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Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Word Witch Wednesday - purging and organization


While lots of folks were out buying stuff this past weekend, I spent hours purging. We cleaned out the garage and installed a ceiling storage shelf. I can now open my car door without hitting anything. I combed the backyard, picking up toys and raking. I had my son sort through his massive collection of water guns and water toys and reduced it down to one bin. I cleaned out the kitchen and stripped the wallpaper off the wall to prep it for painting.

What does this have to do with writing? I cleaned and organized my email and writing folder. I keep emails of contests and anthologies. I missed several of them, but I still had the notes. I sorted various stories, articles, and critiques into their proper folders, and organized images.

While I'm doing this all physically (and digitally!), it helps to tidy me up mentally. The cobwebs have been brushed away, and I've got all this new space. Space for potential stories. I've had so many pop up in my head this past weekend.

Plus it gives me room to rev up and finish off my current WIP. It's been slow-going lately, and perhaps it's because I was feeling mentally crowded. So much to do, so little time.

Yet now I see I can do it all. I've made lists and scheduled time slots. Funny how a neat house and a few lists can make everything seem so clear.

How often do you purge and organize?

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Thank You To All My Readers


Have I told you how awesome you are lately? You are. Every single one of you. I'm so grateful to you all for encouraging and supporting me.

I've celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving with my family up north last month. Now I'm prepping for Thanksgiving with my American family and friends. And while I can't send pie over the internet, I can share with you free books.

To those celebrating, have a Happy Thanksgiving!

And for everyone, have a laugh and a bit of steaminess!



Monday, November 20, 2017

Disposal Release Blog Tour

The Lazy Housewife on Garage Grunge

In my home, there are several dumping grounds: a junk drawer or two, the kids' closets, my dining room, and the garage. Junk and stuff is so hard to keep up with. I don't want to just throw it away, but I don't have time to put it away properly, so I'll just put it here for a while till I can get to it... Does this sound familiar to anyone?

Well, this post is focused on the garage. It's a different kind of clutter. It's mostly filled with car stuff, yard stuff, miscellaneous machinery and tools, and toys/sporting goods. So here are my suggestions on having a clean garage:

  • The key to having a clean garage is a timely PURGE. We try to get to it twice a year, as the seasons change between warm and cold. Every year more toys are donated or dumped as my kids get older. It only makes sense.
  • The Fall brings lots of leaves and usually half a tree's worth ends up blowing into our garage. A BLOWER is a great tool for cleaning them out.
  • I love organization. Most people have shelving units, tool racks, and bins for toys and shoes in their garage, but my hubs went a step above and built HIGH SHELVES over the garage doors for off-season storage. (We recently did a major purge as we are moving soon, that's why they look empty)
  • HOOKS are also great for hoisting ladders, bikes and other stuff that's only used for part of the year, up and out of the way.

  • Lastly, Christine asked about oil stains... I had to ask the hubs about that, the garage is his turf after all... He said de-greasers are good, but POWDER LAUNDRY DETERGENT and a scrub brush work pretty well too. For fresh spills, absorb as much as possible before cleaning.
  • A fresh coat of PAINT is also a nice touch for sprucing up banged up walls and doors--like where our garbage cans sit.

Thanks so much for having me here and helping me shout out my new release, Christine.
Hope this was helpful!

DISPOSAL by Tara Tyler
Pop Travel, Book Three

Cooper and Geri are finally in a good place, but their bliss is short-lived when Cooper's rebellious nephew Jimmy moves in with them for a summer internship. He hits the town hard and thinks he's found the girl of his dreams in an fiery, exotic beauty. Against all words of warning, he pursues her and ends up getting kidnapped by her powerful Drug Lord father. Geri tracks him down, but gets herself kidnapped as well.

Now it's up to Cooper to use all his resources to save them, including the hot homicide detective Geri secretly despises, and the latest sketchy gadgets his genius friend Hasan offers him to field-test. Sure, why not? Cooper will do anything to get his family back.

KINDLE <=> Paperback (coming soon)



About the Author:
Tara Tyler is a math teacher who writes to share her passion for reading with others. She loves dogs, coffee, and is the lazy housewife, living in a world of boys with three sons and a coach husband. Join her for an adventure!

Book One           Book Two


To join in the celebration, take Tara Tyler's SURVEY- which will automatically enter you for a PRIZE! Drawing and winners announced on December 15th.

Thursday, November 16, 2017

Celebrating the release of Disposal

I love this series of books, and it makes me so excited to be able to share with you the release of the third one!
 
DISPOSAL by Tara Tyler
Pop Travel, Book Three

Cooper and Geri are finally in a good place, but their bliss is short-lived when Cooper's rebellious nephew Jimmy moves in with them for a summer internship. He hits the town hard and thinks he's found the girl of his dreams in an fiery, exotic beauty. Against all words of warning, he pursues her and ends up getting kidnapped by her powerful Drug Lord father. Geri tracks him down, but gets herself kidnapped as well.

Now it's up to Cooper to use all his resources to save them, including the hot homicide detective Geri secretly despises, and the latest sketchy gadgets his genius friend Hasan offers him to field-test. Sure, why not? Cooper will do anything to get his family back.

KINDLE <=> Paperback (coming soon)



About the Author:
Tara Tyler is a math teacher who writes to share her passion for reading with others. She loves dogs, coffee, and is the lazy housewife, living in a world of boys with three sons and a coach husband. Join her for an adventure!

Pop Travel & Simulation - The Cooper Chronicles
Broken Branch Falls & Cradle Rock - Beast World fantasy series


To celebrate, you can take Tara Tyler's SURVEY- which will automatically enter you for a PRIZE!

Here is the DISPOSAL blog tour schedule:

FRI, NOV 17 - Tyrean Martinson - 5 Things that will get you published!

MON, NOV 20 - Christine Rains - The Lazy Housewife talks Garage Goals
THU, NOV 23 - Juneta Key - I'm Thankful for where I am

MON, NOV 27 - Patricia Lynne -
THU, NOV 30 - Diane Burton - The Lazy Housewife talks Bathroom Blues

WED, DEC 6 - MJ Fifield - Special IWSG: Will anyone like me? Will anyone care?
FRI, DEC 8 - Elizabeth Seckman - The Journey of the Really Real Housewives

MON, DEC 11 - C. Lee McKenzie -

Monday, November 13, 2017

Remakes Blogfest


Most of remakes suck. Big time. And they're making so many of them nowadays! Yet there is that moment when one comes along that is better than the original.

The marvelous hosts of this blogfest, Alex J. Cavanaugh and Heather M. Gardner, want to read about those remakes that don't suck. Be it movies, music, or books. Click HERE to find a linky list of participants and discover some awesome remakes.

I've watched a lot of movies in my years. Many of them horror flicks. I'm much more into the suspense side of the horror genre now, but once upon a time, it's was all about the gore. One of my favorite movies was Sam Raimi's Evil Dead. So when I heard they were remaking it, I refused to see the new one. No way. Bruce Campbell rules!

But I couldn't resist watching a little of the remake...


And then all of it. The 2013 remake was awesome! It didn't try to capture Raimi's quirkiness and the star didn't try to be Bruce Campbell. It stood on its own. It's gory, nightmare level, but it isn't trashy. Highly recommended for horror fans.

What are your favorite remakes?

Wednesday, November 8, 2017

Word Witch Wednesday - the ever evolving land of book marketing


One of the things that cause me the most stress is marketing. I just want to write! But it's part of an author's job to market their work too. So I do a lot of research. When I think I have a handle on things and make a plan, the world of book marketing changes. And it keeps changing.

1. Newsletters. At the beginning of the year, this was the new big thing. Build your email list! Now people are pulling back from them. There are just too many, and several of them are just vehicles for authors to promote other authors' books. I've unsubscribed from dozens of them, because as a reader, I'm interested in the writer I subscribed to, not ads for other people's books.

Is it still good to have a newsletter? Yes. Remember though, you are sending it out to readers. They want to know about you and your work. I've changed the way I set up my newsletter and send it out only once a month. They're shorter and more personal, like an email to a friend. I've gotten far less unsubscribes this way.

2. Blogs. You can find articles proclaiming blogging is going out of style or has been out for a long time. Yes, some people have left blogging and turned to other social media. Time is precious, and people don't want to spend it reading long articles.

Should you give up blogging? No. If you have the time to invest in it, it can be worthwhile. I use my blog to connect with writers and readers. I love the community of author bloggers I follow. The support and encouragement of fellow writers is invaluable. I've cut back to once a week, but I can't see myself ever closing down my blog.

3. Social Media. We've heard this before: it's like shouting into the void. No one's going to hear you. It doesn't sell books. Many articles counsel stepping back from spending time on social media and just writing instead. Which is good advice. We shouldn't be spending too much time on social media. Writing more stories is the number one priority for an author.

So no more social media? It can help as long as you remember that social media is for being social. It's for interaction, and if that's something you really enjoy, go find where your audience is. Mingle and make connections.

4. Paid Ads. So many seem to fail. Writers aren't rich folks. Spending money on an ad that won't even make you the money back you spent on it is useless. The once popular paid ad sites are no longer attracting readers. Only BookBub gets sales, and very few of us can afford them.

From my research, one thing almost everyone agrees on is that paid ads do work... IF you know where your audience is. It does take a lot of research to find out where best to promote your books. If you're doing a 99 cent sale or offering up a book for free for a limited time, this is when paying for an ad can help.

What have you noticed that has changed in the book marketing world recently?

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

#IWSG for November 2017

The Insecure Writer's Support Group (IWSG) is the brilliant idea of Alex J. Cavanaugh. The purpose of the group is to share doubts and insecurities and to encourage one another. Please visit the other participants and share your support. A kind word goes a long way.

This month's awesome co-hosts are: Tonja Drecker, Diane Burton, MJ Fifield, and Rebecca Douglass!

November's IWSG optional question: Win or not, do you usually finish your NaNo project? Have any of them gone on to be published?

I love NaNoWriMo. I'd been doing it for years before my son was born. These days, November has too many family events going on for me to participate, but I still cheer for all the participants.

I always finished my NaNo projects, and the majority of them I finished in November. Were they all good stories? Nope. I have most of them shelved where they will likely stay forever. But I have published one of them, and it is my most highly rated book: Of Blood and Sorrow. It was my 2011 NaNo project. Notice it wasn't published until 2015. A lot of work went into fixing it up and prepping it for release.

This month's insecurity: I'm currently writing the sequel to Of Blood and Sorrow. It's heavy and dark, and oh, how I torture my poor protagonist. I worry that this new book isn't going to be as good as the first. I dropped one of the main characters, and I don't know how readers will feel about that.

I'm also trying to tell myself to be patient. I might be able to finish the first draft quickly, but to polish it up like first book, it's going to take time. I want to set myself a deadline for release in spring of next year, but I know I shouldn't. Not until I'm certain that's realistic. Plus, I want the third book in the trilogy written by the time the second is released too.