I'm back baby! Last days for #giveaway and #GOTseason6 hmm

I've had an awakening! I finally came out of my long winter slumber and participated in a book event!

Ohioana was my first and favorite book event and I look forward to it every year. I always love hanging out with author friends and meeting new awesome people. I love doing panels - you know how I love to talk.

It also felt great to interact with readers. Some even told me how much they liked my books! And I was invited to a couple of other events while I was there.

me and my buddy Terri-Lynne Smiles

I had an awesome weekend and I'm looking forward to more, sooner! I encourage everyone of you to go do a book event, or if you aren't published yet, go visit one (I did and it's worth it for the experience to see what it's all about) I just need to take more pictures!

I'd also like to say a big THANK YOU to those visiting me. I know tons of folks are participating in the A to Z Challenge. Good luck! You're in the homestretch!

And one last mention for my Jolissa giveaway contest...
a Rafflecopter giveaway

PS - Did anyone watch Game of Thrones? Do you think it's still George RR Martin caliber? I'm not so sure... I feel like they're rushing it and making things happen. Hmm.

How much is too much?

Here's my IWSG concern this month:
How often do you share good news about your books? And how often is too often?

I get so excited when I hit a milestone, but I always feel a little guilty sharing my news. It feels like bragging and self-promotion. Oh, no. Tara's talking about her books again... Then I think, my books are like my kids! I'm very proud of them and want to share my joy. Not to mention, writing is what I do with my free time - my life these days, after kids and family stuff.

And thus I share my insecurities with you all. Thanks to our mighty manager Alex C and his host of hosts! Does anyone else feel this way? What do you do about it?

On to the News:

• It's that time of year again! Many bloggers are participating in the A to Z challenge. And while I'm taking a break here, I'm joining our group effort at the Really Real Housewives! And it happens to be my week (C & D days). Stop by for some domestic advice and fun!

• My Quarterly Newsletter is out. I'm excited to be getting out to events again - yay for Spring!

And I was very excited to receive my small order of Jolissa novellas in PRINT! I'll be selling them at my events AND I'm giving one away along with 4 ebooks and a $10 gift card - sign up below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Reasons to do an #Anthology and a crazy #Giveaway

This past week went much better than the one before. But as I start my new job, things are about to get super busy again. Bring it!

I hope you had a pleasant Easter. Look what I'm sharing from my basket!

So why do an anthology? Here are just a few reasons:

• Flex your creative muscles
• Try a new genre
• Gives you a break from editing or drafting
• Write a short story that's been nagging you to be written
• Take a favorite minor character on a tangent into his own story
• Looks great on the resume
• Might break your writer's block
• Validation
• Many authors = more exposure!

I'm so psyched to be a part of this project! It's very exciting to be working with many of my blogging buddies! Next month I will give you all a glimpse of the wide range of stories by these wonderful, talented writers as we inch our way to the release (May 31). So happy Randi Lee organized this!

You can keep up with the latest developments on Facebook here.


And in other news...

Good luck if you're getting ready for the A to Z challenge! I can't believe it starts Friday!

Make sure to visit the Really Real Housewives for some quick A to Z Around the House tips!

So here's the crazy giveaway - In my self-publishing adventure saga, I did a promotional giveaway on Amazon. I offered 2 Jolissa ebooks. Being a naive noob, I made the odds be 2 random people out of 100 entrants (surely it would take days to reach 100 entrants, right?) Well, the contest was OVER IN 4 HOURS!! That's CrAZy! The best part was I added the caveat that they needed to watch the 1st chapter of Jolissa on Youtube - I went from 50 views to almost 200! SA-WEET! Not to mention, one of my obscure amazon rankings went way up! I will definitely do this again but up my odds for winning to 5 out of 1000. Lesson learned and a pretty cool, inexpensive marketing tool!!

Lastly, since I didn't do a big release party, I'm also going to host a GIVEAWAY for JOLISSA - An Anti-Princess Story here on the blog.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Monday, y'all!

#Writing is Life

There is SO MUCH going on this week! Meme Blog Hop, Release Day, and IWSG!

First I want to thank all the participants in advance for joining our MEME BLOG HOP!

Here are a few I came up with...

(All you need to make a meme is a picture and a few words of lightness or encouragement - put them together in Paint or I used Powerpoint. There's also a meme app.)

Stop by my most awesome co-hostesses - Christine Rains, C. Lee McKenzie - and those on the list below for some further wonderful wittiness!


I also hope these memes are encouraging for IWSG day! Here's my contribution...

Some say "Life's not a sprint, it's a marathon."
I say, "Life's a never-ending obstacle course!"

Does anyone else feel pressure to show others that writing isn't just a hobby? Lately I've been submitting short stories, hoping to prove my writing is "worth" something and help pay bills... But these bits and pieces take time away from my novels, which I feel I need to continue to put out there, too!

I'm also scheduling more appearances to drum up business - marketing is an incredible time drain. I've got so many different projects going on at the same time, it's hard to prioritize and can get very stressful (and makes me grouchy) Sometimes I just feel lost.

I guess the key is to concentrate on one thing at a time. I hate to break it to you, but science has proven that multi-tasking is FICTION. Our brains can only truly concentrate on one thing at a time. Though it may seem like multi-tasking, it's just doing successive things quickly.

Another way I help myself is to make deadlines. I like deadlines, they're just more concrete goals. I prioritize my stuff and set soft dates to try and get them done by.
>>Try to work on WIP 1 hour a day (finish the dang thing so I can start editing!)
>>Blog posts have their own deadlines, so I do them. And try to visit!
>>Submissions have deadlines too - but if I don't finish those, there are plenty more, so I'm working on building up a file of ready-to-submit stories.

How do you keep your head above water??


And lastly -

JOLISSA IS AVAILABLE TODAY!!

JOLISSA - An Anti-Princess Story,

with ongoing video storybook

A trouble-making maiden, a clumsy out-of-work squire, a loyal puppy, and a talking goat go on a quest - What could go wrong?

I didn't plan a big launch day or tour or anything, but I want to say a huge THANKS to Susan Gourley-Kelley and MJ Fifield for volunteering to help spread the word! We'll see how this self-publishing goes. And the next story in my Unconventional Princesses series (of course it's a series), TWO PRINCESSES, is somewhere on my extensive TO DO LIST...

Have a positive and productive week!

#Writing trend: More Diverse Characters

As I search for writing prompts to submit, I'm seeing a trend of folks asking for MORE DIVERSE CHARACTERS! Well, this is great! Anglo-saxons do not rule the earth, why should they star in all the stories? I would love to write a diverse story. Unfortunately, if I tried to create a main character from another culture, I feel I would fail miserably. Stereotypes cannot be used and need to be broken. I read a MEME this weekend that proclaimed something along the lines of:

Stereotypes may be true for some, but they are NOT true for ALL.
Look beyond skin color.

Writing for another culture is harder than writing an opposite gender character or an adult writing a teen character because we've had enough experience with them, we should be able to emulate them. Though I can research and interview and even immerse myself in another culture, I can't begin to truly understand what people of color have gone through, even those in the same demographic as me; they've been treated differently their whole lives and it's part of what makes them who they are and what motivates them.

Well, what can I do? I want to bring more awareness to other cultures - it will help all of us understand each other better and therefore get along better. I suppose I can start with the basics. We all have the same foundational threads of life. We are born, grow up, get jobs, and die. We all deal with family, money, and health issues. We all start out as clean slates and go through life making choices. The differences are in the hows and whys - and that's where we shape our characters.

When I create characters, I put myself in their shoes. I give them a backstory - where they're from, what they've experienced, and their influences as they grew up. Most characters need special care and deep details - like when God created woman, the most complex being on the planet from the basest creature man (ha ha). But these histories are for my benefit only. The hard part is showing the character's feelings and background without telling his/her life story. Think of J.K. Rowling and all the questions she gets asked and answers about the HP universe!

I like to think that any person could play my characters in a movie, no matter the nationality. Actors bring their own interpretation and thereby, their background into a role. Just like readers! Unless the story is specifically about a certain culture, if the writing is good, anyone can read it and relate to the characters, and that is the goal.

I'm trying to make the world a better place with the tools I have. 

Have you ever written a main character from another culture?  

I'll take any advice you'd like to share!

And now, the NEWS!

Sign ups start TODAY for the A to Z Theme Reveal blog hop which will be March 21. I'm participating this year, but over with The Really Real Housewives! We are sooo excited!



I mentioned this last week, but I'm anxious for it to be available!

JOLISSA - An Anti-Princess Story, the novella that goes with my video storybook, will be available available February 29th. Eeek!

A snarky teenage maiden thinks an adventure will make her life better, until she's forced to go on one.

AND don't forget to join...Christine Rains, C. Lee McKenzie and I for the Winter Blahs Buster Meme Blog Hop! It starts next Monday! Post a MEME Feb 29 - Mar 4. We've got prizes, including TWO $20 gift cards!

No time for #love

That's just silly. There's always time for love! But I'm going to an Anti-Valentine's party with my latest Muse for Sarah Foster's Musiversary!

So here's the how the party goes...

I brought Grumpy Writer Cat, or GW. He just looks at me and I shut my social sites, feeling guilty for not writing... and he's my anti-valentine because he's a no nonsense kitty. I mean cat. He hates when I call him kitty. (But he's so cute!)

Neither of us is very romantic, but I'm definitely the silly, sentimental one. I gave him a bow tie. He hates it. But we brought chocolate and low fat milk so he's amicable.

For tunes, I'm sure Sarah's going to play "Love Stinks," so I'll say "You Give Love a Bad Name" by Bon Jovi.

Here's a great anti-Valentine party game, Pin the Zit on the Ex.

I will eat too much, drink too much, and have an awesome time!
GW will drive us home. He keeps me from going over the edge!

And of course we brought the hostess a gift - a free ebook! Congrats, Sarah & Jordan! (Sarah, email me which ebook you would like!)

A maiden with a bad attitude

To see more party goers, find the list here!
Happy Anti-Valentine's Day, y'all!

Plus I have special MONDAY NEWS!
I've taken the plunge into self-publishing... JOLISSA - An Anti-Princess Story, the novella that goes with my video storybook, is available available February 29th (can pre-order now!), the same day as...

Did you see those dunks this wknd? Sick!

...Christine Rains, C. Lee McKenzie's and my Winter Blahs Buster Meme Blog Hop! It's only 2 weeks away. Post a MEME Feb 29 - Mar 4. And I love how our great group of goers has grown. Don't forget, we've got prizes! Including TWO $20 gift cards!

Cherish is a word that I use to describe...

I've signed up for the

Cherished Blogfest, hosted by Dan Antion,Paul Ruddock, Peter Nena, Sharukh Bamboat, and Damyanti at Daily (W)rite. And I found it through Patricia Lynne.

For the CHERISHED Blogfest, we are invited to talk about a cherished object on the 24th to 26th of July. We’ll read and comment on each others’ posts, get to know each other better, and hopefully, make or renew some friendships.

I'm so glad I found this hop and actually have time to do it!

I'm sharing some pictures of the most cherished things in my life

My boys... Then

And now.
I can't believe how big they are. I'm so proud of them and frustrated by them daily at the same time! They've turned out so well!

As for a cherished thing, what came to mind first is my latest project - I've been pouring my heart into this production and seeing it come to life gives me chills. I'm so excited about it and the possibilities it represents. And I'm so happy to have a couple of extremely talented "interns" helping me with the illustrations and music composition. I can't wait to share it with the world, but until it's ready, here's a teaser...

JOLISSA, an Anti-Princess Story

a YouTube Storybook

Jolissa is a typical anti-princess. She's tough and selfish, at least on the outside she is. But when she enters a tourney and proves herself worthy of greatness, she runs away and alienates her only friend, her loyal dog Ziggy. Jolissa must face perilous dangers to find her precious pup, and might wind up saving the day despite herself.

Thanks for stopping by! Check out the long list of participants for more Cherished Moments!