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Time and Project Management Class Starts Monday

January 9, 2014 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as It's Worth It, Kitty Bucholtz, Little Miss Lovesick, Moonlit Encounters, OCCRWA Online Class, Romancing the Pages, time management, Unexpected Superhero

Hello my friends! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year’s. I sure did. I’d planned since last Christmas to take two full weeks off and relax. Right up to the last minute, I was sure I wouldn’t “be able to” do it. But in the end, I did!

My workload piled up during the two weeks off, but I feel so much more relaxed and rested and ready for work! How did I manage to take so much vacation time when life has been battering me for the last couple of years? The primary reason is because last January I laid out a written plan for my year.

Granted, a LOT of things went wrong with the plan. I couldn’t have anticipated six months of unemployment for John. I made more money than I did in 2012, but it wasn’t enough to offset the costs of a few book-selling risks I took that didn’t pay off. Near the end of the year, I had to put my writing business on the back burner and work full-time at a temp job.

But for the whole year, I could look at my writing plan and my calendar and I could figure out how each of my plans would be affected by the new turn life took. I could move the sticky notes on the calendar to change deadlines. I could cancel things that just couldn’t be accomplished now that the course of life had changed.

And I could do it all with more peace than usual because I had a written, changeable plan.

If you’d like to work with me over the next four weeks to get a plan in place for you this year, please sign up for my online class Going the Distance: Goal Setting and Time Management for the Writer. Due to popular demand, this is the fourth year I’ve taught this class, and there’s always something new to learn and share. I hope you’ll join us!

What do you want to accomplish this year?

Kitty Bucholtz decided to combine her undergraduate degree in business, her years of experience in accounting and finance, and her graduate degree in creative writing to become a writer-turned-independent-publisher. Her first novel, Little Miss Lovesick, came out in 2011. Her new novel, Unexpected Superhero, book one in The Adventures of Lewis & Clarke humorous urban fantasy series, is now available in print and ebook format. Superhero in the Making and Love at the Fluff and Fold (book one in The Strays of Loon Lake romantic comedy series) will be released in mid-2014. Her short stories can be found in the anthologies Romancing the Pages and Moonlit Encounters, available in both print and ebook formats. “Superhero in Disguise” is a free short story at Amazon, iTunes, Smashwords, and other retail sites.

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Happy New Year!

January 6, 2014 by Linda O. Johnston in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as Harlequin Romantic Suspense, Linda O. Johnston, Pet Rescue Mysteries, Shapeshifters

Can you believe it’s 2014 already? I can’t–and yet I can. Time passes quickly, especially with lots going on.

I’m looking forward to the first OCC meeting of the year. Will you be there? I will! The topics all sound great–including the afternoon one about writing military heroes. I do that–although mine are shapeshifters.

The PAW topic will be a discussion of blog tours, and I’m in the middle of one right now to promote my new Pet Rescue Mystery, TEACUP TURBULENCE, just released this month. I may be signing it, as well as my December Harlequin Romantic Suspense novel COVERT ATTRACTION, at the meeting.
Meantime, I’m planning for another three books to be published this year–two Harlequin Nocturnes, both part of my Alpha Force miniseries about a covert military unit of shapeshifters, as well as my first Superstition Mystery later in the year.

And of course in addition to promoting, I’m working on proposals for additional ideas that I hope to be able to write… and will soon be starting another book under deadline.

How about you? Are you doing a lot connected with your writing career this new year? My fingers are crossed that we all have a happy, productive, and utterly fun year!

I’m still active on Facebook. Please come friend me there!

Happy reading,

Linda O! Johnston

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Goal-less?

January 4, 2014 by A Slice of Orange in category Writing tagged as January 2014, Louisa Bacio

Test

I have no goals for 2014. How can that be? The new year rings in, and yet – not a one.

Oh, I could put down the obvious to eat better, lose that extra five (maybe 10) pounds I’ve gained post-40, be a bit more patient with my daughters! Writing-wise, I’d like to complete my two contracted stories- one a full-length novel, and a standalone short story – on time.

But what else?

Learn a foreign language? It’s hard enough to remember the day-to-day items these days. (Seriously, on our mini vacation, I nagged my daughters to remember their new iPad chargers, and forgot my own phone charger and fancy shoes). One year I vowed to learn to play guitar. After cutting my nails down super-super short and growing calluses, I decided maybe I didn’t like it so much after all.

One goal I really want to make is finishing the OCC/RWA Book in a Year challenge. I didn’t in 2013. I know, I know. I probably have about 40K written in the YA, with an estimated 50K needed for the first draft. I should be able to get it done. Since it’s my second year going for it, and the umpteenth year I’ve worked on it, you know I want it finished.

There’s also the matter of that publisher who has rejected two of my manuscripts. I need to decide if the third time’s a charm, or accept that maybe my voice is not what they’re looking for. (Plus, I need to submit those other two stories elsewhere. I know they’re good, and they deserve a home.)

As for our particular group of writers, how about a chapter goal? For the past few years, we’ve been flirting with just under 200 members. We’ve done well pulling in some new members, and I love seeing the growing camaraderie. Since I’m a bit of a numbers freak, I’d like to push past that marker.

So what about you? What are your goals for 2014? No matter what, let’s make it a fantastic year!

— Louisa Bacio

http://www.Facebook.com/louisabacio

http://www.Twitter.com/louisabacio

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Special Workshop: “Before You Hit Send” with Angela James

January 2, 2014 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as " Angela James, "Before You Hit Send, Carina Press, OCC/RWA, Special Workshop

Saturday, January 18, 2014

A One-Day workshop Sponsored by OCC/RWA

â€œBefore You Hit Sendâ€

Presented by Angela James

Where: The Embassy Suites â€“ Brea

900 E. Birch St. Brea, CA 92821

When: Saturday, January 18, 2014

Doors Open at 8:30 a.m.

Class Begins at 9:00 a.m.

Lunch* at 12:00 p.m.

Class Resumes at 1:15 p.m.

Class ends at 4:30 p.m.

What: A Self-Editing Workshop

The course, updated and enhanced with new material and information each time itâ€™s offered, will guide you from the basics of self-editing and grammar in a clear, conversational manner with examples, to more advanced topics such as show versus tell and passive voice. Through it all, Angela will be available for clarification and questions in order to help you on your way to a cleaned-up manuscript and understanding the basics of editing your manuscript.

Cost: $55 OCC Chapter Members

$70 All Other Attendees

*The cost includes lunch at the hotel. There is only one meal choice and if you have dietary restrictions, please email lunchorders@occrwa.org

Registration can be done by payment via Paypal. Please visit the OCC/RWA event page. You can also pay by check at the January OCC/RWA meeting.

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Calls for Submission — Happy New Year’s

December 31, 2013 by A Slice of Orange in category Writing tagged as Calls for Submission, Louisa Bacio, OCC/RWA, short story

Start your New Year with some new creativity. Here’s a sampling of recent calls for submissions.

Resolutions

How perfect is this new call from Loose Id? Sometimes, such a teaser causes the perfect stimulation, and my brain’s been tingling with this one.

Every year, millions of people make resolutions for the new year. Most of them fall by the wayside within a few weeks, but what about the ones that don’t? Resolutions is an open collection focusing on what happens in the wake of someone’s New Year’s resolution.

Did they resolve to be more adventurous and meet the hunk of their dreams finally going on that skydiving trip they promised themselves? Did they resolve to compliment at least one stranger a day, and pick the just right day to compliment a down-in-the-dumps billionaire? Did they resolve to buy at least one dress that isn’t black, or a pair of pants that isn’t leather? To try out for The Voice, or the local production of Grease? Did they take their artwork into a gallery? Put their profile on a dating site?

Resolutions features the commitment and the sexily ever after that somehow grows out of it. Anywhere and anyway that the tradition of making resolutions exists, even if it’s a place that only exists in your imagination, a Resolution story could take place. A Resolutions protagonist can be anyone. The sky’s the limit.

Specifics: stories must be at least 30K and preferably not longer than 80K; all genres you can work a New Year’s resolution into will be considered. To be considered for publication as a Resolutions title by the end of 2014, we must have your submission by no later than August 15th, but they can be submitted at any time before that for earlier publication dates. Follow the guidelines below for submitting a proposal, and include “Resolutions” in your email’s subject line.

For more information, visit Loose Id

Science Fiction – East of the Web

We’re seeking imaginative, idea-filled science fiction and fantasy short stories. Stories should be accessible, with strong plots and compelling characters, written with a good knowledge of the science fiction or fantasy canon.

We pay for selected stories starting at $0.05 per word or a mix of an advance and a royalty. Stories should be at least 7,000 words. Stories will be published under a new electronic imprint from East of the Web, one of the world’s leading publishers of short stories.

We encourage the submission of previously published as well as new stories. If you’re looking for a way to make some money from your back catalog or to get those stories in front of new readers, we would like to hear from you.

For more information, visit East of the Web

Love Me Tender

Scandalous Submission call for stories from the 1950s

As you probably know, our regular submission guidelines stop at 1949. We thought it might be fun to see what you creative types could do with some pomade, pencil skirts, and rock-n-roll music, so we invite you to submit a story that takes place anytime from 1950-1959.

Word count 15-20k

Heat level: any

Happy Ever After- please!

Submissions end March 31

For more information, visit Entangled Publishing

Any of these calls sound good? Have one you’re working on?

Until next time,

Louisa Bacio

http://www.Facebook.com/LouisaBacio

http://www.Twitter.com/LouisaBacio

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