My query's at Kimberly Ann Miller's Query Corner

Kimberly Ann Miller, one of my amazing CP's, has my query up on her blog today. 
You can check it out at Writers by the Shore and while you're there, take a look around and follow Kimmy. She's awesome! 

Her book, TRIANGLES, will be released June 18, 2013 by Spencer Hill Press.

Here's a blurb:

Triangles

A cruise ship. A beautiful island. Two sexy guys. What could possibly go wrong?

In the Bermuda Triangle--a lot.

Hoping to leave behind the reminders of her crappy life--her father's death years ago, her mother's medical problems, and the loser who's practically stalking her--seventeen-year-old Autumn Taylor hops on a ship with her sister for a little distraction. When she wakes up in the Bermuda Triangle, she fears she's gone nuts for more than one reason: that loser's suddenly claiming they're a happy couple... a hot guy is wrapping his arms around her and saying "Happy Anniversary"... and suddenly, she's full of bruises, losing her hair, and getting IV medication. Autumn visits the ship's doctor, hoping for a pill or a shot to make the craziness go away. Instead, she's warned that one of these "alternate realities" could become permanent.

She just has to ask herself one question--how the hell is she going to get out of this mess? 

So excited for Kimmy and can't wait for her book to hit the shelves!

Make sure you stop by her blog to show her some love and to check out her Query Corner. 

My query for one of my MS's is up there today!

Have a great day and happy writing!

And don't forget to stop by tomorrow for the details of a spooky blogfest!

IWSG - Sept - Post #6

Alex J. Cavanaugh came up with IWSG... a place for writers to vent, encourage, or both. To check it out, click on the pic below and meet some awesome people.

Outline, read, research, write, read some more, edit, rewrite, read even more...

While I love doing all of those, I know stepping back is important, but I've never really been able to do that. I’m not talking about putting the novel away for a while and coming back to it. I’ve done that and it works wonders. But what I’m referring to is literally taking a break from writing. Period.

I did that this weekend when my hubby and I took the boys on a mini-vaca.
At the beginning, my eyes would drift to my bag, where I keep my notebook and pencil, but I refrained from touching it. I needed to relax, to enjoy family time, and to NOT write.

Now, I come back refreshed, full of ideas, and can see the light at the end of my novel tunnel, which is a goal in and of itself.

Do you ever have a difficult time stepping away? Or can you let go easily?

“Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” -E. L. Doctorow

Happy writing! 

Oh, and please make sure to stop back here on Friday for a spooky blogfest announcement.

Kyra Lennon's Game On Blog Tour - Day 13

My turn has FINALLY arrived for Kyra Lennon's Game On Blog Tour. Woohoo!



I've been waiting not-so-patiently because I'm so excited for Kyra and her debut novel! 



And now, I'll hand over the reigns to Kyra . . .

There is a very good reason I wanted to be right here on Jackie’s blog to talk about the Game On soundtrack. We both share an enormous love of Maroon 5! 

*sigh* I do heart them so much ... Oh, sorry, Kyra. Back to you! 

Maroon 5 seem to have the magic that makes me want to include at least one of their songs to any soundtrack I make for a story. For Game On, the “chosen one” is “Secret.”

When you read the book, you will have a better understanding of why I chose it. ;)


Maroon 5 aside, there are many beautiful songs that contain lyrics than fit certain parts of the story. I always say “Breakaway” by Kelly Clarkson is Leah’s song. It very much embodies everything Leah is about. The girl who grew up in a small town who wanted to spread her wings and find out who she is, away from the life she’s always known.


Friendship is a strong theme in Game On. The friendship between Leah and Freya is very strong, but many other friendships happen as the story progresses. I chose “Count On Me” by Bruno Mars as the perfect way to show just how much the characters care for each other.

Finally, I chose a fairly recent song as the one I – in my completely impossible fantasies – would use as the closing credits if Game On ever became a movie. “93 Million Miles” by Jason Mraz. As much as Leah rejects her old life, her hometown will always be important to her. The chorus of this song struck a chord with me the first time I heard it, and I think it’s very fitting.

I love the soundtrack, Kyra! Thanks again for letting me join in on this fun blog tour! 

Game On Synopsis

After swapping her small town life to work for one of the top soccer teams in the U.S, Leah Walker thought she could finally leave the ghosts of her past behind. However, when she meets serial womanizer, Radleigh McCoy, the memories of her old life come swarming back, and she is forced to ask herself whether she has really changed at all.

Kyra's blog ... Write Here, Write Now

Game On Buy Links

                                                          

Smashwords 

                                                          
Amazon.com kindle version 

                                                           
Amazon.com paperback 

                                                           
Amazon UK kindle version 

                                                             
Amazon UK paperback 

Thanks for stopping by! Now, go check out Kyra's book and have a wonderful day!!!

Monster Blogfest and Christine Rains Fearless release

Christine Rains is hosting this awesome blogfest - What was your childhood monster? - 

in celebration of her new book Fearless. Click on her cover below for info. 

Congrats, Christine, on this! 

Can't wait to check it out!

And now for the blogfest... Click on the pic below for more info if you'd like to join in on the creepy fun! You can find my story below.

Closet monster...

When I was younger, I had a canopy bed draped in shades of pink and white with blue Holly Hobbie print on it. (Do you know who that is? If not, dayam I'm old.) 

I used to think the canopy was my protection, like a shield. As long as I was under it, no one or thing, could harm me.

I also had a walk-in closet... we had a love/hate relationship. 

In the daytime, it was fun to play in it, like it was my own little retreat. I'd go in there to read, have tea parties, and a place to get away from my three pesky brothers. 

At night, that closet came to life.

After I'd get ready for bed, I'd shut my closet door then fold down my comforter. I'd turn off the room light and sprint to my bed, praying that nothing grabbed my feet. I'd dive in and cover myself up to my eyeballs because - remember - as long as I was under my canopy nothing could get me. The blankets were just a bonus, in my mind. But even with my canopy and blanket, I was still scared.

One time, I did my nighttime routine, but it wasn't until I peeked out from under the blankets that I saw light trickling out from underneath the closet door. A few moments later, shadows moved around inside. I could see them from under the door because I'd left that stupid light on!   I. Was. Terrified. To make matters worse, we had hardwood floors so every creak of a board intensified the already creepy feeling.

I stared at the door for hours, or that's what it felt like anyway. It was probably more like ten minutes. Then, I got worried. What if one of my brothers was in there? What if they got stuck in there trying to play a joke on me and now the closet monster was hurting them?

I panicked, jumped out of bed, and opened the door to find no brothers. Just my clothes hanging there. I looked up at the string dangling from the closet ceiling. (That's what I'd use to pull the light off or on.) It swayed on its own. I freaked out, shut the door, and got back into bed.

The next morning, I told my dad, so he "investigated" like parents do and told me that a draft caused the string to move on its own and the creaky floors, well, that was the house's way of settling. Yeah, right. At the time, I thought he was nuts. But here I am alive to day, so he must have been right...  or was he? 

Did you have any childhood monsters that made you lose sleep?

IWSG - August - post #5

It's IWSG time. The host, Alex J. Cavanaugh, states it best: IWSG is a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! 

To join, click on the IWSG pic below and post on your blog the first Wednesday of every month. Go sign up and meet some awesome people.

July has been busy for my family so I haven't accomplished all that I had planned, but it's okay. I'll get there.

The main thing I've been dealing with is the fear that others won't think I'm a good enough writer.
Here's an edited convo I had with one of my critique partners the other night, edited because we talked about other things in between that don't pertain to this.

Laura:  I CAN'T WAIT to read what you've written. Send it over whenever you like.

Me:  Um, what if what I wrote sucks donkey doodoo? Then, I will have wasted your time. :( 

L:  Get over yourself. Who cares if you wrote donkey doodoo? You won't know until you share it. And maybe it's totally awesome. It's probably totally awesome, because I love your voice. Anyhoo, send over your stuff! Now!! :)

Me: LMAO. You about made me choke on my water!!!

L:  Glad I could make you laugh. :)

My point to sharing this? Even my CP's keep me in check when my insecurities bite at me. 

And she's right. Who cares if it's donkey doodoo? I'm writing, which I love to do. And if I love my work, first and foremost, that's what matters at this point. 

I leave you with this quote...

"Each one of us requires the spur of insecurity to force us to do our best." ~ Harold W. Dodds

Happy writing to you all!

Custom made blog header by Jaycee Delorenzo

A few weeks ago, Jaycee Delorenzo chose my entry as one of the winners in the Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Blog Hop.

You can read my winning entry HERE.

For winning, I received a custom made blog header by Jaycee. . . .

I absolutely LOVE it!!! Jaycee took my chaotic thoughts and turned it into exactly what I wanted.

Go visit her site, Sweet n' Spicy Designs, HERE and check out her other wonderful designs.

Insecurity is winning, but not for long.

I'm a day early for Alex J. Cavanaugh’s IWSG since tomorrow is the 4th of July, and I don't think I'll be around bloggerville much, though I plan to sneak in some IWSG sites tomorrow. I'll also visit some blogs today and on Thursday.

So, a few weeks ago, my 11 yr old gave me a letter for my birthday.  He drew a bookshelf with books by me AND  a cool coupon for one free day of writing. He's the sweetest ever!

I cried. (big surprise) Yes, they were tears of happiness, but I felt a pang of fear as well.

Then, as I’ve been working on my WIP, that fear slowly trickled over into a full blown fear-fest. I became terrified that I’d let my family down.

And the wretched “What if’s” tormented me.

What if I don’t ever make it in the writing world? What if I never have a book pubbed? What if my family becomes disappointed in me?

I mean, my family is amazing, so I really don't think they'd think less of me. They are my biggest supporters. But deep down, I still get nervous.

And I know that I don’t need a book pubbed to acknowledge that I can write. Sure, I won’t lie, it’d be sa-weet, but being pubbed wouldn't prove that I'm a writer if I don't tackle my insecurities.

I just don't know how to go about doing that. I try to keep reminding myself that it’s up to me to stomp on those negative thoughts, but it's still difficult.

Figuring out a way to push the insecurities aside is important so they don't suffocate me and my dreams.

LOVE this quote below. Now if I would put it to use!

What do you do when the insecurities take over? Any tricks you'd care to share? Bottom line, I know it's going to take me to stop, but still, some ideas would be so helpful.

Thanks so much!