Category: Friday Ramblings

Posted in Friday Ramblings

Friday Ramblings From An Author-Lots Happening

Posted on by writersauthorsbooksandmore

cropped-writing-828911_640.jpg

 

It’s been another crazy week with lots of different things happening. Maybe it’s been all to do with that lunar eclipse that happened on Monday.

First up, I decided to buy a smaller laptop/notebook so I could sit and do some more work at night while I watch TV. I’ve never been one to just sit and watch TV. I always have to be doing something so I thought why not do something productive. I’m going to use my TV time for doing research for my upcoming mysteries.

Second thing I did, (and this is going to take my writing in another direction). I took the plunge and registered for a class to learn how to write for television.  Not just any class but one taught by Shonda Rhimes…yes if any of you watch Grey’s Anatomy or Scandal you know what a big deal that is and how excited I am to be taking this class.

Does that mean I might give up writing books? Well maybe. I’ve always wanted to write scripts so who knows I might love it or I might be really awful at it. Either way I feel energized learning something new in the realm of writing.

Another thing that happened this week…a former student got a book published and added my name to the acknowledgements. I love writing and being able to help other writers live their dream is icing on the cake. I told her I’d give her some publicity so starting next week I’ll have a new shoutout category on the site and she’ll be the debut author.

When a week’s been a good one you hate to see it end but as they say all good things…

Have yourself your own good week and happy writing to all.

Posted in Friday Ramblings

Friday Ramblings From An Author-Back to Mysteries

Posted on by writersauthorsbooksandmore

cropped-writing-828911_640.jpg

 

It’s August which means I have to stick to my goal of getting back to mystery writing. I thought about starting a new one but have three half finished ones sitting on my computer. It won’t be the first time I’ve gone back to writing stories I started…let’s just say longer than I care to remember. I always say you should never throw away a story because at some point in your life you feel the passion for it again and once in a while they become your best stories ever.

Two workshops kicked off this week and I’m finalizing next year’s schedule. I’m also looking into another teaching platform that I think might be perfect for coaching and mentoring too.

I’ve also been doing some organizing and threw out quite a few things from my office. Some of it was research for books and cuttings from the Nineties…yes, I have a tendency to hang on to things too long.

That’s it for this week’s Ramblings and now it’s off to do some mystery writing!

Have a fun week and happy writing to all.

Posted in Friday Ramblings

Friday Ramblings From An Author-Dreaming of Hawaii and New Zealand

Posted on by writersauthorsbooksandmore

cropped-writing-828911_640.jpg

 

It’s felt  like summer (high heat and humidity) this last week or so and I can’t believe we’re at the half way point. And no, I still haven’t gotten around to my summer reading list yet. I have been reading but not books from my list. For some reason…maybe I’m itching to do some traveling, but I’ve been choosing travel books about certain places I’d love to visit one day. Two on my list are Hawaii and New Zealand. I have a relative in New Zealand who I’ve never met so maybe one of these days we’ll connect.

The last of my July workshops finished today and now two new ones begin on Tuesday. Self Publishing taught through San Diego Romance Writers and Plotting Your Novel offered through Outreach International.

Most of this week’s been devoted to working on some WIPS and getting books that are no longer in the KDP Select program loaded onto other sites. I do love self publishing but sometimes it takes me away from writing which is a downside.

I also purchased an online business that’s part store and part site to raise awareness of an issue that’s always been close to my heart. I’ll tell you more about it sometime soon.

Have a fun week and happy writing to all.

Posted in Friday Ramblings

Friday Ramblings From An Author-A Week of Planning

Posted on by writersauthorsbooksandmore

cropped-writing-828911_640.jpg

 

I’m not sure what it is about the month of July but sometimes I feel like it’s the beginning of a new year instead of the middle of one. I’ve been in a planning state of mind.

Anyone else check their goals when we’re half way through the year?

I’ve done it before but this year I seem more determined to tackle more things on my to do list.

Some of those include restarting my writing mentoring and coaching business that I have to admit I haven’t marketed as much as I’d planned to. This time I’m thinking of including non-fiction coaching too. Maybe even business writing as well.

I told you that another one of my goals is to get back to my mystery writing and plans are in motion for doing just that.

Teaching is another thing I want to do more of and maybe more under my own stream. I’ve found another platform where that might be possible so stay tuned.

This weekend I’m devoting to catching up on some summer reading, well that’s after the weeds are pulled from the vegetable garden!

Have a fun week and happy writing to all.

Posted in Friday Ramblings

Friday Ramblings From An Author-Another Busy One

Posted on by writersauthorsbooksandmore

Nope, it wasn’t just last week because this one’s felt busy too. Still haven’t gotten to my summer reading and it might turn into fall reading.

The two week synopsis writing boot camp ends tomorrow and I can’t believe how fast it flew by. My students have been some of the best and have worked their butts off to get their synopsis written. I’ll be sad to say goodbye to them because they’ve been so great.

I did manage to get a back title released, book two in my Perfect Pairings series. I made the cover myself and here it is-

forever yours

I can’t remember if I mentioned it but my How to Write A Romance Novel is being translated into Portuguese, Spanish and now Italian. I’ll post something about how you can get your work translated because it does broaden the audience for your work and another way to earn some extra income.

I hope next week isn’t so hectic and I can enjoy what I think is going to be a scorcher of a week. Tomorrow’s supposed to be near 100 and rain seems to be a thing of the past lately.

Hope you all get outside and enjoy summer  (if it’s winter where you are maybe there’s still something to do outdoors!).

 

Have a fun week and happy writing to all.

 

 

Posted in Friday Ramblings, Uncategorized

Friday Ramblings From An Author-Short Week

Posted on by writersauthorsbooksandmore

cropped-writing-828911_640.jpg

 

Happy Friday everyone.  This week’s seemed strange and I don’t mean in a bad way but with a holiday on Tuesday it feels like it was cut in half and made it seem extra busy for me…not sure why.

Summer’s well underway but not my summer reading. The only thing I’m reading right now is a book I’m reviewing. I’ve yet to get to the first book on my list which is a Sue Grafton book…yes it’s almost the end of the Kinsey Milhone stories. For those of you who don’t know it was these books that inspired me to try my hand at writing my own female PI story. Yes, way, way back when women PI stories weren’t a dime a dozen. The books also gave me the confidence to write in the first person…so many editors told me to change my story to third person. And guess what? I’m glad I never did.

Speaking of mysteries, in the last few weeks I’ve been doing what I suppose you’d call some soul searching and I’ve decided I need to get back to writing mysteries. I have three I’ve started but never finished and next month I’ve told myself that’s going to change. By the end of the year those three unfinished projects will be checked off my to do list. There, I’ve shared that with you so hold me accountable. If you haven’t heard me mention my mystery WIP during a Ramblings from August onward then leave a comment or drop me a line.

Have a fun week and happy writing to all.

Posted in Friday Ramblings

Friday Ramblings From An Author-Workshops…Classes

Posted on by writersauthorsbooksandmore

cropped-writing-828911_640.jpg

 

It’s raining and thunder is rumbling in the background and strangely enough it’s my favorite background noise for writing. Anyone else like a certain type of  weather to write to?

The June workshop I’ve been teaching finished today and my students were such a wonderful group of writers that I’m sad to say goodbye to them. Tomorrow the synopsis boot camp kicks off. It’s a two week class and is taught through the Outreach International chapter of RWA (if anyone’s interested). Then on Monday, a four week class starts and it’s a boot camp focusing on how to fix a story that’s been rejected. That’s offered through the Low Country chapter of RWA so once again if you, or anyone you know might be interested in a revision style class, tell them about this one.

I’m teaching during July and August for the first time and I know it’s going to cut down on my time usually devoted to summer reading. I’m already way behind with working my way through the books on my list which I’ll share with you soon.

I have another class live on Skillshare. It’s part one of what will be a three part class on self publishing. Here’s the link if you’re interested in that topic-

http://skl.sh/2ufcJSW

Needless to say, with the workshops and working on new classes I haven’t had much time to devote to my WIPs. I get rights back to the second book in my Perfect Pairing series in July so that’s on my radar for a revamp. I also have a couple of non-fiction titles that are about 25% done. And not forgetting two fiction WIPs that never seem to get done this year.

It’s sort of an extended holiday weekend for many so for everyone in Canada, Happy Canada Day and for those in the US, Happy Fourth of July.

Stay safe and have fun.

Happy writing to all.

 

 

Posted in Friday Ramblings

Friday Ramblings From An Author-Self-Publishing Made Easy

Posted on by writersauthorsbooksandmore

Welcome to summer…or winter if you’re in the southern part of the world. It doesn’t feel much like summer today but I’m not complaining because the cooler temps are just fine with me.

This week I’ve been participating in an online retreat. Not a writing one, but workshops that center around creativity. One common theme is that sometimes, even when we’re busy, we need to take a step back from our work or even take a few days off. The workshops have been my much needed recharge…I even followed along with the yoga workshop this morning.

The taking a few hours out each day has slowed me down but I think that’s been a good thing because I’ve felt more energized when I’ve got back to work.

I even released a book this afternoon….Self Publishing Made Easy.  Here’s the cover…and yes another one I designed myself.

 

my highgarden

I’m in the middle of planning a three part class on the topic for Skillshare and hope to get the first part recorded and loaded to their site sometime next week.

So my insight for the week and a tip I’ll pass along to you, even when you’re busy or on the days when you’re trying to write and the muse is up and gone, take a break, do something else and then simply try again.

Have a good week and happy writing to all.

Posted in Friday Ramblings

Friday Ramblings From An Author-I’m So Glad It’s Friday

Posted on by writersauthorsbooksandmore

cropped-writing-828911_640.jpg

 

Ever had one of those weeks?

Yes we all have them and this week it was my turn.

It’s been a hot and humid week and where I live that means storms. And storms mean the power and internet connection goes out more than you’d like.

If you work at home that’s not a good thing. When you can’t go without your cup of tea first thing in the morning that’s a very bad thing!

When the power finally came back on, the internet did too but then it went away again…I’ll cut the story short and say the modem went bad and the technician has just finished installing a new one and outside wiring. I’m so happy that it’s Friday and now I can start to get caught up on my work.

This week has taught me a lot, power up all  your gadgets every night so they’re at full charge should the power go out. Invest in a hotspot for emergency internet connection. Look into buying some portable solar panels. And most of all, buy a camping stove so you can make yourself a cup of tea and be less cranky.

At least I got some work completed before disaster struck and next week….keep those fingers crossed, I’ll be uploading some new classes to Skillshare and completing one of my non-fiction projects.

Have a fun week and happy writing to all.

Posted in Friday Ramblings, Uncategorized

Friday Ramblings From An Author-Two Books Down and One to Go

Posted on by writersauthorsbooksandmore

It’s been a hot week…and it’s getting hotter, and it’s also been a busy week.

I got rights back to two stories that had appeared in anthologies five years ago. I usually like to give them a rewrite and polish them up some more. Some I like to give a total make-over. It’s amazing how as a writer you look at something you wrote five years ago and think, did I really write like this once? Hence the need for a rewrite but one of these old stories was still okay with me. The other just needs switching it from an historical to contemporary so it fits in with a new series I created for some of these back titles. So far I’ve managed to release one and working on the other, here’s the cover-

Vanessa Devereaux

 

I’m pleased to say I even got a non-fiction book uploaded to Amazon today. It’s a short one about organizing and decluttering, something I did lots of last year and finally found things that work so thought I’d share them with the world.

Here’s the cover of that one-

a sparkof hope

 

Both covers were created by myself which brings me to another piece of news…I sold my first piece of art. Not sure if you can call it selling a piece of art but a customer chose my lilac plant sketch to be placed on their coasters. I don’t think I can call myself writer and artist just yet. Making that first sale felt a lot like seeing my first story in print and it’s motivated me to do more.

Have a good week and happy writing to all.