A Rough Week

Last week was rough. And yes, you can go ahead and assume what type of rough, because it was such a hard week, I'm sure more than one explanation applies.

So I vowed something to myself. I vowed not to check my email all weekend. And since it's become such a regular part of my day--like every five minutes--I even moved the email icon on my phone to the last app page. Did I still pick up the purple iPhone to check? Yes. But by the time I swiped to the last page in a fog of email addiction, I was coherent enough to remember my vow.

I can't say that this impromptu weekend fast from all things email has given me any perspective. But it has temporarily lifted the weight of the "What's in my inbox? Is it a rejection?" burden.

And you know what? Maybe it has given me an ounce of perspective.

In my four years of trying, I have not had as rough a week on my path to publication as I did last week. I think that counts for something. It's another notch in my belt, if you will. An algae covered, slippery stepping stone on a river whose stream I'm traveling against, and I didn't fall. I slid a little. But I quickly gained my footing, stilled myself to correct my balance, and decided more than ever to press onward.

My critique partner/best friend recently reminded me of my favorite saying: The darkest hour is before dawn. And I'm hoping this time, it's true. :)

Does that saying encourage you? Have you been on a writing high lately, or a writing low?  

PS. After you comment, this post is VERY good. I suggest giving it a read, especially if you're in the query trenches or submission hell.

Re-Introduce Myself

Today is the Re-Introduce Myself Blog Fest in which I tell you a little bit about myself and hopefully make a few friends in the process. :) If you want to join in on the fun you can go here to sign up.

So here's a little about me you may not already know:

I don't like to cook, but most nights I prepare dinner from scratch. While taking classes to become a doula, I learned the risks of eating processed, chemical-filled meals. So I try to give my family nutritional foods with a side of yummy. But, last summer when my kids went to CA for two weeks to visit their grandparents, my hubby and I made a trip to the grocery store and filled our cart with quick-cooking junk food. And we chemicaled it up for those two weeks! So yeah, I highly dislike cooking, but I do it because I care. And because when those breaks from healthy-eating come, they are totally worth the wait! ;)

Liebster Questions Answered

I've been chosen to receive the Liebster Reward.

Man. I haven't gotten one of those since I started my blog. Feels like forever ago...

I met a friendly YA writer on Twitter and we've been chatting since. She listed me as #1 to receive this award, so I am grateful. If you want to visit this friendly YA writer, her name is Amber and her blog is here. :)

Here's the 11 questions Amber's given me to answer:

1) Describe your current manuscript in three sentences.
     That still, small voice isn't your conscience, it's your Watcher. By Watching seventeen-year-old April's life sphere, Lucas knows the outcome of every decision before she makes it. But when he sees a deadly consequence coming April's way, he skips the small voice part and goes straight for rule-breaking, leaving her life sphere shattered and his Watcher status ruined.

2) What is the most important thing you try to achieve in your writing?
     Assuming we've already included the necessities like character arc, conflict, voice, plot points, and all that, I'd say I try to focus on pacing. That's a huge deal to me. I want to open my ms at any point in the story, and immediately get sucked in. I want my books to be unputdownable. :)

3) What has been your biggest writing high?
     The writer's conference I attended in October. Before that, I'd entered Dark Waters in blog contests and not done so well. I had started to think maybe my story wasn't as unique as I had thought. But at the conference, published/seasoned authors taught me the correct way to pitch. And I learned it wasn't my story that had issues, it was the way I introduced it. And the excited feedback I received from agents and authors once I started pitching my story correctly was super encouraging. Dark Waters also won 2nd place in a writing contest during the conference so it was a weekend of writing highs.

4) What are your three favorite books?
     I can tell you my three favorite series, if that's okay. Right now I'm addicted to J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series. I absolutely loved the Twilight series; it made me bawl my eyes out, guys. And I couldn't put down Julie Kagawa's The Immortal Rules.

5) What's the primary focus of your blog?
     When I started it three years ago, my focus was to share the well-traveled road to publishing. Since then I've realized posting query and request stats is unprofessional unless you're telling your "how I got my agent" story. So now I try to share anything I've learned about writing, make connections, and talk about books. Oh, and dogs. I always want to talk about dogs. :)

6) Name three interesting bloggers/Tweeters you'd like to get to know better.
     Can't do it. In one way or another, I want to get to know as many writers as I can. We can all learn from each other and encourage one another.        

7) What is the single best piece of writing advice you have ever heard/read?
     When I first started writing, I bought "how to" books and searched the internet for tips. I quickly learned writing is an art, and everyone approaches it with a different set of brushes. So I went straight to the canvas to study the colors. I bought bestsellers in my genres and read them. If I loved them, I read them again...with a highlighter and a pen, making notes on pacing, character growth, dialog, and plot points. If I didn't love them, I asked myself why. So the best piece of advice is to read in your genre. A ton.

8) How would you sum up your writing experience?
     I'm not sure how to answer this. I've written since I can remember. In elementary school I won first place in my school district for best novel. In high school I took every journalism and creative writing class I could, and when I was a senior and had completed my English credits early, I spent my 4th period class time at the local community college taking their English class. But I had babies and traveled and didn't start writing fiction again until the summer of 2009.

9) What's your plan for publication?
     I'm currently seeking agent representation. :)

10) What's been your biggest challenge as a writer?
     That's easy. Confidence in my work.

11) What keeps you going?
     My CPs who guarantee me my stories will one day be in print. Plus, I adore making stuff up and telling love stories, so I can't not write.  

Whatcha Reading?

Hi! What are you all reading this January? I'm half-way through City of Bones, and enjoying it.

And today I just picked up a book I've been waiting to read. I'm a member of RWA, and so is the author. When I found out she was going to attend the Emerald City Writer's Conference last October, I had every intention of meeting her. I even used all my raffles tickets on her basket containing a copy of this book and swag! Yet, when she walked up to my part of the check-in table and told me her name, I searched for her packet, gave her her badge, and COMPLETELY failed to make the connection that this was the same name on the book cover I'd been drooling over on Goodreads! Oh, well. Maybe next year. :)

 Here's the premise, doesn't it sound fun?

Celia Wird and her three sisters are just like other twenty-something girls—with one tiny exception: They're the products of a curse that backfired and gave each of them unique powers that make them, well, a little weird…

The Wird sisters are content to avoid the local vampires, werebeasts, and witches of the Lake Tahoe region—until one of them blows up a vampire in self-defense. Everyone knows vampires aren't aggressive, and killing one is punishable by death. But soon more bloodlust-fueled attacks occur, and the community wonders if the vampires of Tahoe are plague-ridden.

Celia reluctantly agrees to help Misha, the handsome leader of an infected vampire family. But Aric, the head of the werewolf pack determined to destroy Misha's family to keep the area safe, warns Celia to stay out of the fight. Caught between two hot alphas, Celia must find a way to please everyone, save everyone, and—oh, yeah—not lose her heart to the wrong guy or die a miserable death. Because now that the evil behind the plague knows who Celia is, he's coming for her and her sisters. 

This Wird girl has never had it so tough.



Oh! And I almost forgot to tell you. I came across these sites and they're fun. Okay, continue on your day.
How to dress like a Disney princess is here.
How to dress like a Disney villain is here.

But tell me, which page are you going to first? The princess or the villain page?

December Butt-Kicking & Hope for the New Year

December kicks my butt. Every year.

Because for me, Decembers aren't just about Christmas. Both my children were born days before Christmas. Separate years. Same month.

So between class birthday parties, class Christmas parties, school recitals, and friend's parties, life gets more than hectic on an annual basis. This year, throw in a puppy and a surgery, and you've got the makings of a woman who'd rather hide under the evergreen than chop it down and decorate it.

But when Christmas comes the craziness stops. Like the crazy train hit a brick wall and poofed into torn wrapping paper and left-overs. It's a day of peace and quiet with my hubby and kids and yummy already-made food. And then there's those days of lull, making up one of my favorite weeks of the year. That week between Christmas and New Years. When you've spent time off bonding with loved ones. And you have a fresh new year to look forward to. When the knowledge that anything is possible is like a twinkling fairy urging you in a new direction. Bright, magical, and exciting. Full of hope.

So, I've got my new hour-by-hour planner. New colorful pens. And new hopes. Well, same hopes, but a new sense that they are within grasp. *I also got a bunch of new bottles of wine, but that's beside the point.* 

What are your hopes for 2013?  

Contest Participants?

So, I don't know about you, but I'm hearing a bunch of chatter about the contests going on this month. Bakers Dozen just finished. Pitch Wars is going on. And PitchMas is kicking off.

Have you entered any of them? How is it going for you?

Puppies and Butt Kicking

My puppy, Katana, is doing great and blending well with my family.

Of-course, I'm exhausted. Man, puppies are work! I mean, I knew...but I didn't really KNOW the amount of cleaning, and watching, and sleepless nights. We've had puppy poop-tastrophies, and puke-tastrophies and squat patrol and night watch.

And...I adore her more everyday. It must be the curled tail, the pointed ears, and the fluffy fur. Or it's just her. Yeah. It's her. :)

But I have more to talk about than puppy love. I may need you to kick my butt, actually. It's about my writing. I'm not. And I want to. But I just can't make myself do it. After the conference at the end of October I took a break from everything writing related. But, it's been over a month now. I am a third of the way through my newest ms, Shattered Choices, but I haven't even looked at it in a long while.

It's my only novel, so far, that was inspired by a dream. (A melatonin dream, which if you've taken the natural supplement before, you know it gives you wacky dreams.) It's my only novel from two POV's, a male and a female. And it's my only manuscript that I've completely plotted before writing.

Is that why I'm dragging my feet? Because I'm going about this one so differently? I mean, IT'S PLOTTED OUT! The hard stuff is done. I just need to fill in the blanks. Connect the dots. And it's not that I'm not passionate about this story. I can't wait to read the thing! I have CP's and betas and friends who are bugging me to finish so they can read it.

So I'm asking you. Have you experienced this before? Am I dragging because I'm a panster at heart and this plotted out stuff is out of my comfort zone? Or maybe it's just the pressure and stress of the holidays bogging me down. That and a poopy puppy.

What are your thoughts?