Finish Your Book by Kitty Bucholtz
October 10, 2020 by Kitty Bucholtz in category It's Worth It by Kitty Bucholtz tagged as Kitty Bucholtz, Master Class, Writing Goals
One of the things I’ve noticed about how the pandemic has affected writers is that many have lost their mojo. All the craziness in life has been filtered into a never-ending news stream that is sucking the joy, creativity, and peace from our days. I know a lot of people who haven’t been writing, or not nearly as much as they normally do.
On the other hand, I’ve also talked to quite a few people whose lives have been disrupted to the point that they’ve started thinking about finally writing that book they’ve been dreaming about. They’re just not sure where to start.
These friends and strangers have encouraged me to create a group coaching program to help writers finish their book. Over the course of eight weeks, I work with you to rebuild a foundation for making solid progress on your book. One client finished a book she’d been working on for over 20 years! Another wrote 2 1/2 times his goal during the program. It works. And I’d love to help you or someone you know.
I did a series of webinars last week to give folks some tips on getting back into it, and explaining the program. Check out the replay and let me know if I can help you. At the very least, I hope you get some ideas and energy from listening to me. I’m excited for you to finish your book! You never know, you could write a book and change the world!
Alina K. Field October Featured Author
October 7, 2020 by Alina K. Field in category Featured Author of the Month tagged as Alina K. Field, October Featured Author, Regency Romances
Award winning author Alina K. Field earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and German literature, but her true passion is the much happier world of romance fiction. Though her roots are in the Midwestern U.S., after six very, very, very cold years in Chicago, she moved to Southern California and hasn’t looked back. She shares a midcentury home with her husband, her spunky, blonde, rescued terrier, and the blue-eyed cat who conned his way in for dinner one day and decided the food was too good to leave.
She is the author of several Regency romances, including the 2014 Book Buyer’s Best winner, Rosalyn’s Ring. She is hard at work on her next series of Regency romances, but loves to hear from readers!
Books by Alina K. Field
Zoom and I
October 6, 2020 by Linda O. Johnston in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as interviews, Meetings, Sisters in Crime, Zoom
I’m Zooming these days. Oh, not a lot. But when I do, I always think about how convenient it is to participate in various meetings without leaving home.
Last weekend, I joined in a Sisters in Crime, Los Angeles chapter meeting, where author and psychologist Dennis Palumbo was speaking about how to handle writing and your mind these days. Very interesting, especially since I’m always wondering these days where my mind is. Of course, I also wondered that a lot before the pandemic and all the other things going on now began.
I also joined a recent LARA meeting–Los Angeles Romance Authors. And this week I hope to visit a presentation being given by a local independent bookstore. Plus, there are other upcoming chapter meetings of other organizations that I’ll leap into as I learn more about the dates and times.
The thing is, I’m highly untechie. I have to go back and figure out the technological stuff nearly each time. For example, this week I had to play around to turn audio back on, although the video worked fine. Could I start a Zoom meeting on my own? I highly doubt it.
I do like the idea, though, that I don’t have to drive time-consuming distances to get to those meetings.
I don’t like the idea that I can’t see buddies belonging to those organizations in person. But at least this way I get a glimpse of them without putting myself in danger of catching anything I don’t want to.
I’m just glad Zoom is around, to give us possibilities. So–thank you, Zoom!
And hi out there to those of you I know and might otherwise see at some meetings. Hope you’re all doing great… and Zooming along.
~Linda
An Example of Linda Zooming
Some of Linda’s Books
To NANO Or Not
October 5, 2020 by Tracy Reed in category Pink Pad by Tracy Reed tagged as NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, writing
Happy fourth quarter. We are a few weeks away from NANO season. I have received emails, seen blog posts and You Tube videos reminding me about NANO month.
A few years ago, I signed up for a NANO account and never participated. Last year, I reactivated my account and signed up to participate in NANO for the first time. I posted questions in some groups for advice and to make sure I was signed up correctly. I was all set.
I had a book I was working on and figured this would force me to complete it. I thought I was doing well. Unfortunately the words just weren’t coming so I switched books.
I figured the book I switched would be easier to complete. I based that assumption on the other two books in the series which were novellas. As I continued to write, the book grew. Every time I thought I had an ending, the characters kept talking.
When November ended, I hadn’t completed my book. I took a break and continued writing. I completed my book…a few months later. I also have the first couple of chapters for the fourth book. By the way, I never intended to write a fourth book in this series, but when your characters talk, you kind of have to listen. So, not completing NANO it worked out for me.
As I stand on the precipice of another NANO season, I’m faced with a very important decision…do I NANO or not?
I don’t want to make a promise and not follow through. Grant it, the only person I would be disappointing is me. Considering how things worked out for me last year, it might be to my advantage to sign up for NANO.
So what are the pros and cons to doing NANO this year.
PRO:
- We’re on lock down with little time to do anything else, so why not write a book
- This would challenge me to complete the fourth book in my series
- It would get me back on a steady writing schedule
CON:
- Blocking out time to write
I can’t figure out a valid reason not to do NANO this year. Writing a book in a month isn’t new for me. After all, that’s what I did every month in 2016. I think right now my focus is a little off and participating in NANO this year could possibly help me.
If I do this, does anyone have any tips on how to survive and win at NANO? Clearly my previous plan of sitting down and writing on a whim didn’t work, otherwise I would have finished my original NANO book.
Happy NANO Prep.
See you next month.
~Tracy
Flashback to 1960s by Will Zeilinger and Janet Elizabeth Lynn
October 3, 2020 by Janet Elizabeth Lynn and Will Zeilinger in category Partners in Crime by Janet Elizabeth Lynn & Will Zeilinger tagged as baby boomers, flower children, Hippies, Janet Elizabeth Lynn, The 60s, the Pepsi Generation, Will Zeilinger
Flashback to the 60s Rickie Tickie Stickies
Rickie Tickie Stickies, despite their long association with hippies and flower power, were actually a creation of ad man Don Kracke in 1967. These reusable plastic flower decals adorned many a Volkswagen, hippie bus, and girls’ bedrooms. By 1968, some 90 million had been sold. Literally, hundreds of cars had the bright-colored daisy stickers plastered all over them.
Hippies
Even if you are a Millennial, you’ve probably heard about the hippie movement from your parents or grandparents. It grew out of the “Baby Boomer “ or “Pepsi Generation,” and was one of the biggest and most influential cultural movements of the 20th century. Established in the mid-60s, the hippie generation promoted peace, love, and unity. It was passionately against the Vietnam War, consumerism, and materialism. The movement was preceded by the Beatniks, the intellectual genesis of the mid-1950s to early 1960s counter-culture. Christopher Kiely wrote, “Hippies were the romanticized mass media-fueled movement of the late 1960s. Larger in size but stripped of much of its intellectual counter-culture firepower.
Flower Children
Even so, the hippie culture was well represented in music, movies, and arts, and had its own style of living, fashion, and slang. Ironically, the American urge to turn everything into a commercial success was already at work on the symbolism of the “non-commercial” counter-culture movement. Brightly colored abstracted daisies that symbolized the hippies or “flower children” had become a worldwide craze…and fifty years later, they have never really entirely gone out of style. Take a look at the Internet, and you can find daisy stickers or genuine “Rickie Tickie Stickies.”
The Skylar Drake Series
Chatting with Authors
Janet and Will have a brand new YouTube channel, Chatting with Authors where they do casual thirty minute Zoom interviews with a variety of authors. Below is their recent video with author Linda O. Johnston.
There will be a new authors featured each Friday. Check out Chatting with Authors for more interviews.
Featured Books
AN ELEMENT OF MYSTERTY: SWEET, FUNNY, AND STRANGE TALES OF INTRIGUE
Dare you read our latest Sweet, Funny, and Strange® Anthology?
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SNOW IN LOVE: Sweet Romance Holiday Collection
Escape into holiday magic with SNOW IN LOVE's sweet romance holiday stories!
More info → BEYOND THE FORTUNETELLER’S TENT
When Petra Baron goes into the fortuneteller’s tent at a Renaissance fair, she expects to leave with a date to the prom.
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THE DAY BAILEY DEVLIN’S HOROSCOPE CAME TRUE
Oh, boy! Oh, Bailey! What are you going to do when Fate decides to have a little fun?
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