Hey Everyone! I know, I know...I missed posting in November. Sorry about that. I suppose I never did figure out what I wanted to post and then the month was over. My Thanksgiving was quiet, but nice. Normally we'd go to my sister's house. This year we were at home, which was fun (and I mean that, I'm not being sarcastic). December has been an interesting realm of trying to remember the things that need to get done. I'm writing this a few days before I'll be posting this entry, so at the moment, I still have to finish writing up Christmas cards--I've got about half of them done, the good news is I don't send out a ton, but they still have to get done (I don't think they all have stamps, either--I gotta get more of those, too!) Shopping for the Offspring is mostly done. Youngest needs some clothes because youngest outgrew some stuff. I need some items, myself; however, I'm so picky that the likelihood of me getting anything new is slim. LOL (A friend...

  Hi Everyone! Amid all the preparation for Christmas and other holidays, sometimes we need a minute to just relax. Don't worry, I've got a regular post scheduled to go up on this blog on Monday (Dec. 22, 2025), but I thought for the weekend, how about something a little different? So, to that end, I thought I'd share the playlist for Sugar & Frost. Sugar & Frost is a YA Fantasy I'm currently querying. It features the cold and aloof Chase Frost, and the sweet and new-to-town Kalea "Kallie" Sugar (whose family used to be residents of North Pole Village, but Kallie was born in Hawaii, so this is a switch for her!) It's a book near and dear to my heart. Funny thing is, while the story itself has a contemporary time period setting, I got the idea that most of the songs on the playlist would be ones from the 1980s. Why? I suppose in part because I thought it would be funny and fun; but maybe also because the story is dedicated to my seven (yes, 7) sibli...

  Hi Everyone! Hope you all have had a wonderful October! Halloween (All Hallow's Eve) is almost here, and I've seen plenty of autumn and Halloween decorations. (I'm not a fan of spooky stuff, but there are some traditions that I think can be fun for families). Querying update:   I continue to query Sugar & Frost . Right now, nothing new to report on. Editing update:   I'm still editing Shifter Secrets , but I've been making some progress. It's a wolf-shifter YA Fantasy. The romance is more on the sweet side. I do trend more sweet than spicy with pretty much all my work especially the manuscripts I'm working on, now. Real Life: Real Life continues to have its own ups and downs and moments of busyness, which I'm sure the same for most people. My birthday came and it was nice. I got some lovely greetings and gifts. My siblings went in on a very nice gift card to Two Dumb Dames (the best fudge ever in my opinion--the shop has been family owned and oper...

  Hi Everyone! October is moving along and we're halfway through the month already. I say it often, but I can't help it. It seems like time goes a lot faster the older I get than it did when I was younger. Reminds me of a Clint Black song, "Slow As Christmas", but I think it illustrates other passages of time, too. Anyway, this post isn't going to be an update post, but rather something I was thinking about recently. I might do an update post before the end of the month--I don't know, yet. But I do try to post a blog post at least once a month, so here we go. I'm feeling a little philosophical (I guess that's the effect of having watched a video that was giving more explanation and nuance to a scene in a musical that I hadn't noticed/realized--not too surprising since I can be oblivious--before; and yes, I like em dashes!) So, I want to propose ideas that may or may not resonate with people, but stuff I've thought about: Some people have critic...

  Happy Tuesday Everyone! Wow, September is OVER tomorrow; today being September 30, 2025--the last day of the month. Writer's Life News:  Still querying Sugar & Frost. Hopeful about a couple of things. We'll see. Editing Shifter Secrets , my YA Fantasy with wolf-shifters in it.  It's going slowly, but I've made some progress. Life outside of the writing world: Busy on some days, not as much, others. So pretty typical. My youngest was sick over one of the weekends, but luckily the worst of it only lasted 24 hrs, and the next couple of days were recovery, so by Monday (after getting sick on a Friday) youngest seemed much better, which we were all very happy about. I'm going to make this super short because I want to get this in before tomorrow (October 1). So I'll see you in October! Have A Terrific Tuesday Night!

  Hi Everyone! End of August is coming up, and thus, it's time for a monthly update from yours truly. Currently, I'm waiting on some responses on queries for Sugar & Frost . There's been a bit more interest since #UnhingedPit and #questpit, so that's great. I love this story so much, that I'm happy with other people get interested. As far as I'm concerned, it's a fun read. I call it the "book of my heart" because it's just exactly something I'd pick up as a reader and cuddle up with a comfy blanket in a chair, couch, or in bed, with something hot to drink and just enjoy. I also dedicated it to my siblings, so there is a personal aspect to it, too. Other manuscripts:  Moonrise Pack: Shifter Secrets (YA Fantasy, wolf shifters, sweet romance) is in edits--I finally sat down and started working on it. I'm not very far along in the editing, yet, but hopeful about polishing it. I had made a poster for it for #PosterPit since they allow W...

  Happy Tuesday All, Once again, I'm posting the monthly post near the end of the month. But oh well. I was pretty busy during part of the beginning of the month, so I thought I'd wait until after so that I could mention some of it here. I got to hang out with 2 out of 3 of my Girls' Night Out Ladies. These ladies are my besties and I've known them a long time. We had a nice dinner out and then hung out at a coffee/sweet shop until they closed. The last time we'd all been together was in 2019. I'd seen them on and off, but not all of us together. So, that was a wonderful thing to have happen this month. #UnhingedPit -- a pitching event held on X and BlueSky happened. Authors pitch their manuscripts but in unconventional ways. The two ladies who run the event decided to make me their ambassador (it's sort of a funny story--they liked my enthusiasm when it was first developed in 2024, and after a while we got to talking and that was that). It was so much fu...

  Hi Everyone! I've decided to provide a post that was just a whole list of resources and info for authors. I've done this before (I think it was 2017) so yeah, it's time for updating. I've done the legwork of inserting hyperlinks so that all you have to do is click on the links of whatever item you're most interested in. There is a TON of information out there for authors and it can be overwhelming to search and file through websites/social media platforms, so hopefully this post can help take some of the stress out of your search. This is by no means an exhaustive list of resources, it's just some that I know about and some that I've even used. At the very end I provide a basic template for constructing a pitch line for your manuscript (this template has helped me tremendously!) Let's Start With Websites/Resources: Manuscript Academy -- Offers workshops and events for authors in various stages of their careers. Also offers consultations with editors f...

  Happy Monday! It's the last day of June and I can't believe July starts tomorrow. This month felt a bit like a whirlwind, but there were several lovely moments. June 10th marked 59 years that my parents had been married. I didn't get to see them on that day, but I did wish them a happy anniversary. They've been such a special example and inspiration for me. (One of my best friends got married on their anniversary and when I found out I said, "You know, that's my parents' anniversary?" My friend responded: "I KNEW it was a good day to get married!"). Two of my out-of-town siblings came in for a few days on Father's Day weekend and I got to see them, as well as my sibling that lives near my parents. We had a nice weekend celebrating Father's Day. Saturday early evening we were at a Mexican restaurant and then Sunday evening had barbecue at my in-town sibling's house. It was very nice. My father is not only a father, but a grandfat...

  Happy Thursday! I can hardly believe it's the last week of May. It feels a bit like a whirlwind.  On May 8th, Real Life Hero and I celebrated our wedding anniversary. We've been married for over 20 years now. We went out to the Cheesecake Factory and had a lovely dinner (and brought up slices of cheesecake for the offspring). We don't usually spend that much on an dinner out, but it was anniversary, so we splurged. It's funny to think how back when I was getting married I had trouble imagining 20 years down the line and here I am past that. I love my Real Life Hero and he's stuck with me until death (when I hope we go to Heaven). At this time I won't be reporting any news on Sugar & Frost . I don't feel like I have anything I'd like to share about it at this time. (There are still some queries out). I'm still writing and working on several manuscripts. Two of them I think I'll keep just for me unless I change my mind one day. The others, we...

  Happy Thursday All! Yes, I know...normally I would post my monthly blog post earlier, but this time  it's taken me more than one day to write this post. At first, I needed to figure out what I wanted to post about. And then, i t kept feeling like it (the post) wasn't ready. Querying: S ugar & Frost is the "book of my heart" so far. I had the most fun writing it and I totally fell in love with the characters. I really believe in this story. It's just so sweet and fun. Like a warm blanket on a cold day. I got asked by an agent to send some more pages (I had done some not-insignificant editing--after asking this agent if I might revise & resubmit--I don't know what will become of that; and it wasn't a full request, but still, it was nice that the agent wanted more pages). Despite the situation at hand, I did have one agent comment that "the writing is solid". So, that's something. As I said, this story is incredibly special to me an...

  Happy Friday and Happy March! Been busy working on a manuscript of mine and playing with some new ideas for new stories and ideas for existing unfinished manuscripts. No new updates on the querying front to report back on, yet, but hopefully some good news will come! We've now entered the season of Lent. As a Catholic, this season is a time for repentance, prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and reflection. I look at it as a time for not just repenting of sin--but really working on one's relationship with Jesus in a more intense and focused--the word 'intentional' comes to mind--way to make it a part of you rather than just something you do for Lent. Every Christian has their own approach Lent, and since I'm no Theologian, I won't go into much detail here. I do wish everyone a fruitful and prayerful Lent. Not long ago, I got a new laptop computer. My other one is still working but I was having some issues. So I talked to a friend of mine that knows a lot about comput...

Happy Thursday and February! I decided to take a little longer to write my monthly blog post. It was just as well since things were crazy last month with illness sweeping through my house. (Every member of the Averie household has had some illness within the last 2 months--including Averie Cat). So, we're hoping to be healthier this month (although I'm having some allergy issues). I continue working on things for Sugar & Frost and when I can, I'll let you all know what's going on (no, I don't have a contract with an agent and/or publisher, yet, but some things have happened, but I'm not ready to mention them publicly, yet). We had the dubious honor of replacing our water heater recently, but the service person put it on such a high temperature that hot water was scalding! We had to adjust the hot water for various things and then when my husband came home he went up and adjusted it so hot water wouldn't be quite so blistering. Once I'm in a place wh...

  Happy Monday, January, and New Year! Whew. 2025 has already been eventful! In my family, that meant husband and eldest with sinus infections during the second week of the month (which actually was the first full week of January). Me and youngest had sinus infections in December. And then the news of the fires in California, which is so sad. I've been praying for all in the path and dealing with the fires, etc. Hopefully firefighters are able to contain/put them out soon. The first few days of 2025 weren't too bad, but then things got a little crazy. I'm hoping the rest of the month is calmer, healthier, and happier. Writer's Life Updates: I still have some queries out on Sugar & Frost that are awaiting answers. In the interim, I'm working on some other stories (every author has files with unfinished manuscripts and I'm definitely no different in that respect!) Christmas and New Year's: My Christmas was fairly quiet since I was getting over a sinus ...