2019, Events, Writing, & More, Oh Wow...

Happy Friday Everyone!

Well, we've made it to February 2019! January was super busy with researching some stuff and working away on a new novel. The novel is about 20,000-30,000 away from my target word count. My assistant, Roxanne, is eagerly awaiting the day I finish this novel because the snippets I've sent her aren't enough--she wants to know everything about this story. This story has been fun to write, although, like every story it's had its ups and downs and days where I just wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it.

News of imprints of publishers closing down has caused some difficulties for some friends/colleagues of mine, which makes me sad for them because that's a tough thing to go through. I wish them all the best and pray for them.

Talk of Romance Writers of America Nationals in New York City (July) is going on and I'm waiting to see if me and my narrator, the supremely talented, Christopher Hudson (who you can find on Twitter, now) will join the ranks of speakers for this year's conference. I don't know when we'll know, but I've been told it'll be before RWA opens up for registration this month.

Roxanne and I have been gearing up for BrazCon 2019. I was invited to make a return appearance for this year. I'll be another panel and I have limited copies of my all my books in paperback to sell. I also have brand-new swag and should be getting my newly-designed bookmarks soon, too.

Now that I've gotten my news out of the way, let me tell you what's really on my mind for this blog post and it's Mary Lindsey's YA novel, Haven.

It took me a while to get through this one not because of any flaws with the story, but because I was very distracted and have had a lot going on. But I finally finished it yesterday and I really enjoyed it.

Haven is a story that Mary Lindsey describes at author events as a book her editor really wanted her to write and one she wasn't sure whether or not would work. Let me tell you, it not only works, it's another example of her skill as a wordsmith.

We follow Rain (Aaron Ryland) on his journey from the streets of Houston, Texas to some itty bitty town full of secrets. Those secrets pertain to Weavers (witches/magic) and Watchers (werewolves).

Rain becomes enamored with the feisty alpha female, Freddie, and it sends him down a path of danger, suspense, conspiracies, and murder.

Mary has successfully taken the paranormal world of magic and werewolves and woven a tale that fans of Teen Wolf and YA Paranormal stories will likely enjoy.

From what I understand, there is talk of a sequel and I definitely will want to read that one!

To get your hands on Haven, check out Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

I'm not sure what I'll be reading next. My TBR (To Be Read) stack currently has several 1-2 chapter preview stories, and about 18 novels and 1 non-fiction. So, yeah, it's a lot and this doesn't even include what I have on my E-reader waiting for me!

What are you reading these days? How has your 2019 been so far?

It's Worth A Fortune

Happy Tuesday Everyone, Does anyone remember the song If I Had A Million Dollars by Barenaked Ladies ? I can't remember when or how I was first introduced to this song, but it's a fun song. So, how about if you had a million dollars? What would you do with it? Of course there's the responsible things to do with a million dollars--pay off debts, and such like that. Then there's the question of whether or not you give to charities, and how much. But, suppose you answered all those questions and you still had quite a lot left; what would you do with it? Maybe I'd go to Disney World. I've wanted to go, and I've never been able to. Or, perhaps I'd go to Germany and England, and Belgium (three of the countries my ancestors are from). Travel around seeing family and friends I don't see often. There's all kinds of possibilities. So, what about you? What would you do with a million dollars? Have A Tremendous Tuesday!

Spotlight On Author: Loretta Wheeler

Happy Tuesday Everyone, There's a gem of an author I've had the privilege of coming across...I'm talking about my friend, Loretta Wheeler. She's a sweetheart and very talented author. I enjoyed her YA Paranormal novella, The Pan Man immensely. And, she also writes Romance. So without further ado, come into my parlor and meet Loretta Wheeler: Me: In your YA novelette, The Pan Man , you mention Pan's looking for his long lost soul mate. What made you choose Pan out of all the Greek/Roman gods and goddesses? Loretta: I chose the Greek god Pan, because of the connection with the music. I found later on in the story, (my stories take over and write themselves usually) it applied even more than I realized because of the band's name. I won't mention the name of the band in here, because it's part of the surprise ending. Me: You're mostly known for your Romance stories. How would you describe your writing style? Hot, suspenseful, sensual, sw...

Myths About Writers

Afternoon Folks, I thought we'd do a post to dispel some of the myths people seem to have about writers. I'll put the ones that first come to mind then y'all can chime in. Myth: Writing is a great way to make a lot of money. I'm not sure exactly how this one matriculated. Probably in the wake of some of the big best sellers (i.e. Stephen King, Anne Rice, Stephenie Meyer, JK Rowling, and the like) but most of the time writers put in more money for their writing than they do get out of it. Generally a writer doesn't make a ton of money unless somehow his/her book is a blockbuster hit and blasts through what the author owes in the advance (which is paid back to publishers through royalties). Most writers I've met and talked to are not millionaires. I'm not saying it can't happen, I'm saying it's not one of those things that's automatic. Myth: Writing Is Easy Anybody Can Do It. Okay, granted this isn't entirely a myth, but it's not ent...

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