Friday Five for June 6, 2014

1. Yikes! I forgot to write up this post last night. It's been one of those weeks. My husband and I caught my son's illness. We're all on antibiotics and not feeling ourselves. Not a great way to start off the summer.

2. No news on any of my submissions. I've read things are slower in the summer. So I must keep distracting myself with good reads.

3. I wasn't going to go to Gen Con Indy this year. Last year, I spent most of the time just chasing after my son as he went up and down the escalators. Yet now I see they have Jim Butcher as a guest of honor! Maybe I'll go just one day... if my son can stand in a long line with me to get a book signed. Okay, who am I kidding? I'll just have to send my husband to do it.

4. Did I mention I was sick? I can't think of anything else to say. It's too early in the morning!

5. Don't forget about two awesome giveaways on Untethered Realms. Mary Pax is having a Roadtrip Audiobook giveaway, and Cherie Reich is giving away a huge prize pack of several books including a signed print version of her new YA fantasy novel, REBORN.

Have a great weekend!

IWSG for June 2014

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.

I'm still waiting to hear back from novel, novella, and short story submissions. Tons of insecurities and anxiety there. I clean the house, check my email, water the garden, check my email, play hide-and-seek, check my email.

Instead of doing that, I really should be doing something else. I should be writing.

There's nothing more energizing than having my favorite people (fictional and real) telling me to write. Hope they inspire you too!

Friday Five for January 31, 2014

1. I finished the 3rd draft of my WIP. Yay! Right on schedule with my goals for this year. It's been sent to my CPs and betas. Now I wait. Is anyone done reading yet?! Waiting is the hardest part. Best I get started on the revisions for my superhero WIP.

2. I sent my short story for the Untethered Realms anthology to be revised. Ahead of schedule. Though I didn't write it this month. I can't count it as one of the short stories for my goals this year. Novels come first this year, though. And querying. Yikes!

3. Oh! That reminds me: thank you to all of you who left tips on my Wednesday post about querying. Those were really helpful. I have a specific publisher in mind that I want to try first. If I have no luck there, I'll make a list and start sending queries out in small groups.

4. I have a parent-teacher conference this morning. Why do I feel so nervous? I know my son is smart, sweet, and well mannered. The other day my husband was playing Flow on his iPhone and the boy wanted to give it a try. He picked it up right away. A genius! Then later in the day he threw a fit to take down the bathroom because the ice cubes I gave him to play with in the tub were melting. Yup. I have to keep reminding myself he's just 3.

5. I'm doing all right for my goals this year. I get an A+ for revising, but only a D for managing to balance writing and networking. Yet I get a B+ for relaxing before bed and going to sleep at a reasonable hour. I've only had to have one nap this month. This is a huge improvement over last year when I wanted to nap five days of the week because I was so tired.

It's Friday! Woot! Have a wonderful weekend.