Friday Five for August 19th, 2016

1. Hello, everyone! It's been a while since I've had a Friday Five. Things have been super busy in my world, and then every single person in my household got sick. Not with just a little cold either. Horribly sick. My poor husband still hasn't recovered from his terrible bronchitis after a month. With all of that, I'm way behind where I want to be writing-wise. I'll be blogging only once a week for the next two months in an attempt to catch up.

2. My little guy started grade one, and he's loving school. Grade one is a big jump not only for him, but for us as parents too. It's so different than the fun and play-as-you-learn activities kindergarten. Reading and math assignments, spelling tests, social studies, and science.

3. I revealed the first three of my Totem series covers this Wednesday. It finished up my summer series on the mad science of book covers. I'm immensely pleased with the way they turned out, and I've gotten terrific feedback about them. Now I need to come up with taglines and blurbs. Yikes!

4. I finished revising Totem #3, and I'm ready to start writing the first draft of Totem #6. I'd hoped to be one more book ahead of this, but I'm pushing onward still shooting for my mid-October release date.

5. For the first time in over eight weeks, I'll have a quiet weekend. I have my local critique group meeting, but that's it. I'm going to rest and enjoy some quiet time with a good book.

Have a lovely weekend!

Friday Five for May 27, 2016

1. I survived talking to the university class. I didn't lose my voice or faint, and I remembered to wear pants. I even got a few laughs. So I'll count that as a win. Though, it was extremely awkward and nerve-wracking for me. Speaking in front of people is just not for me.

2. I'm still fussing with my Totem covers and their fonts. I think I might have one that works. Maybe. Ack! I need to stop messing with them and be done. It's stealing my writing time.

3. One short story competition loss this week. One short story submitted. Very little writing was done. I blame it on the fonts!

4. Yesterday was my son's kindergarten awards. He wore his bow tie shirt. So cute! Every child received a medal and a certificate. So sitting through eight classes took quite a while. My son also won a medal for the highest academic achievement for boys in his class. Proud mama right here. Today is his last day of school, and then it's ten weeks of summer break!

5. Friday Five will be on summer break too. It'll be back in August with a new logo. My blogging will be very light over the next two months. I have some incredible guests scheduled, though. Please come visit and let them know how awesome they are.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Friday Five for May 20, 2016

1. I managed to get a little more writing done this week, but I got sidetracked by research. A lot. I must learn to be more disciplined when reading about fascinating stuff!

2. Tomorrow is my local critique group meeting. I sent in my newest flash piece for them to rip apart. Next Tuesday, the group will be doing a panel for a class at the local university. My nervousness about it has not eased. Talking in front of people terrifies me, but that's why I do it.

3. I started reading the first Harry Potter book with my son. He's not nearly excited about it as I am! He's much more into his Greek Myth book lately. He's obsessed with minotaurs and mazes and wants a three-headed dog named Cerebus! Hey little guy, there's a three-headed dog in Harry Potter. Hehehe!

4. One week of school left. I must write like a madwoman this coming week!

5. I had a terrific time at the zoo yesterday with my son and his classmates... and forty-eight other busloads of children from various schools. What was the zoo thinking?!

Go forth and have an awesome weekend!

Friday Five for May 13, 2016

1. One short story rejection. One new flash piece written. I sent it in to my local critique group for this month's meeting.

2. Writing is still going slow. I should skip over the first chapter that's giving me trouble, but I keep digging in my heels. I only need one little idea to make it work. It hasn't come to me yet.

3. Two weeks left of school. I'm not ready yet! Next week, I'm a chaperone for my son's school zoo trip. His school does not allow chaperones to ride on the buses, so I'll have to drive to the zoo and meet them there. You would think the teachers would like to have the extra help on the bus during the hour ride there and back!

4. I was asked by one of the authors in my local group to participate in a panel for a class at the university. I agreed... and now I'm super anxious! I love to talk about writing, but I've never been good in front of an audience. As long as I don't faint and/or lose my voice, I think I'll be okay.

5. On the agenda for my weekend: a kid's birthday party and gardening. I need to get those seedlings in the ground before it rains again! Maybe we'll take our little guy to his first drive-in movie too. Everyone needs to experience the drive-in at least once. Have you ever been to a drive-in?

Have a terrific weekend!

Friday Five for April 15, 2016

1. I have a release date for Big Burning (Sasquatch Susies #3). April 28th! That's less than two weeks away. It's awesome how fast this series has come together. This third and final one is my favorite of the series. Add it to read on Goodreads.

2. I'm almost done Totem #4. One more chapter. I think I can do it today. I can do it. I don't have a title yet, but hopefully my critique partners and beta readers can help with that.

3. I'm still having fun shopping images this month. I found images of the same model used for my cover for Of Blood and Sorrow. They make me want to write more books in that series. I have a few ideas too. So many stories to write, so little time!

4. My mom's visiting next week, so I'll be absent from the net. Lots of fun is going to be had, because...

5. It's my son's sixth birthday next week! Six. Wow. Time really does fly by when you're a parent. His party is this Sunday at a local park, and the weather is going to be spectacular.

Have an awesome weekend!

Friday Five for April 8, 2016

1. My latest WIP is torturing me. I found a huge plot hole last week thanks to a character who pointed it out. So I've been rewriting (the third rewrite for this book) and now I'm finally on track toward the climax again. I had hoped to have it finished today, but now I'm aiming for next Friday.

2. I've been shopping for images this month. A late Christmas gift from my mom. I have the most perfect pictures for my Totem series. I hope I can do them justice when I create the covers. Now I'm picking images that would make awesome covers for other stories. I'm going to try to see if it is easier to write from inspiration from an image rather than trying to find images that fit a completed story.

3. Last night was my little guy's spring concert. He was so excited to sing on stage! Watching all the little kindergarten kids was cute.

4. One moment can change your life. One click can add The Thing That Turned Me to your "to read" list on Goodreads. I can't wait for this anthology!

5. I'll be easing off the blogging this month while sharing in the fun with the participants of the A to Z Challenge. I need more time to give my attention to these stories that are creating such havoc for me! I do have fabulous guest on my blog on Monday, and I'll be at her blog the same day. Stop by and see what we have in store for you!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Friday Five for February 26, 2016

1. Big week next week! First off, it's the MEME Blog Hop. I'm hosting with the wonderful C. Lee McKenzie and Tara Tyler. Help us chase away the winter blues. Be it funny, encouraging, or inspiring, we want to see your memes. Join us through February 29th - March 4th. There will be prizes and a giveaway for participants! Sign up HERE!

2. I'm excited to be co-hosting the IWSG on Wednesday. This will be my second time, and I think I'm less nervous than the first time.

3. Thanks to everyone who gave a shout-out for the release of Big Yearning. I didn't have too much time to prepare for the release, but with your help, it went wonderfully.

4. I'm so close to finishing Totem #3. I'm writing the final battle. It's hard to stop when my little guy gets home from school. If I give it that old NaNoWriMo push, maybe I can finish it by tonight.

5. Depending on the weird weather, we might go to my son's school's movie night tonight. They're playing The Good Dinosaur. But that's all the plans we have for the weekend other than getting out to enjoy the warm afternoons if we get them. (Sidenote: I have watched so many hours of the Weather Channel this winter!) Have a great weekend!

Friday Five for February 5, 2016

1. Today is the last day of The Paramours Tour. I'll be over at Megan Morgan's blog and Long and Short Reviews today. It's been a really fun week, but I'm ready for a break this weekend. You still can enter the giveaway for a chance to win a $20 gift card.

2. The edits are finished on Big Yearning, the first book of The Sasquatch Susies series. I'll have a release date very soon. I've also seen the covers. Oh my! When they're finalized, I'll unveil them... Well, there's no veils involved. In fact, there's very little clothing at all!

3. It's funny that while I write erotica, I do get all shy when seeing the covers. The Paramours' covers are conservative in the erotica world (even though I really love them), but the Susies books have a ton more beefcake! Everything about these novellas is BIG.

4. I've been working on the third book for my Totem series. It's going a lot slower than I thought it would. The protagonist and her hero aren't chatty types. And the protagonist swears a lot. I have threatened them that if they don't start talking, I'm going to throw the baddies at them much sooner than I planned. They think I'm bluffing. Ha!

5. I've no plans this weekend except to take full advantage of the unseasonably warm weather. Time to get out and enjoy the sunshine before crawling back into my writer's cave when the cold comes back. Have a wonderful weekend!

Friday Five for July 25, 2014

1. I managed to get some writing done this past week. I've also been critiquing stories. I have my local writers group meeting tomorrow. I dug out an old fantasy short story for them. I'd like to write something new, but I only have so much time.

2. I thought I'd create a few short stories from old novels that I wrote. My paranormal short, "Immaculate" in Mortis Operandi was originally a novel. Reading my old manuscripts, I cringed. The writing! Oh, the horror. And not in a good horror sort of way. It's amazing to see how far I've come with my writing. Do you sometimes go back and compare how your writing has changed over the years?

3. Yet I did find one of my NaNoWriMo novels full of possibilities. If I could rewrite it with more humor, it would be like a Terry Pratchett style take on fairytale tropes. But that's way down on my list of things to possibly do.

4. It's been a busy week. I helped clean up my son's preschool playground, getting it ready for when school starts again. Then we got the news that the church the preschool is in will be closing. We don't know the timeline yet, but it's already been a scramble to find a new location. I'm on the board and emergency meetings have been called. I hope we can keep our lease until the end of the school year. That will give us more time to find a new place. It's stressful and a bit crazy right now.

5. Reminder: Don't forget there's still six days to enter the awesome Untethered Realms 100 followers giveaway for a chance to win a grand prize pack of wonderful reads. In that same post, there's the links for all the books we have on sale this month at Smashwords. The 13th Floor Complete Collection is 50% off!

Have a great weekend!

Friday Five for July 18, 2014

1. I think I've been outsmarted by a chimp. A Mailchimp. Is it really that easy to use? I didn't find it to be. Setting up the newsletter itself was simple, but the whole setting up a list and subscribers thing was not. I'm crossing my fingers. So... TA DA! I created an author newsletter which I have named "Geeks, freaks & EEKS!" You can subscribe to the newsletter by typing your email address into the handy little box on the right side of my blog. Subscribers will get all my exciting news before anyone else. Plus there will be special giveaways, previews, and excerpts.

2. Sorry, I can't share the secret I've been bursting to tell you yet. This contract business is slow-going. I really, really want to tell you, though.

3. My website is still under construction. You'll see the old one if you click on the link. I wanted a minimalistic and clean look, but maybe it's too bare? I don't know. My husband is slowly working on it.

4. Click on over to Untethered Realms for the monthly news post. We're having a huge giveaway celebrating reaching 100 followers on our blog, and some of us are participating in Smashwords' July sale. Find out which books are half off or free!

5. The weather has been mild here all week. My son and I have been out most days enjoying this lovely summer. My husband and the boy are going to do some backyard camping this weekend. I hope to enjoy some quiet writing time, and at night with my husband outside, I will joyfully hog the entire bed!

Have a great weekend!

Friday Five for February 14th, 2014

1. Happy Valentine's Day! And it's Friday! Yippee! You have a few hours still to enter to win books from 21 authors in this great giveaway. I'm giving away a digital copy of The 13th Floor Complete Collection. Don't miss out on this chance to treat yourself.

2. As another treat, an interview with my handsome dragonslayer, Xan (from 1303 - THE DRAGONSLAYER) was reposted on Cover Girls yesterday. Go on over for a laugh and some eye candy!

3. I managed to get through critiquing 3 short stories this week. I'm getting nitpickier as I grow as a writer. Am I more so with myself? I think so, but I know I'm still biased at times. Thankfully I have such wonderful CPs and betas to help me. I also made the halfway point on my second draft with my #2 WIP. (#1 WIP is with CPs and betas right now.) I might be able to keep on track with my goals and finish the third draft of #2 by the end of the month.

4. I cut up a ton of strawberries for my son's preschool class today. They're having a little Valentine's Day party. He's not quite so excited about today. More often he asks if he's four yet. He knows he turns four in April, and he really wants to be four!

5. I have my local critique group meeting tomorrow. I sent in my first chapter from #2 WIP. I do wonder what they'll think of my superheroes. That's the only plan I have for the weekend. What about you?

Friday Five for January 17, 2014

1. I'm almost at the end of draft 2 of my paranormal romance WIP. I have less than 5k to go. I rewrote the entire final battle. Last night, the villain did something that was simple and made complete sense. Why didn't I think of this before? It was awesome. I wanted to shout "Bravo!" Then I realized that was the villain. Drat. Okay, protagonist, you need to be equally as clever.

2. I came across a book I could not finish for the first time in a long while. I couldn't get past 10% on my Kindle. I only mention this because I felt really bad about it. I wanted to finish it. Is it strange I felt guilty?

3. My little guy had his first after school special on Wednesday. It's an Animal Science class that goes for six weeks. They learned about frogs. They put sticky jelly on their fingers and felt how it stuck to surfaces. Then they ate goldfish crackers using only their tongues to pick it up. He was really excited about it. (Plus mama got extra time to write!) I'm so pleased I enrolled him in a play-based cooperative preschool. I've been reading a lot of articles lately that reported upon the benefits of this type of preschool. Now that play-based preschools have been around for a while, several studies have shown how well it nurtures a love for school and learning. It is especially effective with boys, and studies have followed students up through the sixth grade with positive results.

4. I'm doing better with finding my balance, but I'm not there yet. I still spend too much time online when I should be writing. I've been going to bed at a better time, though, and that's helped during the days. I also take a little more time at night before bed to wind down. I sit in bed and read or watch a half hour show. Maybe I should use one of those timers and kid blockers to keep myself off the internet! Hmm, hey, not a bad idea. Anyone else ever try that?

5. I have my local critique group meeting tomorrow. Other than that, no plans for the weekend. What about you?

Friday Five for August 2, 2013

1. Not a terribly productive week. The boy only took one nap, and we've had some late nights. I started my bonus short story for the 13th Floor collection, but it's still in the beginning scene. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll get some time to write today and on the weekend.

2. I received another rejection to add to my pile. I've been feeling frustrated with myself. I consumed way too many Oreos this week. I even tried my first fired Oreo at the county fair. I prefer them not to be battered and soggy.

3. In just over two weeks, the boy will be heading back to preschool. He's excited about it and so am I. Having three mornings to myself a week will help with my productivity and hopefully my stress levels.

4. I wasted a night last night watching G.I.Joe: Retaliation. Why oh why did I watch the whole thing? It was a bad movie and not in a good way. I was big on the comics and TV show when I was young. That's my only excuse.

5. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I'll leave you with a cute picture of my son playing at the park.

Saturday Six for August 25th

1. What a busy week! My son started preschool and it went wonderfully. He walked in like he owned the school at orientation, and then was very eager to return the first official day of school. It just so happened to be my day as teacher's helper (it's a co-op school and so I have to do that once a month), and so I could be there with him his first day. I was pleased he wasn't clingy nor did he protest when I played with other children. I was so proud of him. Isn't he adorable?

2. I rewrote the ending to my steampunk short story and did a bit of tweaking. I submitted it to REAL GIRLS DON'T RUST yesterday. I love the title for that anthology!

3. I received two books in the mail that I won as prizes. The first is from Cherie Reich. I picked Break Out by Nina Croft. I also won Demon Hunting in Dixie by Lexi George in another giveaway. Kensington Publishing sent a bunch of swag with it too! I love free books.

4. Even though I didn't get a chance to attend my local writers' group meeting last Saturday, I critiqued the submissions for it. That took up a little more time than I expected, but I consider critiquing an excellent exercise in improving your craft.

5. FEARLESS has had over 1200 downloads now. It definitely helped that it went free on Amazon for the Kindle. It makes my stomach flutter when I hear how much people love it. I need to get writing and put something new out there for you wonderful readers!

6. No plans for this weekend. Maybe we'll get to the pool one last time before it closes for the season. Next week will be another busy week. I'll have another first: my first parents' meeting at school. Eek!

Have an awesome weekend!

Saturday Six for July 28th

1. I'm slowly loading FEARLESS up to the various ebook sellers. I'm so glad Cherie formatted them for me. Some of the stuff is confusing. I have to carefully read it through again and again to make sure I know what I'm doing and nothing is going to go wrong. I found Smashwords the easiest to work with. Amazon and B&N were equally as tedious, and I didn't like Kobo at all. It didn't have paranormal or paranormal romance listed as a genre. And what's with the sites calling urban fantasy "urban life?" I picture something completely different when I think urban life; more non-fiction than fiction.

2. I'm working my way slowly through CreateSpace. None of my documents were correct at first, but I worked through it with their system. It was helpful even if it took a while. I have to work on the cover-spine-backcover. It has to be one file. I might try to go through their do-it-yourself program and see what I can make. I'd very much like to have FEARLESS available in paperback. I'll eventually get there.

3. I've had a great response to my "What was your childhood monster?" blogfest. 36 people are signed up so far. I get ten times as many hits a day on that post than any other too. I think that's excellent for my first blogfest. Thank you, folks!

4. I haven't written my short story for this month yet. I started a steampunk story, but I don't think I'm going to be able to get back to it. I'm telling myself I need to write a sci-fi flash piece this weekend and try Daily Science Fiction again. Third time's a charm, right?

5. Nope. No air-conditioning yet.

6. I don't have any plans for the weekend other than to write that flash piece. Maybe we'll go to the library and/or have a picnic by the lake again. Any way to stay cool. I'll be happy to see July in my rearview mirror. It was a brutal month. August will bring an air-conditioning unit, FEARLESS, Gen Con, and preschool. Onward to August!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Friday Five for July 20th

1. FEARLESS will be released on August 7th. Yay! I created a blogfest to celebrate its release. It's about one of my favorite parts writing the story: the monsters. What was your childhood monster? Click here to sign up. I can't wait to read your posts. For those of you who've asked about promo stuff for the book, I'll send you the info when I have it. Right now, it's just the cover and the blurb. Hopefully I can get the book uploaded a few days before the 7th to make sure everything is working, and I can send you the links then.

2. I haven't done any writing this week. Still no air-conditioning. I can barely think in this heat induced fugue I'm living in. I really, really hate the smell of humid air and breathing it in.

3. A big congratulations to Laura Josephsen who signed with an agent from the Bradford Literary Agency! That's awesome news. I'm so excited for her.

4. My writer's group meeting went well last Saturday. They liked the concept and the action in my submission, and offered up some good suggestions. I was worried about writing in the male POV, but no one thought there was a problem there. I know I'm harder on myself than anyone else. I'm my own worst critic at times.

5. Tonight we might go to a county fair. Let the boy see the animals and try some fair food. If there's little kid rides, he can try those too. That's all the excitement I have planned.

Have a good weekend, folks!

Saturday Six for June 23rd

1. I didn't get a chance for a Friday Five yesterday, so I added one and made it a Saturday Six. I had a good reason for it, though. Cherie Reich's Women of Foxwick is an awesome collection of fantasy short stories. You can read my review here.

2. I took the plunge. I made a Facebook fan page and opened a Twitter account. Twitter is a bit overwhelming. I managed to link it to my fan page, so that a Twitter update goes on there too. My Goodreads is linked to Twitter which then goes on to Facebook. I need to find a way to link my blog, LinkedIn, and Google+ to it now too. I'm getting dizzy just thinking about this! Anyway, yes. Please like my page on Facebook and follow me on Twitter.

3. I haven't done much writing at all this week. I've done a lot of networking research and creation. We'll count that as productive.

4. I edited my short story for this month and sent it to The World's Greatest Fantasy Writing Contest. My critique partners and my writing group liked it. My group agreed I needed to tighten the tension at the end. So I pulled the laces tight and cut out a bunch of words. Ouch.

5. My son is becoming more clearly introverted. I'm not surprised since my husband and I are introverts, but I had hoped that our son would have it a little easier. When we go places with a lot of people, he'll tell me there's "too many people" and ask to go home. He doesn't like share space with other people either. He'll go to the emptiest spot at the library, park or pool. I know how he feels, but it's going to be rough. I've been reading up on raising an introverted child. I hope I can do right by him. I don't want to traumatize him with any social situation as I was as a child, but I don't want him to miss out. I want him to understand there's nothing wrong with being an introvert. We're cool people too.

6. No plans for the weekend. Maybe a stop at the library and a walk in the woods. Have a good weekend, folks!