I’m a sucker for Christmas carols. There. I admitted it. So…each Friday in December, I’m going to feature a video of a few of my faves, starting with this LITTLE DRUMMER BOY rendition by Pentatonix. Enjoy and have a great weekend!
What’s your favorite Christmas/Holiday song?
The subtitle of this post should be: SO MANY STORIES, SO LITTLE TIME.
“But…but…?” you ask, pointing at the title.
My lack of inspiration had to do with a topic for today’s post. I remembered a comment I made about ideas for posts when a blogger gets stuck. I said I could always fall back on the topic of “Inspiration.” So that’s my topic for today. And the subtitle? Yeah. I have so many freaking ideas and absolutely no time to turn them into stories.
I’m not sure I’ve talked about my current “future plans” but here’s a brief rundown:
1. Finish Sooper Sekrit Project(tm) revisions, send it off, wait. (Deal with consequences later – 😆 )
2. Tear apart THE DEVIL’S CUT. Major edits and revisions but I’m looking at a late spring, early summer 2014 release.
3. Get the two full-length novel compilations of MOONSTRUCK: SECRETS AND LIES and MOONSTRUCK: BETRAYAL finished, edited, published, plus at least one more novella, which is Antoine’s story. Spring/Summer 2014 for the novels. BLUE MOON? Not sure.
Things hanging out there in Never-Never Land because…who has time!?! *muppet flail*
1. There’s still a group of Navy SEALs that Hannah got undercover way back in BLOOD MOON.
2. My Hard Target series. I still want to put together an international group of special ops guys that work for NATO or someone. LOL
2a. Maybe as a part of that series, or something else, there’s a story hovering out there that REALLY wants to get written. All I will say is girl, soldier, dog. I may have to break down and just write the dang thing. Just as soon as I finish the very first thing on this list.
My point is, I get way too many ideas for stories. Characters appear with no plot. Plots appear with no characters. But trust me when I say, that doesn’t last long. Mixing and matching has never been a problem. My problem is time. Or the management of it. Since the calendar rolled over to December, I’ve done very little in the way of writing. Marketing? Yeah. Social networking? *nods* Yup. Done that. Writing? Revising? Nope.
But today and tomorrow and Saturday? The weather outside is frightful and despite wanting to curl up under the covers to read, I will work. Words added and subtracted, rearranged, mixed, matched, shaken and stirred. Right? Right!
Tomorrow starts a series of Christmas Fridays. Monday, I have a couple of special guests. So Tuesday, when I do my “wrap-up”, I hope to have at least one thing crossed off my list. We’ll see. What’s on your agenda for the rest of the week?
I’m over at my friend and sister author Siobahn Muir’s THE WEIRD, THE WILD, AND THE WICKED Blog doing an interview and discussion about CHRISTMAS MOON. Come on over. You might learn something new about me, the book, or the series. 😉 Plus, there’s a chance to win a copy of one of the Moonstruck books.
The Sooper Sekrit Project(tm) is going well. I’m excited and all my writing mojo is focused on it at the moment.
A week from tomorrow, I’ll be on my way to New Orleans for Heather Graham’s Writers for New Orleans event. I haven’t been in a couple of years so I’m looking forward to returning to the Hotel Monteleone and some of my favorite haunts in the French Quarter. I plan on grabbing some local swag for giveaways after the first of the year. Deja Vu teeshirts, lucky charms (like the glass square Sade keeps in her pocket), and other goodies.
The weather is supposed to go downhill starting today and lasting through the weekend. That’s good. I’ll be forced to stay inside and work. 😉 Or read. Which is work. Right? Market research. And speaking of reading, I’ve just finished J.B. Lynn’s NEARLY DEPARTED. This is a new series for her, about a crime scene cleaner who sees ghosts. I’m almost finished with Siobhan Muir’s THE NAVY’S GHOST. This is a sexy menage story (M/F/M) about three SEALs. I got to beta read it and now I’m rereading it. Good story and VERY sexy stuff! Siobhan is going to loan me Retro and Magic, the heroes of THE NAVY’S GHOST for an interview next Monday. Y’all won’t want to miss it!
The next book up on my list is either Allison Brennan’s COLD SNAP or Cecy Robson’s A CURSED MOON (the new novella from her Weird Girls series). Decisions, decisions. I’m way behind on meeting my Goodreads reading challenge. Well, actually, I hit my 100 book goal in July and added 50 books to it. Then deadlines hit. Sooooo….not sure I’m meet the lofty goal or not. I plan on taking more time to read this month, though I’m not sure I can get 33 books read in 27 days. I read fast but… 😆
So what are you doing the rest of the week and what are you reading?
Those of us who just finished National Novel Writing Month will understand this little gem compliments of the Universe. It’s an on-going argument as relates to our writing, and other areas of our lives. I figure those of you who aren’t writers also have something–running, crafting, exercise, something that you have to talk yourself into doing, and convince yourself that no matter what, you ARE good enough.
The loudest arguments, Silver, happen in your own head, and your greatest opponent, is yourself.
Happily, you’re the most amazing peacekeeper, strategic negotiator, brilliant diplomat, hot life coach, and coolest best friend we’ve ever known.
Check,
~The UniverseNice how that works, huh, Silver?
Sometimes, we just need to get out of our own way to move forward. Sometimes, we need to negotiate time–taking a little from here, a lot from there–in order to cobble together the time we need to accomplish our goal. Sometimes we just need to make friends with whatever it is we’re doing, and with ourselves. Because sometimes, the hardest thing to do is forgive ourselves for whatever it is.
What do you argue with yourself over?
Look over there–> On the side there. Blog hop and Holiday Party! Go partake. You might win cool stuff.
Holy moly! College football was totally cray-cray this weekend. I’m rather glad “my” OSU wasn’t playing. We play OU this coming Saturday in the “Bedlam” game. I am sad that Michigan didn’t beat that other OSU. They almost pulled it off!
I spent the weekend beta reading for a close friend. OMG! Y’all!!! I will be yelling from the rooftops when this book is released. No timetable yet. But trust me, it’s so good that even after reading it, I kept getting lost in it as I was going back to make some minor corrections in the formatting.
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving–turkey sandwiches, pumpkin pie and the DVD of REDS 2 with the kids on Thanksgiving Eve. Dim sum with Lawyer Guy’s “heart” brother on TGD. Yum! Laid back reading time on Friday. Football on Saturday. Laid back TV catch-up and reading on Sunday.
And now it’s a new week. A new month. The sooper sekrit project is on-going. NaNoWriMo is over. The great mishmash that is THE DEVIL’S CUT will demand my attention soon. What about the rest of you? Was it a good holiday weekend for you? And anyone who says all their Christmas shopping is done will be…I don’t know. Forced to eat whipped cream from the can or something. 😆 What did y’all do?
Ooh! Look at the calendar. It’s December 1st. Do you know what that means? It means I’m participating in two very fun “parties” for readers. See the two pretty invites over there on the right? The top one–all blue and sparkly and wintery–is for the Night Owl Reviews Winter Wonderland blog hop. I’m one of many authors participating. Click on the Winter Wonderland picture and go find out how to participate. I’m giving away a gift basket of goodies all relating to the Penumbra Papers series. Trust me…there is some REALLY cool stuff in that basket!
And then there is Carly Phillips and Erica Wilde’s 12 Days of Christmas party over on Facebook. Click and sign up. It’s going to be a lot of fun with another big bunch of authors all giving fun stuff away–books, gift cards, and bigger prizes. Same deal, click and go join the party!
Happy Holidays and go have fun! And to make it easy for the next 12 days…
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day here in the States. We’re going a little untraditional this year. The Only and Magic Bean accompanied by Baseball Boy are coming to dinner tonight for what has become the James Gang traditional feast–roasted turkey sandwiches. Normally I serve pie too and still might. I haven’t decided yet. The kids are headed to the in-laws on Thanksgiving Day, though they’ll start out with a pan of my cinnamon rolls because “MOM! It’s not Thanksgiving without them!” So I made roll dough last night. Today will be spent making, baking, roasting, and the family sitting around with sandwiches, chips, and maybe a slice of pumpkin pie after. None of us really need pumpkin pie but…tradition!
On Thursday, Lawyer Guy and I are headed to a local Chinese restaurant to meet up with LG’s office partner. We’ll be dining on dim sum. And once we’ve had our fill, we can come home, take naps, and when we wake up hungry, there will be leftover turkey for sandwiches. And pie. So yeah, I am sooo baking a pumpkin pie today.
Anyway, I wanted to share what I’m thankful for before I take the next four days off. I’m thankful for LG, Only, BB, and the Bean who will make his appearance in the spring, and the in-laws, out-laws and heart family we’ve adopted along the way.
I am thankful for my friends and each and every one of you who make the time to stop in, read my BS, and sometimes respond. I am thankful for my readers. I hope I’ll always be able to tell a story you’ll be interested in reading.
I’m thankful I live in a country where I can think and say what I want, where my daughter is free to be everything she can be without fear of reprisal.
I’m thankful I have a roof over my head, food on my table, and a little left over for some extras. And coffee. I am VERY thankful for coffee!
I’m thankful for Boone and Cooper. They make me get up and move. I’m thankful for Adidas because she makes me sit still.
I’m thankful for the faith my dad had in me and for his teaching me about dreams and imagination. I miss him every single day.
I’m thankful for every day I open my eyes and there’s a new world to see, to imagine, to conquer.
That’s a lot to be thankful for. And it humbles me how good my life really is. If you feel so inclined, share what you are thankful for. I’m off to cook!
LOOK! LOOK! It’s a Wolf! Actually, it’s a pack of Wolves, their mates, their kids, and as Liam says to his dad, “It’s like a Die Hard movie.” In other words, the Wolves do Christmas in their own, inimitable way. You know you want to read it so go get it. Now!
CHRISTMAS MOON – A Moonstruck Novella (#7) AVAILABLE NOW FROM AMAZON
The Wolves have been busy since blowing up half of Louisiana. Thanks to the government, there’s a bounty on their heads so they’re living off the grid. But Christmas is here and the kids want to know if Santa will find them this year. Not a problem until the phone call asking them to find and rescue a pregnant girl. On December 20th. In New Mexico. Piece of fruit cake, right?
Walking into a firefight with a drug cartel is never easy, but with Hannah’s wrath and Liam’s first change on the line, Mac and the Wolves face a harder choice—save the girl or save Christmas.
Secrets, lies, and betrayals are more personal under the Christmas moon, and it might just take the magic of Santa to help the Wolves save the day and make it home to their families in time. Because in the end, it’s all about family.
Warning: Santa’s making his list and when the Wolves go into action, they’ll find out who’s naughty and who’s nice.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Don’t forget to mark it WANT TO READ and leave a review at GOODREADS! Please and thank you very much! 😀
Did everyone have a great weekend? Oklahoma State (ranked #10 at the time) beat Baylor (ranked #4) so it was a good football weekend around here, despite the cold–including sleet and snow yesterday. Brrrrr!
Okay, remember that Jingle Bell K-Mart commercial I posted Friday? It’s obviously gone viral. But is that necessarily a good thing? I want you to take a moment and watch this commercial from Kohl’s. Trust me.
Both are Christmas commercials for department stores. The K-Mart’s left me with a WTF?!? look on my face. The Kohl’s? I got all sniffly and full of the Christmas spirit. I’ll give you three guesses which store I’ll be shopping in, and the first two don’t count. 😉
But this raises questions… Why does something go viral? And does it lead to sales or just notoriety? I think about these things because I’m trying to figure out marketing and what makes readers flock to some books and ignore others–even those written by the same author. If y’all feel like wading in on the discussion, speak up! I’m interested in your thoughts.
In the meantime, CHRISTMAS MOON will be hitting the Amazon digital shelves soon. Stay tuned for further announcements!
To make up for yesterday, here’s something totally fun from the staff at Pindara Private Hospital in Australia, which explains a lot. 😆 Trust me, you’ll want to watch it all the way to the end for the outtakes. No, really!
I want these people for my doctors!
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