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Showing posts from 2019

It's Looking Like Christmas...

Happy Monday! Can you believe that next week is Christmas? I thought it would take longer to get here. I finished my Christmas shopping last week. Have you finished? The Averie Household has been slow about getting the tree up this year. The evening of December 13th, my Real Life Hero brought the box in. Slower than what we usually do, but things have been a bit crazy the last couple of weeks. Despite being slow about the tree, we've been anticipating Christmas. The Offspring are excited and we've been to one Christmas party and Real Life Hero has one coming up at his work. In the car we've been playing Christmas music, which has been fun. Working on some more projects under my Jeannie Averie pseudonym, but I'm thinking up things for the last two books in the Immortal Dreams series. Averie Cat had his yearly check up and he's in good health. Got his shot he needed and we're now all set. He didn't enjoy the whole thing, but at least he's health

Happy Thanksgiving & More...

Happy Thursday One and All! Also, Happy Thanksgiving! My Thanksgiving is postponed until Sunday. My parents are out of town visiting one of my other siblings and well, we really don't have anywhere else to go. But, please, don't worry about us. We're actually happy to be at home. My Real Life Hero has to work half a day and Eldest has around an hour long online class to do, so we've got plans. I plan on cooking a little something--not a turkey (me and the Offspring can't have turkey without bad results). Sunday, we'll have Thanksgiving with my parents and one of my other siblings, so there you have it, I'm not missing it all together. I've been working on the Jeannie Averie novel (this is polishing, extra edits--the novel is written). Planning to do more of it in the next few days since Real Life Hero will be off and so I'll have a little more space to work. Recently, I finished reading a fun novel called Cinder & Ella by Kelly Oram . It w

It's A Process...

Happy Tuesday One & All, Last week I managed (over the course of a whole day) to edit a whole chapter in my Jeannie Averie novel. Considering that I had been laid up in bed at least a good portion of the day with a cold that has gone through my household, I was rather proud of myself. Proud and pleasantly surprised. Besides illness, there has been several things that slowed my writing and editing to pretty much a standstill. Some of it was beyond my control. As to the rest, well, there was a lot going on. The point is, I really care about my writing, so I try to give 100% when I'm working on it. And while I owe it to my own creativity, I also owe it to you, my readers. So, if I'm slow getting things out, it's not because I want to make you suffer, it's because these things take time. I know, it's hard to be patient when you're waiting on something (like the last 2 books in the IMMORTAL DREAMS series...I know, I know, I need to get moving on those) but

Whoo-Hoo, It's November...

Happy Monday All, It's November! Texas weather isn't sure if it's supposed to be warm or cold (I say cold, but snow only on Christmas Eve and/or Christmas Day). We made it through Halloween (not exactly my favorite holiday, although my eldest likes parts of it). As a Catholic, I went to All Saints' Day Holy Mass on Friday (All Saints' Day is November 1st). People have been breaking out all their favorite Fall decorations, food, etc. Folks in the USA are looking towards Thanksgiving to get together with friends and/or family. A sense of anticipation hangs in the air as we get closer to December and the Christmas/Hanukkah season. And, it's my favorite time of the year--Fall/Winter. For writers, November is the time for National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo. I'm not participating, although on my author Facebook page, I am proposing another challenge for writers who aren't doing NaNoWriMo, if you're wanting to check that out. This year, for Th

Birthdays, Blessings, & Fall...

Happy Friday All, Also, happy Fall, and October, (and I missed September!) It has been busy (although, I think it always is--or mostly is). October means a lot of things...getting further into Fall, apple cider showing up in the grocery store, people gearing up for Halloween with costumes on sale and pumpkins popping up (and Pumpkin Spice stuff everywhere LOL!) It's quite a month. It's also my birthday month. No matter what age I'm turning, I enjoy my birthday month. Sure, sometimes it feels weird to enter a new decade (like I did when I turned 30) and such, but every year has good things and bad things and I like to experience each year as it comes. Plus, I just like that there is a special day celebrating the fact I was born and came into existence. Think about it...without a birth day, you wouldn't be born, there would be no day that marks when someone who is uniquely you came into the world. So, although sometimes it's weird to think about turning one age

Dreaming Big...

Happy Friday! It's August...AUGUST! Wow. Is it just me, or does time seem to go faster when you're older? I remember feeling like days were soooo looonnnngggg as a kid...and even as a teen. My birthday always took forever to come (I'm an October baby). Christmas was always a million days away. And summer vacation? Sooooo faaarrr. Not as much anymore. And I'm not complaining, I'm just sort of fascinated with how that happens. One minute you think something is taking forever, the next minute it seems like it happened in a blink of an eye. The funny thing is, when you're waiting for a book release or something like that is can seem so long or so far off (well, unless you're the one on a deadline, then it seems too close! LOL). And sometimes the wait is totally worth it and sometimes you build something up in your mind and reality doesn't quite match up. Either way, finding those moments of anticipation, longing for something...it's always good t

Watch The Hands...

Happy Tuesday Everyone! I've got a question for you: how fast can you touch-type? I'm talking typing on a computer or typewriter keyboard without looking at your hands, and with reasonable accuracy? I haven't checked my times in YEARS, but last time I was tested I was around 80-words-per-minute (wpm). You think that's impressive? Well, don't. I had an uncle who could type 100 wpm. Yes, you read that right. One-hundred words-per-minute. During the Vietnam War, there was a doctor who told the people who were sending my uncle's unit over to Vietnam not to send him because he needed him to type out prescriptions. Later it was found out that the majority of those in his unit had been killed.  My uncle lived because he could type fast and the doctor needed him. Crazy, huh? I figure it's God's grace there. Now, touch-typing didn't save my physical life, but it did save me academically. When I was in the sixth grade I was diagnosed with learning disabi

Hello Again, Mary Poppins...

Happy Friday All, While some of you may have already seen Mary Poppins Returns when it was in the theaters, I didn't, but it's now up on Netflix for those who are interested (or, I'm sure, available for purchase or rent in other places). First of all, a little disclaimer: I was never a big fan of the original. I didn't hate it, it just wasn't one I liked watching over and over again. Oh, I liked parts of it really well, but the song Feed The Birds always depressed me with its sort of melancholy music. Now don't get me wrong, Julie Andrews' and Dick Van Dyke, and the rest of the cast's performances were great. It just wasn't my favorite, nor one I wanted to watch over and over again. The end was a bit too bittersweet for me, and I always wondered if Jane and Michael's dad kept being as changed and jolly as he was at the end. Sure, a little cynical for a kid or middle schooler, but I just was never quite sure about it. That said, it's wo

Summer Is Here...

Happy Friday All, Lately I've been trying to figure out some mess with my website, being Mom, editing, writing, going on family vacation, prepping for different things. I'll post pictures from my family vacation on here, soon, I just need to get them up on my computer. But it was nice. We went up to Michigan for my nephew's wedding. The ceremony was lovely, the venue was gorgeous, the bride and groom were so happy and we all had a fantastic time. I'm one of 8 kids, and we hadn't all been together in the same place since my parents' 50th wedding anniversary celebration, which was about three years ago. For us, it's pretty incredible that it's only been 3 years. With our schedules, and the fact that we're all over the USA, it's hard for us all to get together in one place. But we did, and it was so much fun. A lot of laughter, hugs, reminiscing, and fun. I really am blessed to be in this family and I'm blessed that my parents are such gener

Spread Smiles And Sparkles

Happy Friday All, As those of us who are Christians remember Jesus's death on the cross today, and then on Sunday celebrate His resurrection, a thought occurred to me. I'm a self-described eccentric. At least, some people have thought of me as that way, and to be honest, I like being quirky. Sometimes you gotta have a bit of quirkiness to keep your spirits up. To that end, I believe in trying to spread smiles and sparkles wherever one goes. What do I mean? Well, it's rather simple, really. Either you know someone who is this way, or you're this way yourself, but they can't seem to find anything positive, like, hardly ever. They tell you all the things wrong or they're having a horrible day. You try to point out something positive, even something small, and they find a way to make it negative. I've met people who are this cynical. I don't know if they're aware of it. For me, their cynicism and negativity drags me down. I'm not the sort of pe

She DOES Exist!

Happy Tuesday Everyone! I've been working out some administrative things and also on this blog, so I haven't posted much lately. I've also been working on the novel I was writing under the Jeannie Averie name, so I've been fairly busy. We are now in April, and already the weather in Texas is in the 80s! I wonder if it's going to get into triple digits this year like it did some other years. You never know. This summer, one of my nephews is getting married. I'm looking forward to that and seeing family. On top of that, I'm working on the newsletter especially for those who signed up at BrazCon. Don't worry, if you didn't make BrazCon there will be a way to sign up. We're going to have some fun items for newsletter subscribers that we won't have anywhere else. Books 5 and 6 in the Immortal Dreams series has been on hold while I work on the Jeannie Averie novel, but that doesn't mean I'll never get back to the series, it just mea

Fabulously Fun Five Fictions...

Happy Wednesday All, I'm trying to figure out a blogging schedule. It's not something I've had for a while, yet, but I'm thinking about it. Maybe once a week would work best for me. So, I'll try that and let you know if that changes. Under my other pen name I did a 5 Fun Facts about myself that you may and or may not know, I think I'll do something similar here with a YA twist. 5 Favorite YA Reads (aside from my work) I'll Always Recommend (In NO particular order): Ashes On The Waves by Mary Lindsey. I'm not an Edgar Allen Poe fan. I think he's depressing. But, Mary's novel is beautiful, poignant, and well written. It's just a gorgeous book (as far as I'm concerned, and like I said, I'm no EAP fan, even though I recognize he was a talented writer). So, definitely has to be on this list. Pushing The Limits by Katie McGarry. I've had the privilege of watching this author's banner fly and her popularity rise. The firs

What's-Her-Face...?

Happy Friday Everybody! Recently I finished writing a Romance that features shape-shifters. This is not a YA (Young Adult) novel. Considering that my aim is not YA with this novel, and I'd been thinking about it for a long time, I decided to develop another pen-name strictly for those types of novels. Bethany Averie will remain associated with the Immortal Dreams series and any other YA novels I write. Jeannie Averie will be for the NON -YA Romance novels (Paranormal and Fantasy) that I write. The Jeannie Averie novels will be for ages 18/21 and up. Bethany Averie novels are high school and up. There isn't a drastic difference, except that the Jeannie Averie novels are a bit different in style and tone. Slightly "hotter".  So they need a different pen-name. Now, why do I use pen names? I like to keep my personal life separate from my professional life. Yes, tiny details of my personal life seep into my professional life, but the two are not exactly the

No NYC But Other Great Stuff For Me...

Happy Thursday Everyone, Wow! BrazCon was amazing! For those of you who made it out, thank you so much. It was fun and there were incredible costumes (check out my author Facebook page for pictures). Important update: I will NOT be going to Romance Writers of America's National Conference in July (New York City). I was going to, but then some stuff came up and it turned out I couldn't. I'm looking at next year, which that one (2020) will be in San Francisco, so maybe I'll make it there. I've never been to San Francisco and I'd like to go. I finished writing my adult shifter novel and it never changes. It always feels surreal and like "Wow!" when I write "The end." The next thing is edits and critique partner crits, and then I'll be shopping it around. But, it's exciting to have another book written. I do plan a sequel, so what happens at the end isn't the end of that story altogether. I already have the next book started an

February Update...

Happy Monday Everybody! 2019 has been rather busy for me so far. I've been working on finishing up a novel that I'm hoping will be done writing by early March and then I'll go through and do my personal edits, send it off to my assistant who has been clamoring to read this one (I send her snippets and she's chomping at the bit for the rest). I'm working with a consultant to brush up on some things that I needed help with and gearing up for BrazCon, which is this weekend. BrazCon will be in Manvel, Texas this year . I've never been there, but it's not extremely far off, so my assistant is picking me up bright and early and off we'll go. I've got some fun swag ready and I'll have a door prize that I'll turn into to the people running that side of things. I'll also be selling LIMITED number of paperback copies of ALL my published books (yep, even All's Fair In Love & Lion is coming along this time). I'm also going to be on a

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