Good Things are All Around Us

It's another few days of rain, but there's been lots of shining things lately. Before I get to that, let me remind you that next Wednesday is Insecure Writer's Support Group posting day. The question for that day is:
What is the weirdest/coolest thing you've ever had to research for a story?
Or just share your current insecurity.

Visit today at IWSG and check out why and how you need to get reviews for your books. Also, don't forget to get ready for the Twitter Pitch we have coming on July 27th. A good idea between now and then is to check out other pitching sessions and get ideas on how to write the perfect tweet. Here is a place to start with #pitmad. They have pitches scheduled for the upcoming months. Time to practice.

In the good things category of the past week.
One of our neighbors has sheep and the new lambs are out and cavorting.
My daughter and I saw a Bald Eagle sitting in a tree by the river when we were driving.
Did some babysitting for the granddaughter (7 weeks old now) and she's developing her own pleasant little personality and sleeping all night for her parents.
I stopped the car at an intersection for my daughter to hop out and rescue a small turtle. Why do they like roads?
My children and husband were super supportive this past weekend.
My writing pace is keeping up so far. 2,000 words per day.
Friday will be the second rendition of the WE ARE THE WORLD blog hop. Join for good news.

There's been some not so good news but I'll keep that all to myself. It was a pretty stressful week so I'm looking at the good things.

 "The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don't always soften the bad things, but vice versa, the bad things don't always spoil the good things and make them unimportant." —Doctor Who

What good thing, no matter how small, cheered you up this past week? Are you working on that pitch for Twitter? Do you see Bald Eagles or turtles around where you live? Make me smile today.

New Thriller Release

Things are flying along on the writing challenge I'm doing this month. Only fifteen days into it and I'm already over 30,000 words. My characters coming along better than I hoped. I'm excited to sit down at the keyboard every day. It's so much easier to write when you love your characters.

My friend, Joylene Nowell Butler, has a new psychological thriller being release tomorrow.

To the Breaking Point...

When Brendell Meshango resigns from her university professor position and retreats to her isolated cabin to repair her psyche, she is confronted by a masked intruder. His racial comments lead her to believe she is the solitary victim of a hate crime.

However, is all as it appears? After two bizarre days, the intruder mysteriously disappears but continues to play mind games with her. Taught by her mother to distrust the mainstream-based power structures, and with her stalker possibly linked to a high level of government, Brendell conceals the incident from the police. But will her silence keep her safe?

Then her beloved daughter, Zoë, is threatened and Brendell takes matters into her own hands. To save Zoë, Brendell searches for the stalker and confronts not just a depraved madman but her own fears and prejudices.

Maski: Broken But Not Dead is available at:

Amazon     B&N   Kobo    iTunes

Easter at our house was fun. Too much food but lots of companionship and thankfulness that so many of us could be together. Maybe next year the new wee one will be walking and ready for an egg hunt. Hope you enjoyed some family time and time off of work.

Mowing the grass went well last week. So good, I'm going to do it all over again this week.

What are you currently working on in your writing? Did you witness any Easter Egg hunts last week? Are you ready for a new thriller from Joylene Nowell Butler? What are the chances I'll keep that word count of averaging 2K a day going the rest of the month? 

Kudos, Newsletters and Grandchildren

You want to know what I'm doing right now if you're reading this on Monday. MOWING the grass. Already. The warm winter and all the recent rain have turned my lawn into a tropical forest. Taxes were as terrible an experience as we expected, financially. Ouch, ouch, ouch.

I read a lot of blogs and attend writers' meeting and conferences. I'm always looking for ways to promote and market. I haven't found the one I'm looking for. The one where I don't have to do anything. Readers just magically find my books and love them. One thing I hear over and over again, is that I should have an author's newsletter. I subscribe to some newsletters that are about writing and not promoting one author's books. Like the IWSG newsletter which is always informative. Anne R. Allen write a blog post comparing the pros and cons of newsletters versus blogging. She read my mind.

A big kudos to CPRW, the local chapter of RWA. I've been a long time member of this dynamic group and am currently serving as secretary. CPRW recently won RWA's Award of Excellence for a chapter of less than 50 members. It's pretty amazing to all of us, but when we list all the things we do, it's not so surprising. Like the current 50/50 that started a week ago. With the encouragement of group cheerleading and no excuses, I wrote over 14,000 words on my new WIP in only seven days.

I had my first chance to babysit the new granddaughter this past weekend. Those Mom muscles are a bit atrophied. My biceps were actually sore from all the use of carrying around a month-old eight pound baby. Next time you see a mother carrying a child in one arm and a few packages in her other, appreciate her strength a little bit.

Don't forget to stop by the IWSG today for another great post to kick off your week.

Who helps motivate you to write even when you'd rather be out mowing the grass? Do you receive a lot of newsletters in your inbox. Have you ever wondered how mothers manage to lug around those fragile but heavy offspring hour after hour?

IWSG: April Already

I hope you're joining me for the monthly IWSG blog hop, taking place the first Wednesday of ever month and created by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Share your insecurities and also your successes with our ever-growing group. You can sign up on the list found here.

A few of the new things happening at IWSG recently that you should be part of. If you haven't joined our Goodreads group, please hop over there and join.

Don't forget the upcoming IWSG Twitter pitch happening this July. Very, very excited about it. And if you'd like some practice, check out #TKA20, a pitch session happening TODAY for The Knight Agency. Practice your pitch to agents.

Today's question: Have you taken advantage of the annual A to Z Challenge in terms of marketing, networking and publicity for your writing? What were the results?

I participated every year except the first year and this year. My intentions were all about networking. I never marketed or promoted my own books during the challenge. I think I expanded my network more the first few years I participated than the last two years. The challenge took up too much of my writing time for me to continue to participate.

The new book I started writing on Sunday for the 50/50 challenge is going well. I like my characters and they're really hating on each other at the moment. Makes for good conflict.

Almost nothing I want to watch on TV this week so I'm getting lots of evening writing done and outside work during the day. My bulbs mostly survived the late snow and I have tons of daffodils blooming and the tulips are up. They might bloom right at Easter.

We're doing our taxes this weekend. We never hurry to do them because we always owe because my husband and I are self-employed. The amount varies greatly due to the ups and downs of his business more than mine. My income lingers in the pathetic range most years.

“What is the difference between a taxidermist and a tax collector? The taxidermist takes only your skin.” –– Mark Twain

“When it comes to taxes, there are two types of people. There are those that get it done early, also known as psychopaths, and then the rest of us.” – Jimmy Kimmel

Are you ready to try a Twitter pitch today for the Knight Agency? Are you doing A to Z this year? Ready for some fun with at Goodreads group? Did you do your taxes yet? 

What's Going On?

Let me start out by saying best of luck to the A to Z Participants. I'm not in on the madness this year, but I know I'll enjoy reading a lot of great posts. And that bring me to the upcoming IWSG monthly posting which will be Wednesday, April 5th. The question is always optional.

Have you taken advantage of the annual A to Z Challenge in terms of marketing, networking and publicity for your writing? What were the results?

So, you can answer that and still share your current insecurity.

Had a great writers' meeting on Saturday. We honored a few of our members. Andrew Grey was honored with a Centennial Award for having 100 books published. He has an amazing work ethic and still manages to be generous with his time to help other writers.

The founding member of our RWA local group, Karen Rose Smith, received all our best wishes in her latest triumph. One of Karen's book's is in production to be a TV movie. We're all so excited for her. We might have a watch party.

Continuing with wonderful things happening at the meeting, we started our first 50/50 challenge of 2017. The way it works is that we all commit to writing at least 50 words for 50 days straight. And of course, most everyone who sits down to write 50 words ends up writing a lot more than that. We report our numbers to the member keeping track every few days. We're permitted to miss a day or two, but most of us try not to miss any. It's perfect timing for me because I'm starting a new novel. I outlined last week and started it yesterday. Wish me luck.

“You can only write by putting words on a paper one at a time.” 
― Sandra Brown

“Write. Rewrite. When not writing or rewriting, read. I know of no shortcuts.”
—Larry L. King, WD

You might not write well every day, but you can always edit a bad page. You can't edit a blank page. Jodi Picoult

I'm getting some outside work done. Every year I think I'll get a jump on it. All the rain is making it difficult. Not only does it keep me inside, but it really makes the weeds grow.

I watched the series finale of Grimm last Friday. I wasn't expecting the HEA after the last two seasons have been so dark, but overall, I enjoyed the show. It was never a 'can't miss' for me, but I often caught up to it while I was on the treadmill or the exercise bike.

Do you know any writer friends who have written more books than Andrew? Do you know anyone who has had a book made into a movie? Are you doing the A to Z challenge? Are you an every day writer?