Working on a blogging schedule

That's my boy lost in thought. He's a deep thinker just like his mama. Actually, he was wondering why the boys playing basketball didn't pull their pants up all the way, but hey, that's still a deep thought.

I need to stop thinking about organizing my free time and get organized. What little I have left, that is. This means I need to get myself on a regular blogging schedule.

Mondays: this will be my give back day. I'll post reviews, promotions, giveaways, and guest posts. The third Monday of every month is the W4WS event. I believe it's important to give back to our community, and I'm so glad to see so much support and generosity this year.

Tuesdays: Teaser Tuesdays. This is a quick post to write and read. I'm always curious as to what everyone is reading. It's my way of peeking over shoulders and seeing what books you're interested in.

Wednesdays: First Wednesday of every month is the IWSG. The other ones will be my Wicked Wednesdays. Paranormal romance is my genre, and I love to talk about it.

Fridays: Friday Five. An update on my writing and other interesting things in my life.

Of course, for any special news, blogfests, and tours, I'll be changing the schedule. Don't forget my blog tour for THE ORACLE & THE VAMPIRE starts on Monday. I'll be having a huge giveaway!

Four days a week. That's very reasonable. I'm telling myself to be okay with setting a schedule. It'll be very good for me, and readers like to know what to expect on blogs.

Do you have a blogging schedule? Does it help your time management?

Wicked Wednesday - trends in paranormal romance for spring 2013

I always keep an eye on what's hot and what's not in paranormal romance. I like to see what readers are eating up and discover something new for myself. It helps with my marketing too.

Vampires and werewolves still dominate the market. You might hear that no one wants to see any more, but that's not true. Readers want their alpha wolves and mysterious tall dark strangers of the night. So if you have a vampire story you really want to get out there, don't worry. The market hasn't cooled. People are wanting to see something new with them, though. A little twist on the legend is all it takes.

I keep waiting to see steampunk take a big leap, but it hasn't gained too much popularity since its original jump a few years ago. It has its niche, but it doesn't seem to be growing.

Dystopians are popular with the YA readers. Adult readers prefer contemporary stories.

Sci-fi romance is inching its way forward. I do believe you'll see more and more of it.

Everything is about series now. If you want to make it with a paranormal romance, it needs to be a series. Many of them are on-going with no end in sight.

Trends come and go and come again. It's difficult to say what's going to be the next big thing. Yet I can guarantee paranormal romance is here to stay, and your book might just start off the next huge trend.

Do you pay attention to what's happening in the market of your genre?

Teaser Tuesday with Shades of Earth

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I've been waiting a while to get my hands on this book and it hasn't disappointed me. I'm halfway through, and it's thrown me for so many twists already. I love how Beth Revis consistently manages to surprise me. I highly recommend this YA sci-fi romance series to all readers. It's that amazing!

Here's your teaser:
I try to squelch the jealous rage that's growing in my heart.
I might have the whole world now, but it's not enough if I don't get to share it with her. (page 87)

A to Z Challenge Reflection Post

I survived the 2013 A to Z Challenge!
Congratulations to all the other survivors.
A big thank you to everyone who stopped by during April with your words of support and encouragement.

A special thank you to the A to Z team. You guys are awesome!

The Madlab Post - Nicole Ayers

Tossing It Out - Arlee Bird

Amlokiblogs - Damyanti Biswas
Alex J. Cavanaugh - Alex J. Cavanaugh
Life is Good - Tina Downey
Cruising Altitude 2.0 - DL Hammons
Retro-Zombie - Jeremy Hawkins
The Warrior Muse - Shannon Lawrence
The QQQE - Matthew MacNish

Leave it to Livia - Livia Peterson

No Thought 2 Small - Konstanz Silverbow
Breakthrough Blogs - Stephen Tremp

Spunk on a Stick - L. Diane Wolfe

This is the 2013 A to Z Challenge Reflection post. It's another way to visit more participants and see what everyone thought of the Challenge. Sign up on the linky list and let everyone know what your experiences were last month.

One of my favorite blogs to visit is Heather M. Gardner's. Her theme was Stormy the Weather Gnome's bucket list. It was hilarious! She also recently signed a contract to have her book, MAGUIRE'S CORNER published! Congratulations, Heather. On the final day of the Challenge, Heather bestowed upon me the Zombie Rabbit Award. I get to pass on this magnificent award to my ten favorite blogs from the Challenge. Thank you, Heather, and thank you to the ten bloggers who entertained me during April with your awesome posts.

1) Nick Wilford - wrote an amazing story about an angel with words supplied each day by his readers.

2) M. Pepper Langlinais - had intriguing snippets of her characters Peter and Charles (from her book St. Peter in Chains) traveling the world and looking for a place to settle down.

3) Elise Fallson - an A to Z of "ology" words. People study and collect the strangest things.

4) Lily - follows Spawn's descent into madness with his plans for world domination. Hilarious!

5) Sandy - excellent traveling tips and sharing her adventures.

6) Julie Flanders - her theme was Alaska inspired by her book Polar. I've always wanted to go there!

7) Mark Means - a whole month of obscure comic book characters. Even my geekery was put to the test!

8) Al Diaz - a tour of his magnificent dragon's cave and dwarf cheerleaders.

9) Shannon Lawrence - an A to Z of history's mysteries. Absolutely fascinating. Just up my alley.

10) Mina Lobo - an enthralling A to Z of aphrodisiacs. I learned so much. Made notes!

Friday Five for May 3, 2013

1) I haven't done a Friday Five in so long. I still have a bit of an A to Z hangover. It was a great month, but boy, does that take a lot out of you. My A to Z Challenge Reflections post will be on Monday.

2) I've been working very hard on my revisions for THE ORACLE & THE VAMPIRE. This book has been a roller coaster ride. I didn't think I'd have it done on time, but don't worry! Thanks to my fabulous CPs and beta readers, I will have it ready for the 13th. My blog tour schedule is set. The cover reveal for the final book in the series will be on May 17th. Be prepared for a big surprise!

3) May is going to be a tremendously busy month for me. I have something going on every weekend and way too much during the weeks. I'll be easing back on the blogging except during the tour. Once the tour is over, I need to find a good balance between writing and networking. I'm losing an hour or two a day since my son only naps two or three times a week now. It's time I set a schedule that allows me to do everything I need to do even if it isn't as much as I want to. Not only must I find the balance, I need to allow myself to feel okay about it.

4) My son only has three more weeks of preschool left before his summer break. It was looming over me, wondering what to do with him, but I've planned several activities. At least one a week. Then there are play dates and lounging in his new big pool at home.  Plus we'll be visiting my family in Canada for a week in June. It'll go quickly. I need to get as organized with my writing time as I am for stuff with my kid!

5) I'm still thinking on what I'll do after I finish the 13th Floor series. There are a lot of possibilities. I'm still giving serious consideration to revising an old manuscript and querying it. Yet more and more, it seems self-publishing is what is still best for me.

Have a wonderful weekend!

How To Diagnose Your Character: Using Psychology To Create An In-Depth Character

Blurb:

Think of your favorite character, the one that changed your life and made you look at people and the world differently. What did the author do in order to bring that character to life?

Creating these characters requires that writers master the principles of human behavior. We accomplish this by understanding how people react, change, and make decisions. In essence, we must learn to diagnose our characters just as psychologists diagnose people.

In this book, you will gain the knowledge (e.g. psychological studies, terms, and explanations) and valuable exercises (e.g. people watching, observing our own senses, and functional assessments) that can help create complicated and authentic characters that can withstand the scrutiny of readers and critics alike.

Buy it now on Amazon

This amazing book is currently #1 on Amazon's Writing Skills list.

Some of you may remember Josh Hoyt and his amazing blog about using psychology to create characters. He went on an extended blogging break, but he came back with his book! Congratulations to Josh.

The Insecure Writer's Support Group for May 2013

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've been putting a lot of pressure on myself to make each book of my 13th Floor series better than the last. I cracked last month. The fifth book with my favorite character in the series was not good. Nope. It just wasn't working out the way I'd hoped. The previous four books came out very well on the first draft. Why wasn't this one?

I hold myself up to higher than normal standards. Sometimes it's so high, I can't reach what I want. I keep pushing, though. Clawing at the wall, fingers going numb, eyes wonky from staring at the screen.

Then I step back and ask another opinion.

Hm. I don't need to scale that impossible wall. I can take another route. Why didn't I see it before?

So that's what I'm doing. I'm rewriting the fifth book with both Harriet's and Kiral's points of view now. Usually I don't like to do more than one point of view, but it's working for this story. The pressure is easing. A little bit. I still have a deadline I must make!

I'm so lucky to have bright and understanding CPs and betas. They've supported me so much with this series. Thank you.

Have you ever felt you smacked yourself uselessly against a wall and then discovered a path you didn't see before?