Staying on track to goals

Posted on December 16, 2011 by laina

Last Friday I spent several hours planning out my week. I was very proud of myself and what I accomplished because for the first time in a long time I was very organized. I took all the tasks I needed from writing daily, to book promotion, client work, and personal to do’s.

Monday I hit the ground running and was immediately hit with an unexpected not on my list. However, because of my list I was able to easily deal with this issue and get back on track. had I not had my list I would have been so flustered I would have probably wasted the day. As it was I got most of it done, same with Tuesday, and so on. However, I am having a hard time now focusing to write. In the past I would write first and not worry about all the lists of things I also had to complete each day. But now that I know this list is going to be staring me in the face I have a hard time not thinking about it in order to write. Now I am behind about 6000 words to my weekly writing goal and as the source of my income that is stressing me out.

How can I balance all of this and not go crazy. It hasn’t helped that I pulled my children out of before/after school care for the month of December so my “work days’ are much shorter even though I am saving a lot of money which is a relief.

Any ideas?

Laina

Free books boosts sales

Posted on December 1, 2011 by laina

I came across this fabulous post by D.D Scott, an author I admire, who posts frequently about her journey in the indie epublishing world. It’s about her pricing strategy and to many of us authors pricing is such a crap shoot. But before we can worry much about price we need to worry about exposure. Our book can be the best price out there but if no one knows it’s for sale it won’t do us much good. D.D. celebrated one of her milestones by pricing her first book in the Bootscootin’ series as free and watched her sales SOAR!!!!!

Read the full article about how she achieved her success here.

Manic Monday

Posted on August 8, 2011 by laina

It is half way through the day on Monday and I would like to be able to rewind my day and start from the beginning. Not to have an do-overs but rather to have more time. I was so proud of myself Sunday I took the time and put together my to do list and made sure is was properly prioritized and felt good. I admit it was rather large and I did think for a few minutes that maybe it was a little more than what could realistically be accomplished but I was determined to start this week off right. Now I realize that I was way to optimistic. Or maybe I should have skipped my morning workout and just worked instead.

I don’t know. It always seems as if I have more list than time. Am I slow or do I have too much to do? Am I procrastinating more than I would like to think I am or wasting too much time on facebook and twitter under the guise of marketing and networking?

Laina

Lower your voice

Posted on July 8, 2011 by laina

So I admit I do like to eavesdrop on strangers. Especially in an airport. It’s entertaining to try and figure out their “story” or to make assumptions. As a writer I get some of my best material from taking little nuggets I hear and making them into dialogue for one of my characters.

Recently at lunch I overheard the following. I would love to hear from you what you think they were talking about. Doesn’t have to be even close to reality. Let’s have some fun!!!

Conversation between two guys….

my concern is what we do going forward

it’s not the quantity, it’s the quality

those skillets aren’t really available

i need a signed copy saying you and i talked about that

that will be effective july 1

that’s a non-issue in my mind

do you have any issues/concerns with this?

between you, me and the wall…

subpar performance at the stores

jim and brett want to drive the train

so looking forward…

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Are you a Diva?

Posted on December 19, 2010 by laina

: Image via Wikipedia

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I often include myself in this category. I mean, why not? I am cool, fabulous and basically I am every woman! But where did it start? Who was coined a diva back in the day? Who is one now? All these questions plague my mind as I wonder how much of a diva I am considered by the masses? Well, like I usually do, I get on the computer and do some research and here is what I came up with…

What is a Diva?

Check it out and let me know if your a diva and why!

Laina

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White Elephant Blog Hop

Posted on December 18, 2010 by laina

: Image via Wikipedia

To enjoy the spirit of the holiday season as we get into the home stretch before Christmas I wanted to do something fun. A friend of mine had a White Elephant party that I had to miss so I thought I could have my own. Right here on my blog and that way I could get all my friends out in the virtual world to play as well.

Now I’m sure you all know that the traditional White Elephant gift is either really, really cheap or really, really bad. As I looked around I realized I didn’t have any really bad books so instead I thought I would make it silly and fun. An eclectic mix. You can see the pictures below. Now all you need to do get one of these fine gifts is to comment on what was your worst gift ever and do one of the following (or all if you’re feeling frisky). Winners will be chosen Monday Dec. 27th, 2010.

1. subscribe to my rss feed Subscribe in a reader
2. friend me on GFC
3. follow me on networked blogs

Also if you want to participate in my book blog tour in January go to my home page to sign up.

Crazy-for-Book blog hop

Posted on December 10, 2010 by laina

In the spirit of the Twitter Friday Follow, the Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love of the written word at Crazy-for-Books.

This week’s question comes from Angela who blogs at Library Girl Reads:

“What is the thing you like most about reading book blogs? Is it the reviews, author guest posts, articles, giveaways, or something else entirely?”

Personally, I enjoy reading book blogs to get other perspectives. It never fails that I learn something new or am exposed to something in a book that I read but just didn’t think about the same or somehow glossed over. It is fun to see how different people view and understand the same words differently.

Fantasy Author Sandy Lender

Posted on December 9, 2010 by laina

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Inspiration Makes it Fabulous
By Fantasy Author Sandy Lender

A lot of folks have asked me about inspiration. It’s a question that accountants and mechanics especially like to ask of creative types like artists and movie stars and writers. (Please notice how I just lumped myself in there with artists and movie stars. Cool, eh?) I don’t like to be glib because anyone asking the question deserves a real answer, but, honestly, everything inspires me.

Duran Duran, baby sea turtles, my companion parrots, sci fi shows/movies, thunderclouds over the Gulf at dawn, short elderly drivers in huge Lincoln town cars, bizarre chicks in L.A. bars, snow in the mountains, etc. At my fancy new website that launched in 2009, my letter to visitors tells of a funky incident from my early teens that inspired a short story in the first Choices-supporting chapbook WHAT CHOICES WE MADE, VOL I. At an earlier blog stop on this tour, I told of a not-so-classy moment from junior high when I called out a friend’s mom on her graying hair, which inspired a short story in the second chapbook WHAT CHOICES WE MADE, VOL II.

Something I know that fires the flames of inspiration for me is setting up my writing space. I participated in the annual 3-Day Novel Contest over Labor Day Weekends in 2009 and 2010, and found myself going through an almost ritual getting everything nice and “set” before the start time both years. What I’m curious about is readers’ “inspiration.” When you pick up a new book and prepare to crack open the front cover, do you need a special setting or a special mindset or some special music softly in the background to inspire you to drop easily into another world?

Thank you for checking in today and for participating in the conversation! “Some days, you just want the dragon to win.”

The second short story chapbook supporting Sandy Lender’s Choices series includes the troubled love story novella: The Influential Love Story of Ella and Rohne. Rated PG for some violence.
Welcome to a world of dragons, magic, sword and sorcery. Dive into the legends that make up the history of the Choices series from established fantasy author Sandy Lender. Both new and familiar characters will enchant you. From families in peril to youth in scrapes, the men and monsters who shaped Onweald politics left epic tales in their wake for you…

As a special treat for Choices readers, this volume includes the love story of Ella and Rohne. She’s a general’s daughter with quite modern ideas about growing old at her father’s side. He’s a moody old god who’s used to getting His way. When they clash, she elects to run away with one of His guards. Catching the fugitives would be easier if the evil Julette’s minions weren’t crashing the party with her poisonous plans.

A stand-alone novella that newcomers to the series can enjoy, The Influential Love Story of Ella and Rohne offers suspense, horror, action, fantasy, and a sweet romance when an opinionated young lady faces her future–and a feisty god.

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A book you can read over and over

Posted on December 8, 2010 by laina

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: Cover of Flowers for Algernon

Yesterday I was listening to the musical score from the Nutcracker Ballet and realized that because I have seen this ballet so many times over the years I was able to follow the music and know what parts of the ballet belonged to what score. It made me think. We all have our favorites. Whether it be music, a TV show, movie, or book. It’s the one or two things that you could listen to or watch over and over for years and never get tired of it. There was Trixie Belden book I read as a kid that I enjoyed so much I would read the last chapter and turn right back to the first and start reading again. I had to think what books I would do that with as an adult and came up with a few. I would love to hear your favorites.

Flowers for Algernon
Gone with the Wind – of course
North and South
Any of the Stephanie Plum books – they make me laugh

These are just to name a few.

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People are interesting

Posted on November 22, 2010 by laina

As I start the second day of my commitment to be a better blogger I came across this appropriately named blog A Good Blog is Hard to Find. I liked it because, well, a good blog is hard to find. As I was perusing this blog by Kathy Patrick, I came across a post written by By T. Lynn Ocean called Pass the Salt, Skip the Lime. Now the blog is about books and writing and all that jazz so T. Lynn Ocean pointed out why was she writing about tequila on a book related blog:

“Nothing, really, other than you might can round up some excellent plot ideas if you’re at a party while sober and observant.”

She went on to give some really interesting information about tequila, which I admit is one of my favs, but I liked her post because of the quote I shared above. Being a writer means being observant. If people are drinking and you can manage to stay sober you will be amazed at what interesting things you can glean.

Like most writers I carry around a notebook, several in fact, that I use to jot down ideas, and descriptions of people, places, and things, that I might want to use someday in my writing. Observing people is one of my favorite pastimes. People are so incredibly interesting and fun to watch.

Back to my point. Another reason I find being observant useful is if I run into a case of writers block I can pull out my notebook of observations and ideas and just pick something to free write about. It may not have any relevancy to what I;m writing and I may never be able to sue it but it keeps me from being frustrated because I am writing. It doesn’t always matter WHAT you are writing about. Just that you are writing.

At Fiction Factor there is a great post about Creating Unforgettable Characters. The writer states:

“Story people emulate real people, though they are actually just the creative genius of the writer who develops them.”

You can’t get that without the whole observation piece. So next time you are at a party maybe it’s worth it to stop at one margarita. Ok, maybe two!

Laina

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Pep talk #2, and still suffering from writer’s block – ARG! (sunflowerdiva.wordpress.com)
What to write..what to write… (jesskateer.wordpress.com)
Writer’s Block for the Blogger (atheistrev.com)

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