Tag Archives: #writer #amwriting #amblogging

A question for book bloggers, book reviewers, and authors

So yesterday there was a tweet thread from a wonderful book blogger/reviewer who received an email from an author stating this:  I screen shotted it so you could see the actual tweet thread)

This struck me wrong on so many levels that my head actually hurt. Talk about elitist. Now, I recognize the author ( to play Devil’s advocate here) is probably an indie author who has to pay for her books and wants to make money. If she gives out arcs that don’t have the ROI in terms of a “good” review or no review at all, she probably feels she is losing money.

You know what? Too bad, Madame Author.

If you don’t want to take the chance that you will get anything less than 5 stars, then you’d better write a 10 star novel. My guess? Not gonna happen.

Did you ever think the people who aren’t leaving reviews are trying to spare your feelings? That maybe your books are so horrible they feel bad for you and don’t want to leave bad reviews for fear of hurting your feelings? Or that maybe they couldn’t finish your lousy book and that’s why they didn’t leave a review??’

I get lousy reviews when I put up arcs, too. All authors do, even the ones who have publishing contracts with major houses and rake in oodles of cash every year. Every single person on the planet has an opinion and not everyone who reads your book is going to adore it. To state categorically that if you, as a book reviewer, don’t leave a high review you will be removed from further arcs is tantamount to bullying in my book, and you know what? I would never read an author’s work who stated something like that.

I use Booksprout.co and Netgalley for my arc reviews. On Netgalley, some of the reviewers can be downright mean spirited, but that’s the nature of the game. Recently, I realized that several people who requested arcs on Booksprout never left reviews and I wondered why, so for my new set of arcs I put up a statement that said, if you don’t leave a review I won’t authorize further books for you. I immediately took that statement down because I realized what I’ve said above. Maybe the people who didn’t leave reviews didn’t like the book and instead of giving a low review, they simply didn’t write one. Or maybe they haven’t gotten to the book yet since everyone reads at a different speed. Whatever the reason, I knew right away that was the wrong thing to say, so I took the statement down.

Too bad the author of the above statement didn’t think as quick as I did.

So I have a question for anyone reading this who reviews books or blogs about them: would you continue to read an author who said something as blatant as the above mentioned author did? What are your feelings about her/his statement? For authors, do you think the author had a valid point to stating what she did, and if so, why?

Inquiring minds ( okay mine! ) want to know.

Until next time ~ Peg

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#LongandShortReviews #WednesdayBloggingChallenge 5.8.19

Topic choices like this one just make my heart go zing!

Today, the writing prompt is  Books I want Youth to discover. So…do you have a couple of hours? Hee hee. Just kidding…not.

I pared my choices down because I really could talk about this subject for a while. The word YOUTH can, to me, mean any age range, so I’m going to cover a few here to be inclusive. The choices I’m laying out are all older books, from the last century even, and not what I would consider popular these days with kids. Which is a shame, because each of these books speaks to universal themes inherent in all children (and adults!). They are all written in language easy to read and understand, and each of these choices is in itself a part of my own youth and growth experience.

In no order, I wish kids (youth) would read these wonderful tales:

So, of course, I start with the book I think should be in every child’s home and read to them by their parents or even by themeselves, over and over until the message is ingrained in their DNA.

The Little Engine that Could . 

Originally published in, I believe, 1941, this is the best story I’ve ever seen about self motivation, and believing in yourself. The confidence that  little engine had in himself is the kind of confidence I wish every single child possessed. I’m 58 years old and I still think of this book and its message when my confidence starts to fail.

Anne of Green Gables

In fact, the entire Lucy Maude Montgomery collection about Anne Shirley. There are many themes explored in these books, but the ones I feel are still topical today are adoption, the plight of homeless and parentless children, acceptance in society when you are different, and the beauty of each person being unique.

Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret.

Maybe it’s because my real name is so similar to the title character. Maybe it’s because the story of 12 year old Margaret is one that mirrored my own life. Maybe it’s because Margaret’s feelings of not fitting in – and of wanting to, desperately – and wanting to be liked were exactly the same emotions and feelings I had at the age of 12. Heck, maybe it’s because she feels the only one who get’s her, who really listens to her is God, just like I did, and still do. Whatever the reason, this book is filled with the universal theme that we all want to loved and appreciated. Plus, there aren’t many books about kids and spirituality that lay out God’s love  so simply  and beautifully.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

I grew up in Brooklyn, NY, just like Francie Nolan. My heritage is Irish, just like Francie’s. I knew firsthand the effects of alcoholism in my family, as does Francie. Is it any one wonder I love this book and wish more kids these days were exposed to it? Yes, it takes place in the last century during a time unlike any other we’ve seen in this country. But again, I go for the universal themes and connectability rampant in the book. This was the book that solidified for me that even if you were poor, considered white trash, and shunned by society, you could still find happiness in every day things, and feel love for those closest to you. Education was the ticket out of poverty and strife, and Francie loved to read – just like I did ( and still do!) Reading for was escape, adventure, knowledge, and beauty.  Betty Smith’s words are as timely now as they were when the book was released in 1943.

“From that time on, the world was hers for the reading. She would never be lonely again, never miss the lack of intimate friends. Books became her friends and there was one for every mood. There was poetry for quiet companionship. There was adventure when she tired of quiet hours. There would be love stories when she came into adolescence and when she wanted to feel a closeness to someone she could read a biography. On that day when she first knew she could read, she made a vow to read one book a day as long as she lived.” 

Love that message!!!

So, those are just 4 books I wish more kids read these days. Let’s see what the other authors in this blog challenge have to say. L&SR

And if you’re looking for me, I can always be found here:

Tweet Me//Read Me// Visit Me//Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me// Triber// BookMe // Monkey me //Watch me

 

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Think you know me?

See that little two line promo in the bottom righthand corner of this magazine cover? RISING STAR SPOTLIGHT: PEGGY JAEGER. That’s me!!! (hee hee ) Who knew at 58 years old you could be a “rising star?” One look at me and you know I’m not an ingenue, that’s for sure. In a society where ageism is so rampant and people over the age of 35 are looked on as if their lives are over and they should just step aside for the younger folks to get their shots at success, the romance industry embraces writers of any age – and I am proof of that, since my first romance book was published when I turned 55.

This is by far one of the best interviews I’ve ever given. The interviewer’s questions were so in-depth and deep, I really needed to put my thinking and memory cap on to answer most of them. I love that – I love having to dig deep into my psyche to answer something thoughtful. There are a few revelations about me in this article, so like the title of this blog asks – Think you know me? – you may find out you don’t know me as well as you thought. Here’s the link to the entire article. It uploads into a PDF that you can download on any device. InD’tale article.

InD’Tale mag was also gracious enough to review 2 of my books in late 2018, and you can read those reviews here:  Dearly Beloved

 

and Christmas and Cannolis

If you’re a romance book lover, this entire issue is jam packed with great articles, including the one with Kendra Elliot – one of my favorite authors. But if you’re only looking for mine ( awww, thank you! Heehee) you can advance to page 32, where it starts. InD’Tale Magazine March 2019

I’ve got to tall ya, this was soooooooome ego boost for sure!

~ peg

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Why do I do this??

A new year, and a new year of blog topics!!! The first one is a question: Writing – doing it for fun, profit, or other?

Can I choose all three?

I’ve always been a writer since I got my first diary. I wrote for the shear pleasure of inventing stories to brighten the dark days of my childhood. And as dramatic as that sounds, it worked. The stories I wove made me feel alive, special, and smart. Plus, it was fun putting people in tricky situations and they trying to get them out of them.

When I got older and realized people would actually pay me cash-money for my thoughts and words, well, can I just say SCORE! In my 20’s, 30’s and 40’s I wrote for magazines, newspapers, even trade journals to supplement my real income. I knew I’d never get rich writing articles that paid $50-150.00 dollars a few times a month, but the actual paycheck came in secondary to how it felt to see my name in print in a major publication.

Nowadays, I write what I want simply because I can’t not write. The tagline for my website, peggyjaeger.com, is WRITING IS MY OXYGEN. And it’s true. You can’t survive if you don’t breath air. Well, in all reality, I couldn’t survive if I couldn’t write every day.To me, writing is my air, my oxygen. Writing gives me purpose, gives me direction, gives me an outlet for the tsunami of ideas undulating inside my brain, and brings me joy. It’s my ultimate fun, still, to this day.

So, my answer to the question – Writing: doing it for fun, profit, or other, is YES. ALL 3!

Let’s see what some of the other authors in the blog hop feel about the topic. Here’s the link to their sites. MFWRweeklyblog

And you can always find me here:

Tweet Me//Read Me// Visit Me//Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me//Google+Me// Triber// BookMe // Monkey me //Watch me

and here’s the link to my TELL ME ABOUT YOUR DAMN BOOK podcast interview, just in case you missed it: TMAYDB

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Author interview with #author ABIGAIL OWEN

Today I’m so pleased to have author ABIGAIL OWEN with me. She recently sat down for an indepth interview into her writing and personal life and I’m so glad she did. Abigail has a brand new book out that’s topping the charts, titled THE BOSS.

A dark paranormal about hunky dragon shifters, this book looks smokin’!


SO sit back and find out a little about this prolific author.

Abigail,  The Writer 

What drives you to write? Like many authors probably tell you, I have characters in my head who talk to me. I just have to get their stories on paper to shut them up. Lol.

What genre(s) of Romance do your write, and why? I write paranormal romance as Abigail Owen—because it’s pure escapism and I love coming up with all sorts of ways for things to happen. I also write contemporary romance as Kadie Scott—because I love a good love story.

What genre(s) of Romance do you read, and why?I read every genre of romance—paranormal, contemporary, historical, erotic, science fiction, sweet, inspirational. You name it. I find love is a form of hope. What better way to spend my free time than escaping into worlds where things really do end happily?

What’s your writing schedule? Do you write everyday?I write every day. I do attempt to take weekends off, but it’s rare that I get to (usually because I’m behind on my word count for the week).

Give us a glimpse of the surroundings where you write. Separate room? In the kitchen? At the dining room table?I tend to move all over the house, but my main writing spot is my treadmill desk. I’m able to knock out 1000-1500 words in 1 hour of walking. Double the impact!

Are you the kind of writer who needs total quiet to compose, or are you able to filter out the typical sounds of the day and use your tunnel-vision? I’m able to filter a little. I do write to music. But I can’t write with the TV on any more. I find I get fewer words down in an hour that way. I do turn on the TV when I’m doing anything else—book cover design, graphics, social media, etc.

Do you listen to music while you write, and if so, what kind? If not, why not? All kinds of music for me. Everything from pop, to hip hop, to country, to musicals, to 40s swing, to 50s/60s oldies. I love all kinds of music and tend to mix it up. 

How did you come up with the plotline/idea for your current WIP? Believe it or not, this book is a spin off from another idea that will be published in 2019. That one is also dragon shifters but more into the kings ruling side of things. While discussing that series, I talked about how the kings also rule over colonies of dragons and use “enforcers” to keep their laws. From that was born the Fire’s Edge series. We decided to start with Fire’s Edge and then move over to Inferno Rising and alternate. Two series—same world!

Which comes first for you – character or plot? And why? Characters almost always. Like I said, the characters talk to me. I see the way the meet or a certain situation they are in. The rest builds around that.

What 3 words describe you, the writer? Creative, hot, and sassy. (Peggy here: Lovelovelove that description!!!)

Abigail, The Person 

Tell us one unusual thing about yourself – not related to writing! I was a competitive skydiver once upon a time. Still miss it.

Who was your first love and what age were you? Ahaha. Probably a boy named Austin. I had a huge crush on him in 5th and 6th grade. I eventually dated him in high school and still think of him as a friend.

If you could relive one day, which one would it be? Think GROUNDHOG DAY, the movie for this one – you’ll have to live it over and over and…. I love all my days. Even the bad ones. (Well, most of them. There’s a few I could skip.) If I had to pick just one, I think a day doing something fun with my husband and kids.

Do you like a guy in boxers, briefs, or commando? Boxers. Yum.

If you had to give up one necessary-can’t-live-without-it beauty item, what would it be? I love my Meaningful Beauty skin serum. That stuff is seriously fantastic.

What three words describe you, the person? Introvert, sarcastic, easy-going.

If you could sing a song with Jimmy Fallon, what would it be? We talking lip-sync battle here? I’d have to do “Lose Yourself” by Eminem. Lol.

If you could hang out with any literary character from any book penned at any time line, who would it by, why, and what would you do together? Oh gosh. Hard question. Probably Lizzie Bennet from Pride & Prejudice. She just seems like she’d be fun to hang out with.

I love the Actor’s Studio show on Bravo, so this is my version of it:

  1. Favorite sound – my kids laughing
  2. Least favorite sound – whining
  3. Best song every written – In the Mood by Glenn Miller
  4. Worst song ever written – I never could get into Salt N’ Peppa’s Pump Up the Volume, even though I loved other stuff from them.
  5. Favorite actor and actress – Actor…Gary Oldman. Actress…Kate Winslett.
  6. Who would you want to be for 1 day and why? ( It can be anyone living or dead) No one specific. I’d love to be someone from a completely different culture/background/life than mine, just to be able to walk around in their shoes and see things from their lens.
  7. What turns you on? A good sense of humor.
  8. What turns you off? An overinflated ego.
  9. Give me the worst 5 words ever heard on a first date ( here’s mine: “Is that your real hair?”) “You’re not what I thought.” – ouch!
  10. What’s your version of a perfect day? Anything in Estes Park, Co with my family.
The Boss (Fire’s Edge #1)
FINN CONLETH leads his team of enforcer dragon shifters with an iron fist and a cold heart. Every dragon seeks his destined mate, and he thought he’d found his, but the process to turn her killed her and devastated him. After that he vowed he’d never risk his heart again. His team is his family now. When his body eventually gives out, he’ll leave, living his last days alone.
DELANEY HAMILTON moved across the country to start a new life, escaping the specter of freak fires that plagued her. But when another mysterious fire erupts near her and rapidly escalates, she sees her new life going up in smoke. She has no other choice than to turn herself into the men who come to her aid.
Finn knows the fire is dragon-caused, which puts Delaney’s problems directly in his jurisdiction to solve. But no matter how her wounded grey eyes appeal to every part of him, he has a vow to keep.
He barely survived losing his false mate. Losing Delaney would destroy him.

Excerpt 

No way was she misinterpreting the need reflecting back at her.

Say it, she silently urged. Too proud to beg out loud. Do something.

“What do you want, Finn?” she repeated.

Please.

He tipped his head down, though his gaze remained on her, but the light in those blue depths shifted, turning from banked need, held ruthlessly in check, to a possessiveness that drew her body into aching awareness.

He pulled lightly on her wrist, drawing her across what had been an impassable chasm of space, until she was flush against his hard body. His other hand came under the fall of her hair to rest against her neck.

She didn’t look away, not even as he lowered his head, his movement agonizingly slow. His mouth only a whisper from hers, he stopped.

“You,” he said. “I want you.”

Finally. She had no idea if she closed the distanced between their lips or if he did. She only knew that she was getting exactly what she wanted.

Sensation forced her eyes closed as the heat of him seeped into her skin, her body flushing with it, swamping her senses. Their tongues tangled, his mouth hard and urgent against hers, like he couldn’t get enough, like he needed to possess her. The speed of her body’s reaction was so fast, so immediate, that she went dizzy with the need, like looking over the edge of a terrifying drop.

She was too out of her element, too out of control, but she didn’t want to stop. She wanted more.

He released her wrist, wrapping his arm around her waist, her softness yielding to his hard body as he held her closer. At the same time, he loosened his grip on her neck, brushing over the sensitive skin at her nape with his fingers.

Shards of electricity zapped from that simple touch directly to her core, which throbbed in response. At the same time, warmth from that touch spread through her on a wave of a feeling akin to total acceptance. Like this was where she was supposed to be. A low moan dragged from her mouth as he lifted her, just enough that it put him in complete control. He slipped a thigh between her legs, then pressed her down.

Holy hell.

 

Delaney leaned into him, her body softening into his, attuned to what his wicked hands and lips were doing to her even as her heart beat fast has hummingbird’s wings just to be in his arms. She arched into him, moving against him with a moan.

His hand slid under her shirt and he brushed against the sensitive flesh at her waist, his skin warm against hers. Which only made her want more skin.

With eager hands, she tugged at his black t-shirt, breaking their kisses only long enough to pull it over his head. Then she allowed her hands to roam, to feel the rigid strength in his body, loving the heat of him, the bourbon and Coke smell of him.

A shudder shook his body. “I want you.” He paused, then said something else under his breath. Something like, “More than I should let myself.” But then his lips were back on hers, addling her senses and taking over her mind.

A bellow rent the air and jerked Delaney out of the oblivion of pleasure where she floated. She snapped her head up, breaking the kiss to listen. Another sound that she could only classify as a roar broke the stillness.

“What was that?” she asked. Fear, rather than need, had her heart tripping over itself inside her chest. “It sounds like a…wounded animal.”

Finn gave a low rumble that sounded more like a warning growl than anything a human would make, and her heart slammed into high gear. Slowly, dread pulling at her, she turned her head to look directly at him.

To encounter eyes ablaze. Not figuratively. Literally ablaze. Blue flames consumed his irises.

What the hell? Panic spiked inside her, and her breath came out in short, sharp bursts, speeding up as she absorbed what she was seeing.

Adrenaline joined the fear and she shoved his chest. Hard.

She must’ve surprised him, because Finn released her, stumbling back a few paces. She managed to keep her feet under her, then scrambled back, trying not to trip over any rocks in her path.

He held up his hands. “Delaney, don’t—”

She did the only thing she could. She ran.

Buy Links:

Amazon //B&N //Apple // Kobo // Google //

Free Prequel Short Story

Get an early start on the series with a prequel short story to the Fire’s Edge series. “The Mate” will be available for FREE via all retailers 9/17.

Amazon // B&N // Google //

OR… Join Abigail’s newsletter to get a copy now. http://eepurl.com/Lw2XH

A little more about Abigail Owen

Award-winning contemporary romance author, Kadie Scott, grew up consuming books and exploring the world through her writing. She attempted to find a practical career related to her favorite pastime by earning a degree in English Rhetoric (Technical Writing). However, she swiftly discovered that writing without imagination is not nearly as fun as writing with it.

No matter the genre, she loves to write witty, feisty heroines, sexy heroes who deserve them, and a cast of lovable characters to surround them (and maybe get their own stories). She currently resides in Austin, Texas, with her own personal hero, her husband, and their two children, who are growing up way too fast.

Website & Blog Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | Bookbub

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What 5 books influence(d) you as a writer?

Okay, I’m going to say this up front: I stole this idea from another author I saw  tweet about it the other day. I just knew it was worth a blog post.

There are really waaaaaaaaay more than 5, but these are the ones that did it – and do it – for me as a romance writer.

Pride and Prejudice – the original wonen’s fiction, but really, a true romance at heart. A loving heroine, a brooding hunk of a hero, a ditzy family, secrets, lies, and scandal. It’s simply perfection in every way.

Gone with the Wind – again, not billed as a romance but as historical fiction. And again, really a true romance. I mean, come on. There’s a reason no other h/h in the romance world are named Rhett and Scarlett. Just sayin…

 

Shanna – the very first ADULT romance I read at 17, and by adult I mean – it had sex. A lot of sex. Really, really, well written, sexy sex. Woodiwiss was a master and if you’ve never read anything by her, correct that situation today.

Irish Thoroughbred – the very first book by the queen of us all. Tender, sweet, a voice that was like no others on the market at that time. This book has stood the test of time, changing writing styles, and everything else in romancelandia.

Sense and Sensibility – my favorite scene in a Jane Austen book. Captain Brandon walks into a music room where MaryAnn is playing. While he listens, he falls in love with her. If you’ve seen the Emma Thomson/Kate Winslet movie version, you know the scene I’m talking about. Perfection. The best love-at-first-glance I’ve ever read. Bar none.

So, what 5 books have influenced you as a writer? Or reader? Let’s discuss…

And if you’re looking for me, I’m here:Tweet Me//Read Me// Visit Me//Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me//Google+Me// Triber// Book Me

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#LASR #SaturdaySeven


Valentine’s Day has just passed and, hopefully, everyone I know had a day spent with the love of their life! I know I did.

Thinking about V-day always makes me think of great book quotes about love, relationships, the future. Here are seven of my favorite romantic quotes from books.

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, the ultimate romance novel from Jane Austen.

Darcy to Elizabeth: “In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.”

GONE WITH THE WIND. A Southern bad boy loves spoiled Southern belle by Margaret Mitchell.

Rhett to Scarlett: “You should be kissed and often, and by someone who knows how.”

TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE.  A memoir of love, loss, and growing old by Mitch Albom.

“I like myself better when I’m with you.

WINNIE THE POOH. Everyone’s favorite Pooh bear by A.A. Milne.

“If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day, so I never have to live without you.”

STOP ALL THE CLOCKS, by poet W.H. Auden

( and this quote was made famous when it was recited in the movie Four Weddings and a funeral.)

“He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.”

 

 

 

 

Love Poems by Robert Browning.

NEW YORK TO DALLAS.Part of the InDeath series by JD Robb, and my personal favorite book in the collections.

Roarke to Eve Dallas, after she’s been in the physical fight of her life with a serial murderer and rapist. Eve is bloody, has a black eye and is filled with cuts, stab wounds, and bruises.  She states to Dr. Mira ( after Mira gives her a painkiller that makes her loopy) “I’m not pretty. ” Roarke, standing in a corner tells her, “You are the most beautiful woman ever born.”

Le sigh……..

When I’m reading or writing about romance and romantic fiction, you can find me here:

Tweet Me//Read Me// Visit Me//Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me//Google+Me// Triber// Book Me

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Why my Christmas Tree ornaments mean so much….

Memories can be captured several ways. I tend to like the physical way of remembering things – getting a program at a concert (despite the fact they are a gazillion dollars now!); keeping the seat stubs from a Broadway play. One way I love more than any other is the acquiring of Christmas tree ornaments. (BTW – that tree above is not one of mine!!!)

I routinely have 4 Christmas trees on display in my home each year.

Yeah…I know. But when you grow up poor, stuff takes on a new meaning when you have spending money!

Anyway….about those trees. Or more directly, the ornaments.

Since I’ve been married I’ve been acquiring ornaments of memories. I have one tree that is loaded with ornaments purchased from all the places around the world we have visited. I have another tree with all cooking and baking related ornaments because for several years I hosted an annual cookie swap with dozens of friends. As a thank you for them coming to my swap, they not only got cookies, but an ornament cooking/baking related for their own trees. I kept one for me each year.

My husband is not the lover of ornaments that I am…not even close! But there is one ornament that he insists get put up on our tree every year and it is the one he looks for when I’m done decorating. This is it:

Yes, that it a Goodwill box, and yes there is a tree sticking out of it. I want to tell you story behind this favored ornament.

Hubby moved to Wisconsin to start a new job six months before we got married. I stayed behind to plan the wedding and to finish up my Master’s degree. With just one course left, I didn’t want to leave until it was completed. Hubby was due to come back to NYC for our wedding which would take place the day after Christmas ( Boxing Day for you UK-ers). He had a small apartment that I would move into with him until we found our perfect house. As I’ve mentioned, Hubby is not the Christmas decorator in our family so the apartment was bare of all holiday accoutrement.

One day, on his way to work, he spotted a Goodwill box in the parking lot of the building he worked in. Sticking out of it was a fully tinseled Christmas tree, complete with the star at the top. Obviously, someone was going away for the holidays but didn’t want to just toss their tree into the garbage, electing to put it in the Goodwill box in the hopes some needy family would see it and have their own tree.

Hubby is a fast-on-his-feet thinker. He pulled the tree from the box- it still smelled fresh and evergreen-y – and drove it back to the apartment . The stand was attached ( smart donators!) so he filled it with water and went back to work. And that’s the way it stood in the apartment. No other decorations, just the tinsel and the star. He came home to NYC for a few days, we got married, and immediately flew back to Wisconsin because he didn’t have enough earned time for a honeymoon. Needless to say, when I saw the tree I was thrilled. And touched.

And then he told me the story of how he’d acquired the tree.

And I laughed because this is my hubby in a nutshell!

Of course, he had to share what he’d done with his co-workers before he left to get married. When he went back to work on Monday there was a wrapped gift from one of the people in his office. It was the above ornament, handcrafted by the husband of an officemate who is a woodworker. Every year now for the past 30 years that ornament sits in a place of honor on our Christmas tree and Hubby looks for it to make sure it’s there.

I love the thought of ornaments as platforms for memories. If I keep making more memories, though, I’m going to need a bigger house for all the trees!

I’ve got a Christmas book out that I hope makes memories for the people who read it. If you’re interested, here’s the link: A Kiss

And if you need to find me in cyberland, I’m usually here: Tweet Me//Read Me// Visit Me//Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me//Google+Me// Triber// Book Me

 

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A few words here, a few words there….#NaNoWriMo2017

I just realized NaNoWriMo 2017 is half over as of today. Thirty days has September, April, June, and November…. so yeah! Half way.

I know I’ve been plugging along and I’ve been checking on some of my NaNo writing buddies and they all are as well. I’m usually not so far in a novel as I am right now, something  I wanted to stop and think about for a moment.

I write fast. Like I talk, only without the hand gestures. ( heehee), but this year I’m halfway and already at over 40,000 words. You  need a 50,000 minimum to be an official Nano Winner. The NaNO predictor tool says if I keep my current word count up, I’ll finish by this Saturday, Nov. 18. That would be the fastest I’ve ever gotten words on the page for this event.

So what have I done differently this year to write so much faster?

Is it because I was so well prepped with an outline before I started? Nope. I always outline.

Is it because I’m so pumped about this new series that I can’t wait until I sit down to work each day? Kinda, but not the real reason.

So what is it you ask? Well, I’ll tell ya.

 

In the past ( like up until last month, Heehee) I sat at my desk for hours on end writing, thinking, cyber trolling, writing and thinking some more. For hours. Literally. This year I’ve been plagued with some heavy arthritis and other joint issues and injuries which make sitting for long periods painful for me when I finally get up. So I’ve been writing in times sprints of a half hour to 45 minutes every day. I write for, say, a half hour, then get up and do life stuff ( laundry, cook, run errands) then go back to writing again for about 45 minutes, then life stuff ( gym, channel surf, watch Real Housewives episodes – don’t judge me!) and then back to writing again. I’ve been uber productive doing this, evidenced by the word count. I think my brain  wants to write when I sit down because it’s been denied that while I’ve been life-stuffing. The words flow out and onto the laptop at record speeds and amounts.

Who knew productivity could be so high when times are limited? Well, probably a lot of people – like the ones who work full time and have to do NaNo in their sparse free time, but I certainly didn’t. I’ve always written under the edict BUTT IN CHAIR, FINGERS ON THE KEYBOARD, WRITE. (BICFOTKW)

Usually, I have a cramp in my butt at the end of the day from sitting so much. Not this month.

I’m amending my NaNo edict to BICFOTKWFTM : BUTT IN CHAIR, FINGERS ON THE KEYBOARD, WRITE FOR THIRTY MINUTES.

Heehee.

When I’m not writing or doing life stuff, you can find me here: Tweet Me//Read Me// Visit Me//Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me//Google+Me// Triber// Book Me

 

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#NaNoWriMo 2017…progress?

Well, we’re almost a week into NaNoWriMo 2017. I’m doing well and so are most of my Nano Buddies. For a writer, I’ve always felt this event is a great way to either kick-start the writing process if you’ve been stalled, or a motivator to get you writing. Just committing to the continuous 30 days of writing makes anyone a winner in my book. I’ve had all four of the books I’ve written during NaNo go on to be published. Not too bad, right? My 2016 winner Can’t Stand The Heat will be released from Kensington/Lyrical Shine on April 4, 2018,

and my 2015 win, Passion’s Palette 

is available now for purchase.

So, if you’re participating in NaNo this month, Yay! Keep on writing and plugging away. Remember – it takes just 7 days for something to become a habit. Buy the end of this week you’ll be in the mindset of writing every single day and that will take you onward into the next months.

I can usually be found writing my NaNo stuff and interacting here:Tweet Me//Read Me// Visit Me//Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me//Google+Me// Triber// Book Me

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