Blog

An Update…

May 20, 2016Writing, , , 2

READ MORE

What’s that saying? “If you want God to laugh, make plans”?

I’m going to have to delay the release of Bloodbonded. I promise you all that I’ve been working on it—I really have! But the end of the school year usually brings with it a lot of demands on my time, and I think I underestimated how much time I’d have this month to really devote to finishing it up. In addition, a couple of my beta readers aren’t quite done with the last read-through, and my artist is still working on one of the maps, and I don’t want to publish without those final pieces complete.

There is some good news, though:
(more…)

The Hubs

April 26, 2016Personal, Writing, 2

READ MORE

35 days to launch…

It’s terrifying. I don’t say that lightly. I mean it’s literally heart-pounding, anxiety-provoking, terror-inducing. I don’t know how I’ve managed to get this far, and the only reason I keep moving forward is because of this weird compulsion to publish. Somehow, the work just isn’t complete until it’s “out there,” and I have to get it out there, out of my head, off my back.
(more…)

A Real, Honest-to-goodness Launch Date

April 22, 2016Writing, , , , 0

READ MORE

Hello, threes of fans.

I apologize for my absence. I am pretty sure I spend as much time apologizing for my absence as I do actually blogging. I don’t even know how this much time goes by. I’ll blog, get busy with parenting, projects, kids, scouts, whatever, look up and go, “oh hey, I have a blog,” and six weeks or more have passed.

(more…)

The End

March 1, 2016Uncategorized, Writing, , , , 8

READ MORE

I did it.

I finished Bloodbonded.

Well, not “finished.” I will have a few more folks read through it one more time before I publish it, just to make sure that the last changes I made make sense and find any weird mistakes, inconsistencies, typos, extra blank lines, etc. And there are a few peripherals that need to be done–a character index, an appendix, a revised bio, some maps. But those are small things, really. The good news is…

Bloodbonded is basically DONE.

(more…)

I’m Fine. FINE.

February 22, 2016Writing, , , 2

READ MORE

I don’t know where to begin.

It’s been a busy month. Let’s start with that. I logged in here to clean up spam and realized it’s been over a month since I posted anything. What have I done with myself in that time? Well, I have not been writing, that’s clear. I’m no further on my edits for Bloodbonded than I was on January 19. I have, however, been very busy with my American Heritage Girls troop–planning, coordinating, meeting, and dealing with all the minutiae. And I’ve been busy with kids. There’s always that.

But not writing.
(more…)

And So It Begins… Again…

January 19, 2016Writing, , , , , 2

READ MORE

Look:

first page screen shot

That’s the opening page of Bloodbonded. It’s open. For reals. I got enough feedback from betas that I feel like I can move forward with this next edit.
(more…)

Happy Dance

January 8, 2016Personal, Writing, 1

READ MORE

That moment you think you have six months left in your demanding volunteer job, but then realize it’s only five months:

Pretty sure Schroeder and Lucy represent the folks in my troop who want me to change my mind.

Overall, really, everyone has been super about my decision. They get it. And I’ve been in this job for three years and on the governing board of my troop for a total of five years. It’s time for a break.

Of course, I think people want me to change my mind, but not this time (I’ve done it before). This is a good time for me to step down. The troop is stable, we have a great charter organization, we have an active and involved parent group, and the girls are thriving. I’m leaving at a high point.

In any case, June 7 is my last day in this job. I’m nearly giddy. I know summer will be its normal, frantic self, so I don’t know how much writing will get done then. But I do know that some will get done next fall.

It’s time.

Writing Math

January 3, 2016Writing, , , 3

READ MORE

This is the dilemma.

I have this book, Ravenmarked. And I have a few fans. And I have a few sequels planned. And the fans would like to see the sequels sometime before they die.

So I work on the sequel, Bloodbonded. And then I finally can’t look at it anymore, so I finish it as much as I can and send it to five beta readers. Two beta readers drop out. Three beta readers haven’t finished the book.
(more…)

On Joy, Satisfaction, and Storage Solutions

December 30, 2015Writing, , 2

READ MORE

One more day of 2015.

Not gonna lie–I’ll be glad to say goodbye to this year.

This hasn’t been the worst year ever, but it’s been far from the best. I’m exhausted from the constant roller coaster of emotions. Not only am I on my own roller coaster, but parenting teens automatically puts me on their roller coasters as well. And then there are the two tweens–one who will enter that mysterious realm of teenagehood in May, the other who will enter middle school in September.

(more…)

Inside

December 15, 2015Writing, , , 6

READ MORE

I thought about writing today.

It was cold this morning. Cold and dry, after more than a week of rain that ranged from heavy to downpour. The hubby was gone already, headed to the Midwest for a few days. I’m sure he probably kissed me goodbye before he walked out the door, but I didn’t stir till my alarm went off at 6:00. (more…)