Riding The Roller Coaster

Hi kids,

Miss me????  I know it’s been a month and a half since my last post but I’ve been on such a whirlwind ride that I’m just now getting time to catch my breath.  Between my new job at Blog Engage, trying to keep up with my other writing clients, trying to read an e-book or two in there somewhere, and still stay on top of my real world duties, I’m seriously thinking that I’ve lost at least about 87 hours.  LOL

So what else has been happening?  Well, I am in the process of getting ready for NaNoWriMo 2011.  That’s right boys and girls, it’s almost time once again to speed write our way into the record books and pound out 50,000 words in 30 days.  It’s a good thing we don’t have to have a working ready novel in that length of time, just a good first draft that could possibly be turned into a serious work of literary art.  Well, into a half way descent e-book anyway.  LOL  I have the basis for my book ready to go and a basic outline of my characters.  I can’t write any part of the story until 12:01 am on November 1st, but I can get all my ducks…er, characters in a row beforehand.  I’m hoping that by being somewhat prepared that I’ll have a shot at hitting the finish line again this year.  I’ve done it only once before, but I really want it this year.  I’m hoping to make this one into a real book before it’s all said and done with.

Also, as of this coming Monday (October 17th), I’m on vacation.  Okay, my real world bosses (husband and wife team) are taking their vacation, which means those of us who work under them will be on a forced vacation.  Oh darn.  It might sound like I’m throwing a pity-party (yeah I know, oh poor baby.  Have to sit home and do nothing but play on the puter for 2 whole weeks), but the truth is it will kind of suck.  I have to sit at home while my bosses go on their annual jaunt to Bermuda.  Oh well, I hope they have a good time and enjoy their vacation.  I know I will as my son who’s in the Navy is getting to come home during that exact same 2 weeks.  Now that was a gift from God himself.

As I said above, I’ve been trying to squeeze in a few e-books here and there, but I do have say one thing.  On one of my last posts (in August), I’d mentioned that I’d been given the chance to read and review a book by Heather Cashman called Perception.  I have to admit that I have been unable to finish this book.  Not because it sucks, because I cried 3 different times in the first part of this book.  My problem is that once into the middle of the book, it just drags on.  I’m not good with dragging on.  I’m like the little kid who goes for a walk in the woods and sees a bunny half way through.  I gotta follow that bunny and I’m probably going to get lost.  I will say this though, if you enjoy stories that have to do with a person having the ability to see the world through the eyes and thoughts of their animal companion, then I highly recommend Heather’s book.  It’s a very long book, but the characters are very realistic and there’s some killer scenes in the first half of the book.

Well, that’s all for now.  Hopefully I’ll get around to getting more posts done now that I’m getting into a regular swing of things.  I’ve got a few more e-books downloaded in the Kindle, so as time goes on, I’ll try and get a couple reviews posted for your amusement.  Until then, happy writing and remember, when the going gets tough…get a bigger hammer!!!!!  CIAO!!

My Blog Engage Bonanza

It is with both sheer joy and a bit of sadness that I must announce that I will not be playing in the giveaway world as much as I have been for the past year.  The reason is that I’ve been offered a position on the staff at BlogEngage.com.  Though I’ve known about this bit of awesomeness for a while now, I wasn’t able to announce it until the site owner, Brian Belfitt, made it official on the site.  The new Staff Announcement went live today and I am now the Chief Editing Officer and Content Manager for the site.  I’m as happy as a catfish in a mud hole.  LOL

But, with this being a pretty big deal, I’ll be spending a lot of time one the site.  This isn’t just some site needing someone to keep up with things, this is an actual paying gig that requires me to do some actual work.  I can dig it.  That means no more playing around with the giveaway girls, or at least not as much.  I’ll still be checking out some of my more favoritest places and of course, keeping up with the book stuff and talking about fiction.  I still have a book to finish for Heather Cashman, which by the was has made me cry 3 different times and I just over half way done.

For those wh0 have never heard of Blog Engage, it’s an amazing place where bloggers come together and check out each others posts.  Blog posts are submitted to the site and other members vote on them.  If a post gets 11 or more votes, it becomes a published piece and that’s where everyone wants to be.  It’s fun and it can bring a lot of traffic to your blog.  The site also has their own blog, which is where I’ll be doing my thing.  There’s a lot of valuable information on this site, all geared toward helping our fellow bloggers.

And don’t worry, I won’t be giving up on giveaways altogether.  I would have a meltdown if I could enter a book giveaway or 2.  I’ll keep you all up to date and I still have my own sites to run.  Won’t be giving up on those either.  So stick around and see what we can cook up.  This is going to be a fun and bumpy ride, but that’s what makes it so interesting.

Accentuate Writers Forum

I’m always talking about the fun side of being a fiction writer, or just being any kind of writer, but there is a down side.  The times when you realize you’re all alone.  We writers talked to our characters all the time, we talk to ourselves as we create our worlds, and we talk to the people in our own homes when we come out of hiding.  But there are times when we need someone else who knows what we’re going through.  And that place is the Accentuate Writer’s Forum.

This is a wonderful resource for writers of all genre.  There are places where fiction writers can sit and discuss their upcoming books, places for non-fiction writers to discuss the topics of the day, and a place where they can all hang out together.  There are links to various paying writing jobs, links to writing contests, and links to places about grants and awards.  If it’s got anything to do with writing, it can be found on this forum.

The gorgeous lady behind AWF is one of the very first writers I had the pleasure of meeting online, Michelle Devon.  She is an amazingly talented woman and has a killer sense of humor.  Michy (Michelle) refers to herself as a freelance writer, author, poet, and professional dreamer and I think that last one is something we can all relate to.

If you’ve been looking for a place to hang out with other writers who’ve been where you are, and are where you once were, this is the place to go.  Even if you’re tired of talking about writing and just want to hang out, there’s plenty of room at the Accentuate Writers Forum.