and she's sent to a living hell in an arranged marriage to a despicable devil. She carries on only to protect her people from him. She has more to live for when hope sneaks into her window, but more trouble too.

Effigy is composed of beautiful prose, intense drama, and gripping suspense, plus deep and passionate characters. I absolutely adored this book and cant wait for the next one! Finally a woman joins the ranks of Jordan & Martin!!

And don't forget the Rafflecopter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have a good week, everybody!

PS - I think I'm going to sign up for the List Blog Hop. Bish Denham came up with this fun hop to celebrate eight years of blogging. I found it at Alex J Cavanaugh's who is helping co-host. He says it’s beyond simple - and it's about lists! How can I not?

The rules are:
Sign up, grab the banner and make a list.
Keep your list to between 5 and 25 items. You can list whatever you feel like (except for adult type content.)
Post on October 26 and visit fellow participants.
That’s it!

Am I doing enough? Getting in the game

Playing any sport is competitive. But in my town, there's only one high school with over three thousand students. It's been tough to see my boys tryout for teams and not make it, when they are actually talented athletes. There are just so many to choose from, not to mention the politics. Now that they've grown and are on the school teams, my coach (not at the school) husband gives them this advice:

• Go to all the conditioning and practices, even the optional ones
• Do the volunteer activities
• Stay close to the coach - so you're the one he puts in next
• Go beyond what's expected, surprise them
• Get noticed, be visible

I think this applies to any aspect of life, including writing. Though luck plays a big role for getting "discovered," hard work pays off as well. That's why doing all of the above is necessary for today's writers. There are so many of us trying to get noticed and get in the game, i.e. be put on the shelves, which are dwindling themselves. So this is my IWSG worry this month. Am I doing enough?

Many of you may think I do plenty, but my conscious tells me I need to do more. I worry if I don't get a new book out each year, people will forget about me. And if I'm only selling to my friends, they will surely lose interest... I try not to dwell on things, but sometimes a piece of negative news arrives bringing doubt and invading progress.


But I guess it gives me something to commiserate with you all about! So here's to us! We can overcome our doubt together, right?

And here's another plug for the IWSG short story anthology contest. I submitted mine! Check it out and go for it!

PS - I know IWSG is on Wednesday, but I only have time to post once a week and Monday is my day with my tour - forgive me! In November I will post on the 4th =)

Week 4!

I had a lovely release party on Thursday. Many of my local friends and neighbors came out to support me, even one of my students made it out on a school night! The only drawback was I bought too much food - no one ate anything! At my first party everyone ate like crazy, but it was at a restaurant. Maybe since this one was at a coffee/wine bar they ate before not expecting a spread - I will use that to my advantage next time (and spend less!) Always learning!

one of my raffle winners =)
(more pics on FACEBOOK)

QUADRUPLE THANKS to my blog tour hosts from last week, Heather M Gardner, Katie Teller, Rena Rockford, and TB Markinson!

Here's where I'll be This Week, Oct 5 - 9:

• MJ Fifield - (10/7) a Lazy Housewife post on not-so-extreme makeovers
• Patricia Lynne - guest post (10/9) - Setting and keeping up with writing goals

**All my helpers will get a surprise from me and be entered in a raffle for a $20 gift card! They're so awesome! I hope you check them out.

And don't forget the Rafflecopter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And I almost forgot - time for my Quarterly Newsletter Update!
I really appreciate all the support! And now that things have slowed down somewhat, I'll be able to visit around - it's been so crazy!!

Keep writing and doing your best - that's all anyone can ask!