Happy New Year!

I hope you all have a very successful 2014, but don't wait for success, make it happen!

Blog Tour

I volunteered to participate in a blog tour and answer the four questions below. I was supposed to find three other authors to answer the same questions on January 6th but I could only find one, so I hope you'll pop over to visit her too--next week. Caryl has a new book coming out in early 2014.

 

1. What are you working on right now?

I'm working on a career plan for 2014. These days, publishing is a little like walking down the detergent aisle. There are way too many choices. Should I try for an agent? A traditional publisher or a small press? Those are questions I wrestle with. I heard recently the chances of getting our digital rights back from a traditional publisher are pretty slim. That makes me want to investigate smaller presses and stick with the ebook market.  Then I confuse myself by asking... why should I care about digital rights? Aside from my career plan, I'm working on a couple of romantic suspense novels and a romantic comedy.

 

 

2. How does it differ from other works in its genre?

I don't know that my work differs in any way from what's out there. That's sad, isn't it? If it does differ, readers will have to tell me.

 

 

3. Why do you write what you do?

Do I have a choice? I write what comes to me--romantic comedy, romantic suspense, women's fiction. The other day I got an idea for a time travel. I have the beginning and the ending but no middle. The middle is always the hardest part for me. When ideas pop into my head, I start writing.

 

4. How does your writing process work?
I don't have a tried and true, real-to-me process. Each story dictates how I write it. The Groom Wore Blue Suede Shoes was outlined chapter by chapter. The Last Daughter was the easiest to write. It came to me all at once, pretty complete. I wrote the synopsis first. My short stories were taken from novels that didn't sell or are unfinished. There's no method to my madness.

I wish I could get organized in 2014 and actually learn how to 'churn' out books, novellas and all kinds of stories. All tips welcome.
 

Don't forget to visit Caryl McAdoo on January 6th.  

 

 

From the Slacker ...

It's easy to get out of the habit of blogging. I've really been a slacker, haven't I? In  more ways than one. Hopefully, that will change with the first of the new year. Yes, I'm still alive, and tomorrow I MUST finish up my Christmas shopping--whether I want to or not.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes. Anything here you can relate to?

The author or speaker from whom you learn the most is not the one who teaches you something you didn’t know before, but the one who helps you take a truth with which you have quietly struggled, give it expression, and speak it clearly and boldly. ~Oswald Chambers

You must keep sending work out; you must never let a manuscript do nothing but eat its head off in a drawer. You send that work out again and again, while you're working on another one. If you have talent, you will receive some measure of success--but only if you persist.  ~Isaac Asimo

The more we fear starting a project, the more difficult the project becomes in our mind. This is self-defeating. ~Rob Parnell

Sometimes, when it’s going badly, she wonders if what she believes to be a love of the written word is really just a fetish for stationary. The true writer, the born writer, will scribble words on scraps of litter, the back of a bus ticket, on the wall of a cell.   ~David Nicholls

Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it’s the only way you can do anything really good. ~William Faulkner

My Christmas stories are featured on  Pamela Thibodeaux's blog on Tuesday. I hope you'll visit and leave a comment.  

Is everyone ready for Christmas?

IWSG: A Blank Mind

 

Today is IWSG day--the first Wednesday of each month. IWSG stands for Insecure Writers Support Group and was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. You can follow other IWSG members here  and on twitter using the hashtag #IWSG.

Our purpose is to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds.

But unfortunately, I can't think of one thing to say to you: not one word of encouragement or guidance--no words of wisdom whatsoever. I feel like a blackboard with smears of chalky white. All my ideas and plans have been erased leaving nothing but unidentifiable smudges behind. Ever felt that way?

Obviously, I'm in a funk. Maybe you have a word or two for me.