MONDAY MUSINGS: WORK AND FUN

For those of you who may not have caught my announcement last week, I'm taking off July and August for some much needed down time. During that time there will be no guest posts just Monday Musings. I will resume my normal schedule in September.

I have several projects planned for the summer. I'm including both work projects and fun--which I need.

Work in progress:

My shoulder is doing well. In fact the doctor said I'm well ahead of the game plan considering how seriously I was injured. He's impressed, especially considering I fired my physical therapy group and have been doing this on my own. Not without a great deal of research and putting past training into play. He projected I'd probably only regain 90% usage at best and that was being optimistic, although I didn't know that at the time. In reality, he thought it would be more like 80% tops in the course of a year (given the damage to the muscle, socket, and that I'm missing part of a bone). I'm already solidly in that range and moving upwards 3 months after surgery. Hey, I'm a determined person and I've beaten the odds in several situations where I was given less than stellar odds. A lot has to do with a person's attitude and dedication. Now he's thinking I'll regain closer to 95%. That last 5% will take close to a year to reach. I can work with that. 

My husband finished up doing the initial cut for the rest of my walking track. He added a few extra trails I didn't know about. Next is taking the riding mower over them. They're pretty cool trails. I've also gotten some weights to work my shoulder and get the damaged muscle fluid and strong. The weights will be great for toning up the arms and shoulders.  

I'm catching up on books in my TBR pile and enjoying the down time. Read lots of good stories and found a couple of new to me authors that remind me why I like romance. Their stories are good and the characters are normal everyday people or families.  I like the region or town they've set the series in. I like the focus on falling in love and the character's issues and goals and while there is sex--it is a natural progression when you fall in love--it's not pages and pages of details. I don't know about anyone else but details do nothing for me. Honestly, I've found myself sighing and skipping through the sex scenes. I don't need a manual and so many books have that feel. These stories focus on the main characters and the sex involved is secondary to the central story. It's the icing and it comes at the right time. It fits. I don't know about you, but I'm getting tired of stories that use explicit sex as a short cut. 

I've also been focusing on my own writing again.  I've done a lot of experimental writing over the past few years--trying different genres and ways of telling a story. I've been sorting through them with a critical eye. Some are actually good. Some will remain an experiment, lesson learned and move on. :-)

• What's on your summer agenda? 

                                                                                                                                                              

For those who love to read and win books and such there is a good blog hop coming up in July.

This one is hosted by Herding Cats & Burning Soup. Going to be a lot of give aways. Don't you just love that picture? I do. If you want to participate you can sign up here. Each blog will feature their favorite reads and will be giving away books and other summer things and there is also a grand prize giveaway. Further details are here.

                                                                                                                                                            

ANNALISA CRAWFORD: WHY I DON'T CONSIDER MYSELF A PARANORMAL AUTHOR

Just a quick note: Annalisa will be my last guest this summer. I will be back in September with guests. Other than Monday Musings, I will be taking off July and August to focus on some personal issues. I will still be visiting here and there, just not as often. 

My guest is UK author, Annalisa Crawford. She likes to tantalize readers by writing intriguing stories that touch on the unexplained. 

The paranormal genre is hugely popular in today's writing and viewing market. Lines get a bit blurred with all the sub-genres. The bottom line is the paranormal genre encompass happenings beyond the normal human experience and can't yet be explained by science. 

Annalisa's topic is why she doesn't consider herself a true paranormal author but is compelled to add she does utilize elements of the paranormal. Fascinating.

What do you think of when you hear the word paranormal?

Personally, I think of demons, werewolves, zombies, vampires… especially vampires! More than that, I think of grave peril; whole towns in danger of being burnt to the ground by rampaging demons, or being sucked into a vortex.

I don’t write about any of these things, and yet I’m compelled to add the words with elements of paranormal, shades of paranormal, hints… to my chosen genre.

The term paranormal, to me, means there’s been a certain amount of world-building –a world where these characters are out in the open, and non-paranormal characters are aware of them. You could be walking down the street and meet a vampire. You might not be that concerned; you might even flirt or fall in love. You would not run away screaming; they would not be altogether hideous.

My paranormal tends to be more internal. You won’t meet a werewolf, but you might meet a man who thinks he is one. You might stand behind a woman, in a queue for the bus, who’s left the Devil back at home, in the form of her cat. You might share a coffee with your boss who’s listening more intently to the voice in her ear than you. And the voice will be very real.

In one of my short stories, a girl splits in two. It could be literal or a metaphor, and what I really like doing – what my mum really hates – is letting the reader decide for themselves. I always know what I believe, but I want readers to make up their own mind. After all, that’s what people do daily, isn't it? They choose whether to believe they’re looking at a picture of a ghost in the newspaper or not.

I think the power of the human brain is the most paranormal -the most unexplained - subject of them all. We have no idea what we are truly capable of, or what really exists outside our realm of consciousness. One of my favourite books when I was younger was a collection of unexplained stories: telekinesis, time slips, the Bermuda Triangle, spontaneous combustion. And I plan to write about all of them.

And if I can completely baffle my mother in the process, all the better!

I’d like to say a huge thank you to Sia for letting me blog here today.

                                                                                                                                                      

Three women. Three stories. One pub...

“The Boathouse collects misfits. Strange solitary creatures that yearn for contact with the outside world, but not too much. They sit, glass in hand, either staring at the table in front of them, or at some distant point on the horizon.”

… so says the narrator of Our Beautiful Child. And he’s been around long enough to know.

People end up in this town almost by accident. Ella is running away from her nightmares, Sally is running away from the memories of previous boyfriends and Rona is running away from university. Each of them seek sanctuary in the 18th century pub, The Boathouse; but in fact, that’s where their troubles begin.

Ella finds love, a moment too late; Rona discovers a beautiful ability which needs refining before she gets hurt; and Sally meets the captivating Murray, who threatens to ruin everything.

                                                                                                                    

I live in Cornwall UK, with a good supply of beaches and moorland right on my doorstep to keep me inspired. I live with my husband, two sons, a dog and a cat.

Despite my location, I neither surf nor sail, and have never had any inclination to try. I much prefer walking along a deserted beach and listening to the waves crashing over rocks. For this reason, I really love the beach in the winter!

Links:

Website // Blog // Twitter // Facebook // Pinterest // Add to Goodreads

MONDAY'S MUSINGS: LIFE IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT.

I know I've mentioned I live beyond the back forty. My little flyspeck town is 8 miles away and boasts a little over 3000 and that’s not counting the population of the maximum prison facility three miles outside of town (which still ticks off half of the district’s residents fourteen years later and some still have protest signs in their yard). It has the basics, like groceries, gas; a couple of feed and farm stores, a couple of cafés and banks, etc. Anything else you need is sixty mile round trip. If you want a mall it’s about two hundred and twenty-five mile round trip. Beautiful area but short on amenities.

Much of what I need isn't available locally. I either buy online and have it shipped in, or make a list and a 60-mile trip. I tend to make do with what I can make. Places to work out are 60 miles and I can’t justify the fuel to go there. Hubs works out on the army post but then he’s there everyday so that makes sense. 

(Click on any of the pictures for full size)

Standing beside the barn looking
down to the pond embankment

I got to thinking, some years back, if I can’t get to a place to work out why not make something to suit my needs here? So we cleared a half a mile of trails down to the last hay field several years ago. We keep it mowed and it’s drivable. Takes you right down past the large farm pond. Very pretty. The ground here isn't flat. We have several hills and this year my husband has created some nice little meandering trails through the woods on NW side of the house.  

Looking up the grade to the barn

It added another quarter mile. Better.  I don’t like walking back and forth. I prefer walking a loop. So we’re adding another half a mile loop to join the existing section. When it’s done it will be about a mile and a quarter. I’m ecstatic.

From the naked tree looking
down

New path on the NW a wood
pile and a naked tree

I’ll never be able to run again but I needed a good walking work out to burn calories and tone. The hills and grades provide that. This track will give me the workout I need. In heavy snow I won’t be able to walk the loop—I’m lucky to make it to the barn and back in that weather (which is a workout in itself). But most of the year it should be walkable. I have an area outside where I can use hand held weights. Inside in the winter. Nothing elaborate but suits my needs. I've had to modify a lot of core exercises to accommodate my physical limitations—get the same results without hurting the body.

You’re probably thinking, as several of my friends have, why not invest in a good treadmill or elliptical. My husband LOVES the elliptical and puts in 15-20 miles a week on it. He has contacts that would have provided a professional gym quality unit and at a reduced price.

There is a small problem with that.

See, I absolutely loathe treadmills and ellipticals. I can’t think of anything more boring and consequently I wouldn't really use them. I don’t like watching TV so forget that as a distraction, music is good but not enough to consistently use the equipment. Waste of money. I'd rather be outside.

So the walking trail is the answer for me. It challenges me daily and I like that. June has been the month to consistently walk on a daily basis. It’s kicking my butt but I love it. I love the clear mind and the rev of energy I get. I sleep well. The release of endorphins gets rid of any vestiges of depressed feelings. I’m getting rid of the blah exhausted feeling. It counteracts all the daily sitting with my job. It readjusts my thinking because I concentrate on what I can do, which is considerable, and not what I used to do, which is a waste of brain matter. Stay in the now. Challenge it. Make it work for you.

Another benefit is I get to interact with my animals and my environment. I can’t think of anything better than feasting my eyes on the wildlife, hearing the joyous symphony of birdsong and the counterpoint hum of insects, the crescendo of the katydids, and the bullfrogs keeping the beat. The rich smell of wooded areas and fresh scent of the fields and flowers. I love watching the rabbits, the armadillos, ducks, turkeys, and quail with babies and the hawks and eagles drift on eddies of wind. I love seeing the matriarch of the small deer herd that rests here every night and graze on the other side of the water each morning and watch me go by. Love to see the herd babies’ jump and play and race around their mamas. I like catching sight of the coyote and her pups—so long as she stays down near the horseshoe stream that meanders three sides of our property, we’re golden.

I choose to make my life the best I can and work with what I have. I've determined that this summer is Project Sia. I won't be the bionic woman when I'm done but I will be better and more refreshed. More balanced and centered.

When I consider all things in my life…it really is a good one. I’m blessed in so many ways. I choose to remember that. 

TAKE THE TIME TO BE HAPPY

My guest today is best selling romance author, Marie Harte. She's worn quite a few professional hats in her career including being a former Marine Corps Communications officer (and we thank you for your service Marie), before fulfilling her dream of being an author. 

She talks about the importance of allowing oneself the time to be happy. Sometimes it a hard lesson to learn. J

Sometimes it’s easy to forget to stop and smell the flowers. Not me. I've been smelling them for a while now, but I had to teach myself it was okay to slow down and indulge.

I always knew I wanted to be a writer, but I never thought about being happy. You don’t think about life as you’re living it. You just do. That is, until you realize you’re not smiling or laughing like you should, and somehow the years are passing you by and you’re not where you thought you would be in life.

Back in 2003, I gave birth to my first child. Before that, I’d been working for a trucking company managing drivers. (Boy, do I have funny stories about my time with that company!) Anyhow, that year before I gave birth, I started seriously writing. I’d spend my lunch hours on my laptop and often had to be reminded to come back to work.

I've always known writing would be my calling, from way back in my childhood when I’d write stories for fun. I continued to write through high school. I attended college and graduated with a major in English, creative writing. But I never figured I’d make a living doing it. That was just a dream.

So fast forward back to 2003. I loved my son like crazy, but I was exhausted with my little guy and family responsibilities. Then in 2005 I had another child. Terrific. A wonderful little boy. Yet as my family grew, my unhappiness with life increased. My husband and I had problems. He was and is a wonderful man, but together we just weren't right. I knew it deep down, but I tried very hard to make my marriage work. While doing so, I got out of shape. I spent A LOT of time reading, escaping into my books in an almost unhealthy way. Oh, and I snacked like crazy, adding on another ten, then twenty pounds.

Years passed, and I stopped being so self-destructive and turned to writing as a form of therapy. When I wrote, I felt better about things. (And I still do. A good writing day is better than anything.) My life might not have been so pleasing to me, but my characters were living the high life. My heroines had great sex and perfect communication and alpha yet understanding heroes. They had happily-ever-afters.

I continued to write.

Then in 2004, my first book, an ebook, was published. I was thrilled. The writer group I belonged to didn't consider me a real author, unfortunately. And it was even worse because I wrote erotic romance. Oh, the horror! *grin* It took several more years before folks began to look at electronic publishing as a real source of making money.

I still wasn't the happiest of individuals, but I loved my children and my life was good if not great. My relationship with my spouse went in huge uplifts and even bigger downward spirals. I kept trying, but it just wasn't working. The thought of leaving became more and more appealing…and scary. I had quit the regular workforce years ago. How would I survive on my own? Would I be ruining my children’s lives if I separated them from their father and family? What was my happiness worth?

I wrote faster and harder. Threw myself into my characters and their worlds. I could be happy through them. And then slowly, I started seeing a financial return on my creative endeavors. By 2008 I was making poverty wages, but still wages! And each year after I made more. Enough to live off of.

Finally in 2011, I knew I’d come to that moment when it was time to make a decision. While visiting my mother in Seattle, I made a difficult choice—to stay out west and split with my spouse. To say it was hard is a putting it mildly. A lot of tears were shed. And this right in the middle of having to write an erotic romance where the heroine gets two loves of her life. I wasn't feeling romantic or loving men at the time—LOL—but the work had to be done. Deadlines had to be met. I never miss deadlines.

I got through it, moved out to Central Oregon, and learned to really appreciate every day. My ex is a wonderful person doing very well, and I’m finally a truly happy person living my dream. I’ll keep living the dream for as long as I can. But I always make sure to stop and smell the flowers, because life is too short not to.

• What about you? Is it easy or hard for you to take down time? Do you take the time to savor the happy moments?

                                                                                                                                                                

INTRODUCING...THE McCAULEY BROTHERSWelcome to the rough-and-tumble McCauley family, a tight-knit band of four bachelor brothers who work hard, drink beer, and relentlessly tease each other. When three independent women move in next door, all hell breaks loose.

SHE'S SWORN OFF MEN
It's been the day from hell for Maddie. Instead of offering a promotion, her boss made a pass. She quit, then got dumped by her lukewarm boyfriend. As the fiery redhead has a foul-mouthed meltdown, her green-eyed neighbor Flynn McCauley stands in her kitchen...completely captivated.

UNTIL HE THROWS A WRENCH INTO HER PLANS
He was just there to fix the sink as a favor. He's not into relationships. She's done with idiots. But where there are friends...sometimes there are benefits. And sometimes the boy next door might be just what you need at the end of every day. EXCERPT

BUY: AMAZON, B&N, iTUNES, POWELLS

                                                                                                      

USA Today bestselling author Marie Harte writes erotic romance and has over hundred titles in print and digital format. A caffeine addict, boy referee, and romance aficionado, Marie is a confessed bibliophile and devotee of action movies. She served in the U.S. Marine Corps and worked for Fortune 500 companies before becoming a full time writer. Whether hiking in Central Oregon, biking around town, or hanging at the local tea shop, she’s constantly plotting to give everyone a happily ever after. She lives with her family in the Pacific Northwest. Find Marie: Website, Facebook, Twitter.

HOW DO YOU HANDLE SELF DOUBT WITH A DEADLINE LOOMING?

My guest is romance writer, Emily Greenwood. She focuses on something all writers (published or aspiring) have to deal with at some point or another: Self-Doubt. It's something that can stop a writer in their tracks or they can learn how to overcome it and still be successful.

What’s the hardest thing you've had to face as a writer? 

Self-doubt is probably the worst thing I deal with as a writer. 

And unfortunately, from what I know of my own experience and that of other writers, it doesn't go away, no matter how many years you put in.

For instance, while writing MISCHIEF BY MOONLIGHT, my current release, I felt certain I would never be able to finish the story—or at least not a story anyone would want to read, LOL.

I've been writing fiction for eight or nine years now, so I know it’s not always fun, that it’s work and sometimes you just have to soldier on and put words on the page. I know I’ll have to write a lot that will ultimately get thrown out because that’s my process.

But when I sat down to write MISCHIEF BY MOONLIGHT, the final book in my Regency Mischief series, I had nothing. Well, OK, I had a blurb that said the book was going to be about an earl in love with his best friend’s fiancée. The fiancée wanted to set him up with her sister, so she was going to give him a love potion and then realize that she had feelings for him herself. But that little paragraph I’d dreamed up when the book sold as part of a three-book series didn't inspire me now—it downright annoyed me!

Who cared about this Colin person, the hero, and whether he got together with Miss Josie Cardworthy? They didn't exist as the fleshed-out characters they now are, so there was nothing to love, no reason to care what would happen when Josie gave Colin a love potion. 

Every time I sat down at the computer, I wanted to jump up and run away. Doubt assailed me constantly: how would I ever come up with a 90 K story about these people? Who did I think I was?

• What did you do and how did you over come it?

In between my disappointing efforts to put down words I surfed the internet, read other people’s books for “research,” scrubbed the bathroom floors with toothbrushes so I could make the grout sparkle, and made elaborate dinners for my family—anything to take me away from The Book That Was Never Going to Be Written.

I bought a book on procrastination, which told me that I wasn't procrastinating because I was lazy but because I perhaps had performance anxiety. That was possibly true—after all, I’d managed to write two books, why shouldn't I be able to write another one? But it didn't make me able to tell the story. I worried that I’d have to give back my advance.

So I got busy forcing myself and wrote page after terrible page. I signed up for NaNoWriMo, which I’d never done before, and made myself meet the daily word count. The pages were growing but the story didn't hang together at all, I still didn't care about these characters, and the deadline was getting closer.

So how did I write this story while self-doubt harassed me all day long? The answer isn't exciting. There was no magic cure. It was only this: 

I kept showing up and writing. That’s it. It was persistence, that boring, plodding quality that's probably the main thing that got me published to begin with. I just needed more of it than I ever had before.

• What did did you learn?

It took a lot of hard work to write Mischief, and that’s what writing is—work. Sometimes it’s joyful work, when the words are flowing from some unknown source, and sometimes it’s nothing but a slog through the marshes of discouragement. 

I’m very proud of MISCHIEF BY MOONLIGHT now. I hope readers will find MISCHIEF funny and bittersweet and sexy and true. 

I’m really happy that I didn't let self-doubt stop me from writing it!

                                                                                                                                                                                  

With the night so full of romance...

Colin Pearce, the Earl of Ivorwood, never dreamed he'd desire another man's fiancée, but when his best friend goes off to war and asks Colin to look after the bewitching Josie Cardworthy, he falls under her sparkling spell.

Who can resist mischief?

Josie can't wait for the return of her long-absent fiancé. If only her beloved sister might find someone, too...someone like the handsome, reserved Colin. A gypsy's love potion gives Josie the chance to matchmake, but the wild results reveal her own growing passion for the earl. And though fate offers them a chance, a steely honor may force him to reject what her reckless heart is offering...

Buy Links: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iTunes | Books A Million | IndieBound | Indigo

                                                                                                                                                     

Emily Greenwood worked for a number of years as a writer, crafting newsletters and fundraising brochures, but she far prefers writing playful love stories set in Regency England, and she thinks romance is the chocolate of literature. A Golden Heart finalist, she lives in Maryland with her husband and two children.

-Author website: http://emilygreenwood.net/

-Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Emily-Greenwood/365744720128570

-Twitter: https://twitter.com/emigreenwood

MONDAY'S MUSING—THE BLIGHT OF THE BROWN MESS

The One and Only Copper

                                                                                                                                                            

One of my Asian Lilies blooming on the
ground.

There’s a brown mess in my flowerbed. It’s managed to take down the bottom stems of a section of my Tiger Lilies, roll right over my yellow marigolds, and stunt the growth of my purple pansies. They’re sort of flattened. My Stargazers are confused as to whether they should be upright or safely lay on the ground and bloom. Ditto with the bed of Asian lilies.

Old fashion Tiger lilies

I worked hard to get those beds looking good. I have to say, I drooped worse then the Gladiolas as I surveyed the mess. I believe the first words out of my mouth was, “Oh. My. GAWD!” (I've been watching reruns of Magnum and I think I was channeling Higgins because he does that phrase so well.) I know the next words out of my mouth, in Higgins style, was not Magnum but JACOB ALEXANDER!  Especially when I noted a flow of white in the beds.

What was the mess? It’s called dawg.

COPPER w/his I'm innocent look.

Six fully functioning toes.

Well two dogs—our latest rescue dog, Copper, and Jake’s Pit Terrier, Isis, almost a year old. Copper we found starving to death at the state nursery two weeks ago. I’m serious when I say that because he literally was a copper-brown skanky, tick filled piece of fur draped over bones with big brown eyes that begged for help.  He’s about 4 months old and a mixture, as best we can tell, of shepherd and Beauceron (with six toes on both back feet) and he was so weak he could barely walk without wobbling and sitting or falling down when we brought him home. I could see he had a strong will to live. I just couldn't walk away. Hubs grumbled about another rescue animal until he took a look at him. That was it and sweet-talking started and grumbling ceased. 

I hate, people who throw away unwanted pets. Puppies are NOT equipped to survive without intervention and neither are most cats unless they've been taught to hunt. Even experienced hunters still misses half of the kills they try to make. Hatred isn't an emotion I feel often and most of that abhorrence is directed at people who hurt kids and mistreat animals. I can get physical very easily in defense of either.  

Copper, still a bit ribby, but healthy.

We got Copper home, tongue lolling and a happy look in his face. The look of hope about breaks your heart. We pulled all the ticks and what a job that was. We gave him a bath and have been feeding him 4 meals a day. We’re beginning week three and although he’s still very thin he looks 100% better and is now in his lets find trouble mode. Isis has her own pen. So far, Copper isn't penned, but he stays close and in the yard, much to my cat’s dismay. See, Copper thinks the cats are his new playmates and they aren't real thrilled with that thought and he’s be slapped upside the nose more than once when he’s gotten rambunctious. He doesn't try to hurt them but he wants them to run and play. Jake lets Isis out every evening to play and run and Copper loves it. Once play time is over it’s time for training Isis and then she comes into the house for the night. 

Gap in the bed of lilies and iris. The streak is Shadow my 15
year old Russian Blue with Callie in the foreground and
Copper's nose to the left by the yellow flower pot.

The mess that rolled through parts of my flowerbeds was two pups at play. To be fair, neither go into my garden beds on their own but when they’re playing they aren't paying attention to where they roll or lay. And neither was my son. They are now all well aware that the wrath of mama is not a pleasant thing to deal with. Yeah, they've all gotten that point firmly in mind. The dogs tend to slink away when I go in mama mode.

Lilies are pretty tough flowers, especially, Tiger lilies. Next year they’ll be fine so far as putting forth stems to bloom and the base bushy greens are somewhat flattened but picking back up and they will be lush again next year when they come up and the Iris and tulips had already bloomed so they’re fine. But all that work, sigh...

Hope all you fathers out there had a great day and that this week is starting out great. This week seems a bit better for me. 

ALPHA MALES AND THE JOURNEY TO CUCKOO TOWN

My apologies, I've been off line most of this week dealing with physical therapy issues. Shoulder is very sore and not happy typing. I'll be a bit sporadic the remainder of the month.

My guest today is romance author, Elisabeth Staab. She talks about how to maintain sanity writing to deadlines and dealing with two young children.

I started writing King of Darkness; book one of the Chronicles of Yavn series when my youngest was a newborn. Something to do when the kid was napping, I said. Easy, I said.

What began as a hobby became a job when I sold King of Darkness and had deadlines. Deadlines, and a new child, and geriatric pets, and edits all at the same time.

As time passed, those babies who napped so beautifully for three hours every afternoon, turned into toddlers who ran in opposite directions from each other every chance they got. Oh, and my youngest was a climber (emergency room visits happened).

Meanwhile, two secondary characters who’d met in the first chapter of King of Darkness began to make “You’re hot and I want you but you’re a jerk but I want you but you’re the wrong species…but I want you” eyes at each other, in what would be an ongoing dance that would last for three books.

Now, I loved Lee and Alexia, and with them dancing there on the perimeter of King of Darkness and then Prince of Power, I thought I had it all locked down when it came to writing Hunter by Night.

Except Lee was a stubborn alpha male with secrets. Alexia was a strong-willed young woman who wouldn't stand for being disrespected. These two had more baggage than JFK.

So my day job, which involved spectacular benefits like unlimited hugs and all sippy cups I could fill, kept me plenty crazy. Add to that, the bickering, frustrated characters going back and forth in my head, and the book I kept writing and re-writing because it wasn't quite right… I got a little nuts.

So in order to avoid becoming that person who wears pajamas all day and plays music on their lips, I did a few things to (try) and stay sane:

·        I brought the funny – laughter releases endorphins and improves well-being. It wasn't always the best thing for productivity, but cruising sites like The Bloggess or a few minutes of YouTube comedy videos really improved a gal’s outlook

·        I Pinterested – Hush now, that is too a word. Pinterest started out as a place where I would pin my book covers, the covers of other books I enjoyed, and the occasional attractive man in a suit. Next thing you know my six year old and I are chuckling at funny cat pictures and hours have gone by. Okay, Pinterest is a giant black hole, but it’s a giant black hole of win.

·        I Socially Networked – I’m not saying I’m the wittest grape in the bunch, but I do love to Tweet. If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, it’s mostly strange things my kids say, manchest, and—of course—pictures of furry things. Sometimes I’m funny, usually it’s apparent I haven’t yet had enough coffee (or that I've been talking to short people all day).

·        I called people – I talk to adorable little Neanderthals all the livelong day. I need big words with syllables sometimes. Authors can be isolated, and that’s crazy-making. I was lucky to have author friends to chat with when I needed help with plot issues, or just to vent.

·        I One-Clicked – I convinced my husband last year that I needed a smartphone in order to improve my level of productivity. Eff productivity, I needed a smartphone so I could read while standing in line at the post office. Truth? I probably write to support my book addiction, and if I stopped buying ebooks tomorrow I would have enough reading material to sustain me until 2016. Now let’s all enjoy a good chuckle over that notion, because that’s like telling me to stop buying food.

Luckily, with these techniques and a lot of coffee, Hunter by Night got done, and I truly believe it turned out exactly as it needed to. Maybe it was all the comedy, or maybe it was the characters. Maybe it was all of the hugs. Who knows? Maybe it was all of the above.

• So what about you? When you need to save your sanity, what do you do?

                                                                                                                                                          

She wants out

Party girl Alexia Blackburn is only hanging around the vampire compound until her best friend—the queen—has her baby. After that, nothing is going to stop Alexia from getting back to daylight, safety, and feeling like a normal human being. But leaving the vampire world has one big catch…

He needs her to stay

Head of vampire security Lee Goram has hated and distrusted humans for centuries. Feeding on vampire blood has kept him strong…but now it’s killing him—and he’s horrified to discover that Alexia may hold the key to his cure. He’d rather die defending his king than admit his weakness, but time is running out for the great vampire warrior…Excerpt

BUY: AMAZON, B&N, POWELLS, APPLE

                                                                                                                                                   

Elisabeth Staab started hunting mutant hedgehogs back in 1842… Oops, wrong

bio… Elisabeth Staab digs coffee, saucy stories, and sexy things that go bump in the night. Once, she ate dinner in a jail and liked it. She lives in the Washington DC area with her incredible family and does her best to juggle life while ignoring the laundry. 

You can find Elisabeth: Website, FB, Goodreads, and Twitter. You can also sign up to receive her Newletter Here.