Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Journal Entry: Walking and chewing gum

I really can do more than one thing at a time; like write a book and live my life. Honest. It's the running down the buffet line trying to inhale a four-course dinner that I'm not so good with.

But you know how the universe can be -- so doggone demanding sometimes, like "Give me all your attention NOW." So that's where I've been these past blogless months, doting on the fates and forces that make you focus and think and prioritize your world. That kind of stuff.

I am happy to report that while I mandated a slow-down in the breakneck pace of my life, the writing trickled (oh, in agonizing fashion), but the to-do's "magically" sorted themselves into manageable bites, and the planets realigned themselves just for me. Voile!, all is right with the world:

The manuscript is off to my editor. The next set of characters are knocking at my brain asking to be set free on my keyboard, and the kids have made me swear to a movie and game night this weekend. Sure, why not? After all, I can walk and chew gum at the same time.

Today's life lesson: Know thyself. I'm an INTJ -- which, I've heard, is only 12% of the population. As a writer, this means understanding that most people aren't necessarily as intuitive as me and my writing has to to speak to people who tend to need their plot twists spelled out and less often inferred. Who I am makes a difference in not only how I relate to the world, but how I approach my writing as well.

It's good to be back in my nearly right-sized life aiming for new adventures and prepping for my January release. I'll have a cover for you in a few weeks (I'm told). I'll try not to keep you guessing. ;)

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Step Away From the Keyboard

I'm blogging over at Novel Spaces about a writer's need for perspective. If time away from a work benefits Stephen King, I figure it'll work for me, too!
Stefanie
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Some writers outline and plot, others “wing” their stories. Some need silence to create, others rely on music to set a mood, or field trips to develop a scene. Personal styles and craft techniques run the gamut of approaches among authors. Yet, I’ve found one practice common across genre and experience level: stepping away from the story.


I think I happened on the tactic accidentally with my first novel. I’d finished the book and so I set it aside to focus on getting it published. When I started getting feedback on the manuscript, I revisited my story and found myself reading it like it was the first time I’d seen it.


Read more


Sunday, October 04, 2009

Enter the HeavenSent.com contest today!

To celebrate the release of my novella, HeavenSent.com, in the Holiday Brides anthology, I'm giving away books, gift cards, and beautiful keepsakes!

There are two ways to enter and yes, you can enter both ways.

Reader Thank You Prize Pack:
Sign up for my newsletter and you'll be entered to win a $10 Barnes & Noble gift card and a signed copy of my backlist books, Where Souls Collide and The Holiday Inn. Three lucky readers will each win one of these prize packs.

Grand Prize Pack:
My heroine, Brenna, has decided that the only way to make good on her mission to find a man is through online dating at HeavenSent.com. For a chance at the Grand Prize Pack, you need to sign up for my newsletter AND write your own online dating profile! It can be funny or serious. Please keep to 50 words or less. I'll pick five to be highlighted on my web site, here on my blog, and on my Facebook and MySpace pages. Two winners will receive a grand prize pack that includes a $20 Barnes & Noble gift card, signed copies of my backlist books The Holiday Inn and Where Souls Collide, and a gorgeous souvenir ceramic tile from Detroit's nationally renowned Pewabic Pottery studio.

Click here to enter the contest!

**Contest ends midnight, January 1, 2010