Chocoholics unite!

How many of you ladies picture this every time you step on the scale?  


Come on, be honest.  


Valentine's Day is a chocoholic's worst nightmare.  I am blessed with an inability to eat too much chocolate but that doesn't mean all of those sugary cupcakes go unnoticed!  Throw a little pink frosting and sprinkles in there and I'm in BIG trouble.


So how do you plan to avoid gorging on V-day yummies?


I for one am eating at home.  I selected a nice lean steak, new potatoes and will steam some veggies for dinner.  I plan to allow myself 1 cupcake.  And then I think a nice walk in the frigid wintry wind will get my blood pumping.  


And if I start to feel temptation to snack I'm gonna pop a bag of popcorn and snuggle up with a good chick flick.  Or my laptop.  I've got books to write!


How about you?  Any big plans for tomorrow night?

Killer Cliche's

At the end of your rope.


One of the many cliche's that novice writers use when they don't know how to say anything else.
  
How do we get past the cliches and into the meat of a novel? 

Practice.  I know, I hate that word too.  Makes me feel like I'm back in school again.  But it's true.  The more you write the more aware you are of these little slip ups.
  
Try thinking outside of the box.  Imagine a way to visually paint your phrase in a way that is unique.


I read a great one yesterday.  "The smoke coiled like a white snake."  The first thought that popped into my mind was danger.  And that's exactly how the scene unfolded.


Think of the message that you want to portray and what imagery could be used to describe it.  In the snake example you can imagine exactly how the smoke curled towards the ceiling like a snake slithering around a tree.


What example could you come up with to describe the smoke?

book

Are you a champion?

"Maybe I should have stayed in bed today."


This was a thought that tumbled around in my head for most of the morning.  Who knew this would be the day I would receive my first terrible book review.  It was bound to happen.  I even tried to prepare myself, but just like labor pains, you get knocked on your backside.


I'm a pretty sensitive person.  I like to be liked.  Who doesn't?  But I've learned that to make it in the writing world you have to grow some thick skin.  Today was the first slice I've endured since I stopped adding rejection letters to my pile back in June.


It hurts.  Rejection always does.  But it's a part of life.  It teaches you not only how to be humble but also reminds you that there's always something more to learn.  If I ever reach the point where I think I'm God's gift to writers I give you permission to slap me!


So today has been a tad rocky for me.  I knew my heart wouldn't be into writing, as I licked my wounds, so I switched gears and did some marketing.  What better way to deal with rejection than to get another sale?


I've also done some more tweaking to my blog.  Watcha think?  Kinda nice, eh?  Much better than the dreary black and gray.


How do you handle yet another rejection letter, bad review or naysayer?  


Are you a fighter or do you give up?  I think I might hear the Rocky music floating thought the air!


I'd love to hear your thoughts.

I think I'm gonna be sick!

Have you ever had that moment when you realize you’re having the best day of your life?  Maybe it was a wedding (guys nod here), or the birth of your first child (go ahead, nod again) or maybe it’s the day you finally step out on your own and become an adult.  Or maybe, just maybe, it’s the day you take another baby step towards your dream.

The past two days have been exhilarating, stressful and downright freaking amazing! 

After losing sleep while sitting with my father in the ER until 2am, I rolled out of bed yesterday morning, bleary eyed and exhausted.  I just knew it was gonna be a LONG day.  Watch out cause this gal was gonna be on a rampage!

But my entire day took a 180 when I opened my email to find a response to a query from back in November to a small publisher that not only works with local writers, but also newbies!

 

I tell you what, an email like that is a million times better than a pot of coffee!

I jumped into high gear and polished my samples until they shone like the diamond I hope they are. 

By 1am my energy reserves were bone dry.  I was back up by 6:30 putting the finishing touches on it with the help of my friend, Danielle Bannister author of Pulled, and hit send. 

For those of you who know me, I’m an obsessive writer and I’m proud to admit that, but after spending that many hours on intensive rewrites and editing my brain is short circuiting!  Hence the blog post haha

Now here I sit, in my usual chair at the library, and I can’t focus on a thing.  Perhaps today, procrastination wouldn’t be such a bad thing.  I think I deserve a break.

I’m gonna cuddle up in a plush armchair and read to my heart’s content! 

PS: I bet that lasts about 5 minutes and then I’ll be back to work again!

Book review: Hollowmen

Not too long ago I wrote a blog post about reading Amanda Hocking's Hollowland book.  I also made comment on how I'm not big on zombie books.  That hasn't changed.


Well yesterday, bedridden with a stomach flu and desperately trying to forget about the chills and muscle aches, I downloaded the sequel.  Hey, I figured my stomach was already screwed up, so it couldn't get much worse.


So Hollowmen picks up 6 months after Hollowland.  Believable.  New characters are introduced.  Most die, along with some from the original book.  


Lots of death (some gruesome so I would suggest only mature teens read the book).  But mingled in with the death and despair comes a ray of hope. The message behind the book was spot on.  


As a non-zombie fan it's hard for me to gush over this book.  But I can say that it allowed me to forget how ill I felt for a few hours so that's gotta count for something, right?  


Hollowland is still available as a free download on Kindle.  Hollowmen was $2.99


Star rating: 4 out of 5 


Thank you Amanda Hocking for helping me through a terrible day! 

Should you be writing right now?

YA SF/Fantasy opportunity

For anyone who is shedding blood, sweat and tears to finish your new YA SF/Fantasy novel I have an opportunity for you.  


http://strangechemistrybooks.com/opendoor/

Read through the requirements carefully.  Submission is not until mid April so you have plenty of time to get your manuscripts ready.  I plan on entering my new YA Paranormal novel Ignite that I'm currently crafting.