A Challenge This Way Comes

I've decided to join the NaNoWriMo challenge! So for the month of November, I will be working my toosh off, trying to finish a 50,000 word novel. I have another series I'd like to start some day, but there are so many things that I've started and put down that I figured I should address those issues first. I started When Darkness Comes a long time ago, but gave up on it when I felt like it wasn't going where I wanted it to. So, I've decided to completely scrap EVERYTHING I wrote on it before and start over. The characters will all be the same. Have the same personalities and everything, just, hopefully, a better story :) Today being the first day, I plan to get at least 3,000 words! Here I go!

Facebook:
Me: What smells like earwax?
Bayli: It's probably you bum-bum.
Me: It's definitely NOT my bum-bum.
Bayli: If it follows you around, it's your bum-bum!

Release the vrykos!

Release day is here, at last! 

Catalyst Claimed is out at Smashwords.  HERE  Many different formats available, including ePub and Kindle.  It should be available at Amazon sometime this evening.  Keep checking the Catalyst Claimed page HERE, for updates.  Over the next couple of weeks, it should start popping up everywhere:) 

Done! That is All...

Last word in Catalyst Claimed?  "Hotdogs"  I'll let your imaginations do what they want with that:)  But I'm done!  I'm letting the editor do her thing and then copy edits!  I really don't have anything else to say aside from HALLELUIAH!  I'll be posting occasional lines from the book on my facebook page, so if you haven't already liked it, you might.  Look over ------------------------>

And sign up for my newsletter, because I will be sending that out as soon as CC is available.  It too is over ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->

Finally A Release Date You Can Count On!

The beauty of actually getting a book edited?  I can give you a somewhat reliable release date!  How is June 18th for everybody? 

I'm probably within 5000 words to being done, done, DONE!!  And then I'll have to fix all my grammatical mishaps.  Who knew I suck at English?  Well, now my editor does!

The Ups and Downs of a Flakey Human Being

It is common knowledge that this chick is spacey.  There was a time in my existence when I was organized and reliable.  I blame first my husband and then my kids for making me this person.  The one who is clearly incapable of staying focused when there are so many things in my life that hinder my ability to stick to one thing at a time.  Especially since I have a running list of all the projects I need to finish.

The good news is I'm almost done with Catalyst Claimed!  So, so close!  Lots of fun new characters and I will admit that there are a few parts I laughed until I cried when I wrote them.  I'm pretty excited.

I'm trying this new thing though.  I'm going to have my books edited!  Say what?!  I know.  What an idea!  So I don't really have a date for Catalyst Claimed, but I'll post it when I do.

I Think It's Time To Get Back On Track!

I guess it goes without saying that I've been a little discuraged.  I was slightly bitter about my tragic experience with my writing program and stopped writing altogether for a while.  I think I'm ready to get back to work now.  First on the list is Catalyst Envisioned and then I'll move on to When Darkness Comes.  I've had plans in my head for a YA, but I have a gazillion unfinished projects I need to either trash or finish first.  That's it go now:)

Facebook:

What does Bryce want to do on his Sunday evening?
"Hey can we go hang out at Lowe's?"

Just an Update

I noticed that there has been a little more activity at my blog than normal and I'm sure it is because you are wondering when I will actully get Catalyst Claimed out.  It's coming, I promise.  I learned something the hard way about the writing program I have on my phone and I'm still really angry with myself about it!

Apparently if you just keep writing in the autosave file and delete the other so you don't have two of the same file hanging out, if later you decide you need to open another file because there is too much for one file to handle and it starts doubling up on letters and acting all crazy, that new file doesn't come with it's own auto save file.  Nope, it just deletes EVERYTHING you wrote before and uses the same autosave file!  I've almost caught back up to where I was before, but I've still got a little left and then about two more chapters.  I'm not going to set a date this time because I REALLY don't want someting STUPID to happen again and I can't keep that promise!  I'm very cranky about this whole thing.

Please just be patient with me and if you don't want to keep checking my site you can sign up for my newsletter.  But if you want to keep checking, that's more than fine too:)

Small Change of Plans

I really hate to say this, but the 20th is out unless you want an uncomplete book.  I completely blame my husband and my second grader and their tackle football team.  It's taking over my life!!!  Fun, but...  I really don't have much longer, but I know 6000 more words isn't going to cut it, so two days are a no go.  I will have this done by the 30th.  I can't drag it out any longer!!!  12 days should be plenty of time to get all the writing completed and all the editing. 

What's this?!?

I'm still working hard on Catalyst Claimed.  A little over a week away!  Hopefully:)  Everything looks good for the 20th.  I'll be sure to post everywhere when I'm actually done. 

And because I don't want you to be mad at me, here is a little something special!



Teran and Brisa

Click the cover to see their very own page!

New Schedule, New World!

I'm working on chapter 10 of Catalyst Claimed today.  I'm aiming for 2000 words and crossing my fingers that I get 'em.  I was hoping for the end of August, but it's taken a little while to get this new schedule down.  I think I may have mastered it now, but we will see.  Now it is looking like the beginning to middle of September for book 2, but hopefully right after that I can spit out the rest of the 2nd book in my Darkness series.  We'll see, we'll see, we'll see.


Childhood Antics?

Daddy called somebody a douche-bag. So Bryce says, "Yeah, he's a duce-bag." I explained to him that that wasn't the word Daddy used, but now I'm thinking I shouldn't have. I would much rather he calls somebody a poop-sac than the other!

Summer Break, I Take!

So here's the scoop.  I've kinda -- not on purpose, but still -- managed to take the summer off:)  My kiddos go back to school on August 8.  They will all three being going all day, so I should have plenty of time to finish Catalyst Claimed by the end of August.  Until then, I need to start working on a cover for it!  One of my favorite parts about coming to a close on a book!  When I get one, I'll post it along with an excerpt!  Be looking for it and sign up for my newsletter so you can be up to date:)

On a non-writing note...my husband and I just started Insanity.  Holy Moly it's rough, but I've lost 4 lbs in 3 days, so I can't argue with the results:)  Before and after pictures to come.

Facebook:

My kid says something that reminds me of something else, so obviously it's going to pop out of my mouth. I think I'm going to regret this one though, because I can't really explain to her why she can't going around saying it since it doesn't actually contain any bad language. But most people are going to know "Me love you long time" isn't exactly wholesome.

Was just watching an old lady eat an ice-cream cone and was thinking, "Oh no. I hope she remembers to take the paper off the co...oop nope, she just went ahead and ate that didn't she?"

The Beauty in the Beast is out!

I was thinking about holding off until Thursday, but I'm just so excited about getting this out!  I'm dying to see what everybody thinks!  So...


The Beauty in the Beast



Hope you like it!

Just a Few Updates!!

I have been working on edits for The Beauty in the Beast (Godly Tales Book 1) all day today. 

Sad story:  I finished writing it yesterday morning and was 3/4 the way through edits last night at like 9:30.  I was so freaking excited...and then my phone -- where all my edits were being made -- died.  Funny thing.  That program doesn't automatically save your work:(  It's been a long day, but I'm so close.  Aaaannnddd I'm working at my computer now!

Catalyst Envisioned (City of Sirus Book 1) is at Smashwords again and should be everywhere else in a few days!

After edits today, I'll start finishing things up on When Darkness Comes (Darkness Series Book 2)


Facebook Flashbacks:

These don't have dates, but they are from close to the beginning of my Facebook career, so OLD!  And they both happen to be slightly gross.  Enjoy!

I just love using the phrase, "Bend over so I can wipe your butt."

 

Braxton just told me he needs a bath because Bryce farted on him. Yep, I can't believe at one point I wanted all boys.

 

Go Lulu!!

Way to go Lulu.com with getting that book down as quickly as possible!  If you are confused, reference the previous blog entry:)

So...I've decided to enter Catalyst Envisioned in a contest, which means I have to unpublish it first and then take it off of here for a while.  I don't know why, but I almost don't want to do it at all.  It will be gone until June!  Actually until my anniversary.  June 16th.  That seems like such a long time! 

My biggest problem with it right now is trying to write a pitch.  There are so many things about Catalyst Envisioned that I want to share, but I only get 300 words.  Am I talented enough a writer to get someone's attention in 300 words or less?  I'm not so sure I am:(

Deep breath in.  And out.  I'M SO NERVOUS!

Facebook Flashback:

·                     My hypochondriac daughter got pecked on the finger by a chicken and now she can "feel sumpin" in her wrist!!!

April 1, 2011

·                     So Bucks pants didn't get completely dried in the dryer so we are currently driving down Main ST of Perkins with them hanging out the window! When I questioned the legality of this he simply informed me that there wasn't anybody in them, so he didn't see the problem:/

March 25, 2011

What the?!?!

I just had my first run in with piracy!  What?!  I'm not even what one might consider a successful author!  Yep.  Somebody took the content of one of my books Scarlet Fever and published it through another site!

Am I mad?  Surprisingly no.  I didn't expect it, but I'm not even that upset.  I already let the site know, so hopefully they won't make any money from it and if somebody really wanted to read that book, they could have found it for free at Smashwords:)  I really hope nobody ended up actually paying the $2.99 they were asking for it.  It was something I wrote a while back, giving another genre a try and I'm not even really sure how much I like it:/  Hence why I offer it for free at Smashwords!

Oh well.  I refuse to let it bother me.  I caught it fast enough.  It was only published on January 6.  I'm about to go through and write a little note in the reviews so everybody knows not to buy it. 

Hahaha.  I'm about to go through and give my own book bad reviews!  Fun, fun, fun!

Facebook flashbacks:

·                     "Bayli Jase, why do you have my keys?" "Mo-om, hel-looo. I had to get my Easter basket out of your tru-uck! Du-uh!" Not sure where she got it, but if she doesn't stop talking to me like I'm stupid and she's Charley Sheen, I'm going to forget that torturing your children is illegal!

April 25, 2011

·                     Braxton is watching Shark week 2009! He just came in my room to tell me, "Mom, you gotta come watch this! You'll never guess who was the first one to get killed!". I of course asked, "Who?" "Franjin!", he tells me. Not sure,but I think he got the name wrong. But he went on to say with a very serious face, "He's a sister's brother."

April 12, 2011

Surprise to me!

I thought I had been slacking this week.  I spent most of my broken up time taking a dog back and forth to the vet.  Turns out I got quite a bit done anyway!

I worked on four of my WIPs!  Now it's time to focus on one and get it done!  I think I'm going to finish The Beauty in the Beast first.  Then possibly Trake's story -- still untitled -- then Catalyst Claimed.

It's so hard to choose just one though.  I feel like they all need to be done now.


Facebook funnies:
Buck: "Where is my razor knife? Have you seen it?"
Me: "Not since you cleaned your teeth with it at the dinner table last night."
***
Buck: Guess what I found in the back of my truck this morning when I dropped the boys off at school.
Me: What?
Buck: 105 lb French Mastiff.

Kinny-Kins went for a ride this morning. I bet she's so proud of herself:)

So...  I've procrastinated as long as I plan to let myself.  I've been a busy little beaver these days and have managed to let my writing fall to the bottom of my stack of to-dos.  Last night I got my writing keeper thing out and decided to count all the unfinished stories I've started...

15!  15 started!  I really have to stop starting and start finishing:(

Soooo.  To get myself in gear, I've posted a synnopsis and an excerpt of The Beauty in the Beast.  Enjoy!


Facebook funnies:
Braxton: Momma, I want for my next birthday, I want cupcakes with Spider-man rings.
Bayli: And I want cupcakes with princess rings.
Bryce: I want cupcakes with chicken wings.

Catalyst Envisioned has a new cover!

Catalyst Envisioned has gotten a new outfit! New back cover blurb and synopsis too!

 

And because Facebook makes it so easy for me, some Braxton funnies that made my wall:

Braxton just pointed at Tulsa's cityscape and said, "Hey, that's where Jay Leno does his show!"

Hey Bayli, do you want to play with this Barbie with its head broken and legs broken and hair all tangled up like yours?"
Just a big brother trying to help a chick out.

The Beauty in the Beast

This is the cover for the first book in a new series.  I'll post more details when the time for its release gets closer -- should be the end of this month -- but I was so excited about the cover, I had to share!

And because I love ending my posts with little pieces of my life, here is a Facebook status:

Braxton:  We didn't get to play softball tonight because our team threw a hissy-fit.
Me:  No, we didn't play because the other team forFEIT!

Well...

I had a really weird dream about posting in my blog last night:/  It was kind of a nightmare, because in it, I couldn't get those annoying while lines out of my post that you get when you copy and paste something from Word!

The contest piece is due tonight at midnight and I am only about 7,000 words in, so my guess is, I won't be entering the contest.  I just couldn't seem to get into it this time:(  I think I'll finish the story and put it on Smashwords and work on a different one for next years contest.  Right now I'm working on Catalyst Claimed and going over some dialogue I wrote about a month ago.  I thought I'd share a ridiculous scene between Naiadi and Amora!

 

Amora:  "You weren't in the Vietnam War."

Naiadi:  "Well, not 'officially', but you know how I like to drop bombs."

Amora:  "Yes Eminem.  You're a regular 'Beat Master'."

Rewind, Erase, Erase, Erase, Proceed.

I've decided to erase the last three posts, because they have now become unimportant and I wish to forget they ever existed.  I'm going back to doing things the way I always have, I'm just going to add some reminders:)

A brief summary on all that I am up to at the moment in the world of writing:
1. I've decided to write and turn in a novella for a contest.  It will be Trake's story.  If you've read my freebies, you might remember that Trake is Daneeka's brother.  So far so good, but it needs to be turned in my August 22 and it has to be one of the first 500.  I just hope I get it in in time.
2.  I will then finish working on the second book in my City of Sirus series.  I would like to have it up and running by the end of the year.
3.  Then I will finish my YA -- still untitled -- and hopefully find somebody who wants it:)

Lots to do, but I'm feeling up to it now that I have shaken the funk off. 

New Freebie!

I just posted a new freebie in the freebies section of my blog called Scarlet Fever!  It's a little different than what I usually write because it's a different genre.  Steampunk!  But it has paranormal elements:)  It's also about twice the size of Before the Darkness, weighing in at 25,000 words.  If you have some time you should give it a try:)

And some old facebook funnies:

MISUNDERSTANDING OF THE DAY:

Me: "I got pretty far today."

Buck: (horrified expression) "What?!?"

Me: (A what-could-I-have-possibly-said-to-elicit-that-look frown and a quick review of my wording. Nope, still confused. 

Buck: "Did you just say you dropped Bayli hard today?"

Me: (Sugar-sweet smile) "Well, I didn't so much drop her, as throw her. You know, I just kinda body-slammed her into the concrete.
So maybe it's not so much a misunderstanding as it a Buck-is-28-and-needs-a-hearingaid situation:/  I love that deaf monkey!!

August 19, 2010

Me: "What did you do? Kick him in the head?"

Buck: "No. He head-kneed my butt."

August 15, 2010

iBookstore!

You can now find Catalyst Envisioned in the iBookstore on your apple device!  Yay! 

So, never did finish Chapter 5, but I do have an outline for it and Chapter 6 of Catalyst Claimed.  So that is what I will be working on come Monday!  Also, I started writing a book on my husband's back about a year ago.  He wanted me to put him to sleep by writing on him, so I just started writing...about Cupid!  At some point I'm going to finish it.  It will be a short, so it won't take long.  It goes along with the City of Sirus novels:)  Just something fun!

Facebook funnies from our trip to Paul's Valley:

-This is a note I wrote about my hubby and his fight with the hotel TV:
So Buck is recovering rather nicely from a near hissy fit. I heard him over there grumbling about not being able to figure out the hotel TV, but I was too busy slapping the hands of my children as they tried to help me with the building of "their" paper firetruck, so he was being unintentionally ignored. It wasn't until he called down to the front desk and...spoke rather manly-- he whined like a five year old -- into the phone, "Our TV keeps changing channels!", that I decided to take in the situation.

I frowned at the TV, because it wasn't really changing channels, it was repeatedly going to channel 4. I started laughing even before he thanked the lady and hung up the phone.

I could have been a good wife and pretended like I didn't know what was going on...but come on! Why on EARTH would I do that? "It's like somebody keeps pushing the #4 over and over!"

I'm so glad the front desk lady has the ability to give proper instructions on how to unstick a number on the remote:)

-This is a status that immediately followed:
Me griping at Braxton about his trying to help me with "his" paper fire truck: believe it or not, I'm 22 years older and a little bit smarter than you!
Bryce: You're not smarter than ME! Because frogs are little tadpoles!

I'm sorry! You're right! I'm clearly an idiot!

-And the one that came right after that:
Oh Lord, my kids are weird!!! Braxton just told Bryce and Bayli that sometimes he has to sniff her butt and sometimes she has to sniff his butt! To clarify, they are pretending to be dogs and cats, but...

Break time's over!

I've got quite a bit I want to get done today and Kiki's funeral is tomorrow, so I probably won't get much writing done, but I know it's time to start again if I want to get book 2 done before July.  I don't really know why I came up with July, but I did:)

Facebook share of the day:

Bayli actually got a manners lesson from Uncle Brian!  "Uncle Brian telled me that girls should always go first."  But she quickly followed up with.  "What the hell did you say?"  So I'm feeling like the world is in order again.

Yay!!

I have a few good news...es?  First, Catalyst Envisioned is now available at both Amazon for Kindle and Barnes and Noble for Nook!  Woohoo!!  Second, I wrote chapter four of Catalyst Claimed last night.  I had big plans to write chapter five today, but here it is, 7:12 in PM and I still have yet to write a word of it:(  I do believe I'm going to start on it tonight though, so there is still hope.

And here is a facebook status share of the day:

Well, it's bathtime and my boys wanted a bubble-bath. I don't know what made them decide on the blue bottle to make these bubbles, but they are now having a flee and tick bath:/

She's up and running!

Catalyst Envisioned is now on sale at Lulu in both paperback and as an eBook!  I just finished the formatting -- sucky -- for making it available through Nook, Kindle, iBook, Kobo, Borders, and one other, but I'm drawing a blank and it's bed time.  I'll keep you informed!

Catalyst Envisioned

I'm in the throes of getting everything ready for the release of Catalyst Envisioned.  I can't believe how close I am!  I should be getting my fist copy in the mail this week and then it's all about approving it and waiting!