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Time For a Do-Over by Kitty Bucholtz

January 10, 2013 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as It's Worth It, Kitty Bucholtz, Romancing the Pages

One of my favorite things about January is getting a whole new year’s worth of do-overs. I loved do-overs as a kid, and I love them even more now. This past year has easily been my worst – three family members died, and over a dozen of my friends’ family members died. And that was just one part of how my year went badly.

Lena, the heroine of “Rescue at Loon Lake”, my story in the anthology Moonlit Encounters, found it difficult to get past her husband’s death while living in the same city. She decides to move to a new town for her do-over. Sometimes that works, but for most people it doesn’t.

A few years ago, I came up with a method that works for me: hitting the restart button. Any of us can hit the restart button at any time of the day, any day of the year. We just need to remember that the button exists.

Restart Your Attitude
The most important tool in your toolbox is your attitude because your attitude affects everything else. It is also one of your most vulnerable tools. When you catch your attitude taking a dive, stop for a mental moment and hit the restart button.

When you’re careful to keep your attitude positive, the parts of your life that are going well will go even smoother. And when life gets rough, a healthy attitude will keep you from getting totally beat up. It’s not always easy, but you can hit that restart button as many times as you need to. A few weeks after my mom’s death, I was hitting it a couple times an hour. It’s part of what kept me from getting caught in a riptide of grief.

Restart Your Actions
Everything you spend your time doing builds who you are. Your actions build your intellect, your career, your character. What you don’t do also shapes who you become. Getting caught up in the thousands of possibilities of 21st century life can derail even our best intentions. Derailment happens to me regularly – unless I remember to hit the restart button.

: Goal!

Over time, I’ve accumulated and shared all the time management and goal-setting information I’ve tried. Every January, I teach an online class to help other writers find the methods of “getting things done” that work for them. When you try something new and it doesn’t work, hit restart. When you keep doing what you know doesn’t work, hit restart. The button never wears out, no matter how often you find yourself using it.

Restart Your Commitment
Your attitude and your actions are important, but you also need to keep yourself committed to your goals and plans. It’s fine to change your mind, but if you change it over and over again, you won’t make any real progress in a given direction.

Feel like giving up? Hit the restart button. What is one tiny thing you can do today that keeps you committed to your purpose? What are the top three things? Don’t let yourself be intimidated by your multi-page To Do list (I know I’m not the only one), just take a deep breath and remind yourself why you decided this is the path you want to be on (whatever that path is).

It’s going to be January for three more weeks. Lots of time to work on a few do-overs in your life. But remember this for the rest of the year – every morning is also a new start. It’s never too late to work on becoming the person you were always meant to be.

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, is now available in print and ebook format. Her next novels, Love at the Fluff and Fold and Unexpected Superhero, will be released in 2013. Her short stories can be found in the anthologies Romancing the Pages and Moonlit Encounters, available in both print and ebook format.

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emaginings: It’s Here!

September 16, 2012 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as emaginings, Linda McLaughlin, OCC/RWA anthology, Romancing the Pages

Romancing the Pages, OCC’s anthology of romantic short stories is now available in e-book format from Amazon.com. I’m proud to be one of the editors of the anthology, along with Debra Holland and Louisa Bacio.

The stories in the anthology are:

All Summer on a Date, by GVR Corcillo

A Valentine for Lily, by Alina K. Field

Melting the Ice, by Rose de Guzman

Purple Orchids, by Erin Satie

A Bit of Romance, by Ottilia Scherschel

Peaceful Transit, by Theresa Moore

Canine Casanova, by Alexis Montgomery

One Weekend, by Elise Scott

The Guy with the Dragon Tattoo, by Barbara DeLong

The Meat of Romance, by Joy Elizabeth Hancock

Heart Strings, by Joyce Ward

A Helping Hand, by Janis Therault

Heart Hound, by FC Amati

Hero in Disguise, by Kitty Bucholtz

Princess Pumpkin, by Alexis Montgomery

The Carnival, by Joyce Ward

The Letter, Marilyn Bates

Jailbait, by Sharon Hampton

The Prosecutor, by Louella Neson

It was a pleasure to work with so many talented OCC members. This was truly a group effort. Our beautiful cover was designed by the talented Lex Valentine, and thanks are owed to Janet Quinn Cornelow for formatting the book.

Thanks, everyone.

Linda McLaughlin aka Lyndi Lamont

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Deadline Extended: Romancing the Pages Anthology

January 18, 2012 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as OCC/RWA anthology, Romancing the Pages

OCC/RWA Members Only!

After receiving a few requests for “one more week,” the deadline for short stories for the OCC/RWA anthology Romancing the Pages has been extended!

OCC/RWA wants your romance short stories! As a chapter fundraiser and to raise awareness of our amazing writers, OCC/RWA is putting together an anthology. Suggested word length is between 1,000 and 10,000 words.

Since one of the anthologyâ€™s goals is showcasing our members, the call is open to all forms of romance, from inspirational to erotic, as long as it has an HEA. Each story will be labeled for the reader in terms of genre/sub-genre and heat level.

First-time publications rights for 6 months. Although the book will be up hopefully forever, after six months, contributors can publish elsewhere.

Blind review. The stories will be chosen and peer edited by the anthology committee of members who are published authors and editors. Send submissions to occanthology@yahoo.com, where a non-deciding board member will review, track and then send the story for a blind review for consideration.

No content changes will be made to an authorâ€™s story without the consultation of that author. If the author doesnâ€™t like the requested edits, he or she is free to withdraw the story.

This is a fundraiser for the chapter. The money will go to the chapter to benefit all the members. However, this is a good opportunity to get publicity for your work and pick up readers who otherwise wouldnâ€™t have found you.

OCC published and unpublished members only. Submission deadline is ~~January 15, 2012~~ January 21, 2012! Please have a critique partner or author friend (or two or three) read the story before you turn it in.

We are looking for enough stories to fill a 400-page book. The cover design has been generously donated by member and author, Lex Valentine. Those authors who are accepted will be requested to submit a short bio.

For more information, visit the Members Section of http://www.occrwa.org/

— Louisa Bacio

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