Where's My Pirate Costume?

Most of you know I have two little girls. This morning I woke up singing songs from Dora's Pirate Adventure.

Sing with me...

Parents of small children, if you missed this one (featuring John Leguizamo), I highly recommend it. You will be singing these songs for the rest of your life.

To this day, we still finish Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star with "how I wonder what you ate for breakfast."

That led me to wishing I could have a REAL sing-along blog like Dr. Horrible (link)!

Would that rule or what?

I have always loved to sing.

But I tend to suffer from singing stage-fright, so you will rarely catch me onstage singing anywhere. (Unless I've had too much "medicine.")

When I lived in Baldwin County, I worked up the courage to join our small church's choir. A few friends made fun of me for being a "choir girl," but the truth was, I got more out of church being in that choir than from anything else I did.

Get me!

Not sure what that means.

What does all this have to do with anything?

Well, there's a lot of serious stuff going on in the world this week. I for one am a little weirded out by how much history seems to be repeating itself. (Great Depression followed by WWII, the majority of the country not wanting to get involved...)

Some people believe you can't be serious and lighthearted at the same time. But I have a tendency to get too serious, reader-friends.

I have to throw in some lightness in the mix so I don't lose it.

That thought gave me an idea for a scene in a book I'm working on. It's about looking ahead to how things will be once the bad thing has passed...

My hero tells our heroine a game he liked to play as a child. He would think of his favorite thing to do, and then he would tell himself that was what he'd do when whatever he was afraid of was over.

I confess, the idea grew from that part in L O S T where Jack tells Kate about allowing the fear in for five seconds. Really being afraid for those five seconds, and then letting it go and getting the job done.

Powerful thing, the mind...

It's going to be in the 90s here this week, but then the 70s by Friday. I think we should all imagine dressing up and doing a big Dora's Pirate Adventure sing-along on Saturday. Or Teen Beach Movie. Whatever floats your ship... or surfboard.

Quick Reminders:

**You can still enter to #WIN one of TEN amazing prizes including signed copies, audiobooks, etc., in the Happy Birthday The Truth About Faking giveaway! Go here (link)~

**Watercolor is coming Oct. 3! Look at this gorgeous paperback cover my incredibly talented writer-friend Jolene Perry made...

On Goodreads

I am SO in love with that cover. And it is SO perfect for Anna & Julian's love story... You've got time to catch up--grab your copy of Dragonfly and/or Undertow today!

Have a super week, reader-friends! Cooler weather is on the way~

Blogs & Pinterest & Zombies

I just read another post about how blogging isn't what it was a year ago. Many of this writer's friends are no longer posting, and s/he laments, "Blogging is dead."

My daughter recently got an iPod Touch. It comes with the same iMessage app the iPhone has. First, she could only text me. Now she has two friends she can text. One million text messages later...

zombie scanner app

Seriously, she texts constantly. Occasionally they also jump on Facetime and talk, but then they're right back to texting.

The good news is, I've got an easy thing to ground when she misbehaves or doesn't do her homework. My point is I expect this behavior to level out once the novelty is gone. 

Maybe that's a faulty analogy. Regardless, I'm not so ready to declare blogging dead. It's like any other social media--it works for some people, it doesn't for others.

Blogging moves slower, it requires brains, and Blogger often makes users emit weird noises... Much like a zombie.

Personally, I find Twitter bewildering. It's like I'm posting my random thoughts in the hopes one of my friends might be online at that moment to catch me and reply.

I've been admonished for this Luddite approach: Some other tweeter might respond, and I could make a new friend!

*nom nom nom*

But I'm kind of suspicious that way, and I'm not the type of person who chats with strangers about randomness. (Hmm... wait.)

My husband and I have lived in four different states and have friends all over the world. We use Facebook to keep up with everybody, share pictures, make jokes, remember when, share music, share movies, etc.

(Attention investors: I've never used it to buy or sell anything.)

I've always loved art and fashion and looking at photography in magazines. I also like finding unique items to buy and wear (or to dream of buying and wearing).

Me on Pinterest

Pinterest is the absolute most amazing outlet for my love, and every pin's a link to where you can find the item!

I don't use it to sell anything, but I have used it to buy stuff. (Attention investors: This one's sheer marketing genius.)

Goodreads I use when I remember to. Tumblr is simply baffling...

This silly little blog has done amazing things for me. I've had to cut back on posting, but...  (If you can recite my story, please skip to the "resume.")

I started this blog reluctantly, not expecting anything from it. I didn't know what to write about, and I didn't know a single other person with a blog.

Gradually, I met other blogging writers. We shared our writing mistakes, problems, fears, discoveries, ideas, successes, etc. Now we have a pretty tight circle of writer-friends, and I know of at least two who've sailed up the Amazon charts using blog tours.

For me, blogging has provided critique partners, feedback on short writing samples, actual writer friends, an agent. 

When I launched my editing business last year, blogger friends sent me clients, became clients, posted about it, told me where I could advertise. Now I have a steady stream of business. (Resume.)

Wait. That did all happen a year or more ago! Maybe they're right! It is dead, and I'm hanging out with... (insert shocking music) Zombies!!!

I think it's more as a good blogging friend (M. Pax, link) said last week on another good friend's blog (link): You've got to find the social media outlet that suits your personality. Then you've got to interact with others using it.

Then she said, "Muuhhh... brains... nom nom nom..."

What do you guys think? Am I missing it? How do you view the social media outlets? Why are you still blogging--or are you quitting? Any good brain recipes?

Have a great week, reader- and writer-friends! <3

Weird, maybe. Lucky, definitely.

Writers are weird. I've even heard them called crazy, and maybe that's fair.

I'd argue we're working in one of the few fields where you can put more of yourself into your work than you ever thought possible, demonstrate more dedication than you ever believed you had, believe in yourself more than you've ever done in your life, and still not find success.

At least not right away.

I recently heard award-winning author Margaret McMullan (link) speak. She said something that struck me, and I think you might like it. Here it go (roughly):

"Conflict is something we avoid in life, but we collect as writers. You might be having the worst year of your life. Use it."

I noted that first because it's true. But also because life as a writer is so emotionally challenging. I guess that means we have lots of material from which to draw. (?) For example...

Source

Maybe you're writing your first novel. You've got a full-time job, a family, responsibilities, but you get up every night for months until that book is done.

You do everything right. You find beta readers and critique partners, you revise and polish, you write a great query. And every agent passes.

Maybe you get a Revise & Resubmit request from a Dream Agent. With a nauseous stomach and trembling hands, you hunker down and make the requested revisions. You get feedback from your betas/critters, you get it all bright and shiny and polished and ready to go back. And Dream Agent passes.

Or maybe you land Dream Agent. S/he is so in love with your book, s/he's raving about iPad apps and movie deals. You have visions of your baby going to auction and publishers fighting over you, waving incredible advances and sales projections. You send it out and spend six sleepless weeks (or months) waiting to hear something. And every editor passes.

Maybe you get a major deal. You're given a huge advance, much of which depends on your ability to move a certain number of copies. Maybe a fellow writer reads your book. S/he has written something in the same genre (or not) and is bitter or jealous because you got a major deal and s/he was rejected.

This writer crafts a scathing, unfair review and posts it on Goodreads declaring your book garbage and gets all his/her friends to give it the thumbs up so it's the first thing potential buyers see when they look up your title.

Or maybe your book's picked up by a small publisher. It has a fantastic launch and is selling well on all the online outlets. You do all your promotional materials, bookmarks, etc., then you get an email saying small publisher is going out of business. In 24 hours, your baby will disappear from the stores. You're facing weeks to get it back online, losing buyers and possibly even momentum.

What do you do?

I guess McMullan would say "Use it." It's good advice, but in the moment, it's not always super encouraging to think, "This could be my bestselling novel one day."

Back when I was querying, I used to joke about hiding under my desk. That's one option.

Another is to shoot an email to Tami, Carolyn, Matt, Jessica, Susan, DL, Tracy, Sheri, Janet, Katie, Stina, Theresa, Lydia, Sarah, Jen, Anne, Jeannie, Anita, Lisa Anne, Elle, PK, Michael, RaShelle, Shannon, Me...

I had to stop naming names because of space requirements. The point is we've all been there. The examples above are all real, and yet somehow we've all made it through these times and made it to better places. Or heck, we've made it.

We're so lucky to have this group. I know I say that a lot, but I feel so lucky to have you. I've yet to meet another set of writers in real life that compares to this blogging community.

So yes, maybe I'm weird, but I know that if I'm losing it, all I have to do is reach out and help is just an email away. I hope you feel the same about me.

And while we're reaching, check out Elle Strauss's brand new book! I haven't read it yet, but it sounds supercute. Here's the cover and jacket blurb:

Adeline doesn't feel she belongs in her own time, but can bad boys from the past be trusted?

Adeline Savoy had hoped that the move west from Cambridge to Hollywood with her single dad would mean they’d finally bond like a real family, but all she got was a father too busy with his new female friends and his passion for acting to really see her.

Instead she finds herself getting attached to Faye, the divorcee hair dresser she befriends when she travels back in time to 1955. Faye has a hottie, James Dean-esque, bad-boy brother who has Adeline’s heart all aflutter, but bad boys from the past can be dangerous. Is it possible that Adeline really does belong in her own time and that maybe the right boy lives as close as next door?

LIKE CLOCKWORK is available now at Amazon (link) and Smashwords (link).

Have a great week, reader- and writer-friends~ <3

Blog What You Want

I started to title this one "gratitude," but by the end I had to change it. 

That's how I imagine the plotter and the panster in me collide when I write. The plotter is the calm, planning one who says what the family will do, a nice trip to the ocean. The panster is the one who smiles and pretends to agree... and ends up taking the kids to Thailand.

Anyway, so this started off about gratitude. I have to say how awesome you all were about my last post.

I already have my first editing project as a result, I've got bleeps offering to plug me on their blogs, I've got Tweeters tweeting about it, some of you directed me to other places to advertise...

It's been a while since I gushed about how great our little writers community is. I think the last time was when I got my agent. That was five months ago! Too long.

I know people say blogging is dead. I don't know. It seems like there are many thriving blogs out there--Jen, Matt, and Katie are the first that spring to mind. But there are so many others.

Some say you should never blog about writing. Can I just jump in real quick and beg some of you to ignore this. Please? 

I've learned so much from reading your discoveries. K.M. Weiland has given me more lightbulbs than I can count--also Dr. Quinn... And speaking of doctors, Lydia Kang is always giving me story ideas with her medical Mondays. And that's only three of you!

Others say you shouldn't blog to sell books. Well... I've bought all my bloggie friends' books. I haven't read them all yet, but the ones I have are fantastic. And it's cool to think I know the authors and we're friends.

I bet to them it's like that starfish story (link)--it made a difference to that one.

I'm sure I'll read somewhere about how you shouldn't blog to find editing jobs. And I'll do like I always do when experts announce how I should fill this space of mine. Shrug and smile.

As my friend Shannon said, "Write whatever the *%!# you want. It's your blog." (Shannon also me two serious work leads after Monday's post--one resulted in a writing job. Whoot!)

So there. This post really is about gratitude. And blog what you want. I'll never know how much I've gotten back from it.

Have a great week-end, reader- and writer-friends! Til Monday~ <3

The Writers' Circle redefined

In my last post, I lamented how I didn't feel comfortable sharing my self-doubts on my blog for whatever reason, and then in the following hours and days, well, all I can say is Wow.

First, there is SO much going on behind the scenes with my bloggie friends, taking control of their destinies, wrestling with similar fears as mine, holding back... I really didn't know about it all because none of us are posting about this stuff.

Can I just say I'm glad I was having my moment? And just for the record, the moment has passed, my problem has been resolved, my fears quelled... Yay! Suddenly I can see blue skies again.

Anyway, several of you sent me emails urging me to elaborate on what was troubling me, and as we shared, I started thinking about the old writers circles of ... oh, 1910.

Back in the day, you had to either migrate (emigrate?) to New York or Paris to find other writers with whom to talk shop. (And wear silly hats.)

You also didn't have representatives (agents), and manuscripts were typed on paper and mailed in boxes to one of four large publishing houses on a wish and a prayer. (The wish/prayer part hasn't changed.)

It's been years since I was in Paris. Ditto New York.

I'm also a mamma now, which would make it tough to hang out at the Algonquin every day at lunch, blowing off steam or whatever.

So Janet Reid declared we all had to start blogging, and I reluctantly did so. Then this thing happened.

I found all these other people doing what I was doing, having similar experiences as me, having different experiences or finding information about different things from me and sharing it... It was amazing, cool, and really great--especially on days like Monday.

I've said over and over how I probably would've given up on this novelist dream a year ago if it weren't for you guys--my bloggie buddies. It's amazing that I can hint that I'm feeling alone and self-doubty, and support comes surging through the ether.

I appreciate you all so much. Once this is all over, I look forward to coming back and sharing with everyone how this journey has gone. Giving back or something. I'll let you know as soon as I can.

And since some of you asked, I've posted an "after" shot of my new writer's cave.

I'll be in here working once school's back in (in a week!), and I'm currently in here as much as I can checking emails, reading blogs, and making these posts.

Have a super weekend, reader- and writer-friends! Remember those lemonade guys? (Was it lemonade?) Thank you for your support.

Til Monday~ <3

To post or not to post

So I had this whole post ready to go for today, and at the last minute, I pulled it.

It's about where I am in the submissions process and my thoughts and concerns--mostly my feelings of self-doubt and second-guessing. But then I got to thinking about all the things we're advised not to put "out there." How we might hurt our prospects through a careless online post.

That makes me sad.

All through this process, you guys have been my support network. Through development, writing, querying, revisions... It's difficult for nonwriters to understand what this path is like--the ups and downs--and it can be very isolating.

It's hard for me to believe that what I put in this little space can truly harm my career. First, I don't write inflammatory posts. Second, even when I do write posts that are borderline rants (have I ever done that?), I temper them with enough rhetoric to make them palatable to any reader.

So I'm frustrated.

We have such a great little writer-friend support circle, one that would be difficult (impossible?) to create were it not for this medium, and now I can't use it.

True confession: It's also hard for me to believe anyone is out there searching for me right now or interested in what I'm posting online at this point. My ego is not that inflated.

One of our bloggie buddies at times will email her posts to some of us to get our responses before she puts them up. As in, "Is this offensive?" or "Am I going to lose all my followers if I put this out there?" I always err on the side of caution. She always posts them anyway.

Then we joke that if this were American Idol (which I don't watch), she'd be Simon and I'd be Paula... I don't think she's lost a follower yet.

What do you guys think? Should we self-censor our posts? Should we put whatever we're feeling out there or hold back the borderline stuff? Is censoring defeating the purpose of what we're even doing here?

I don't know. I'm not naming names. I'm not even saying anything bad about where I am--I'm not in a bad place! I'm just feeling self-doubtish. And I'm sure it's provoked by this move...

So. Terrible about what happened in Norway, yes?

Til Thursday, I'm just over here playing Hamlet. <3