MY WEEK IN A NUTSHELL - 10 STEPS TO INSANITY

Okay, so I have a favor to ask. If you have bought one of my books, please leave a review somewhere - on your blog, on goodreads, on amazon, anywhere they will let you.  If you haven't bought it (I understand money can be tight) but would still be interested in reviewing it, I am willing to provide 10 PDF copies to people if they will review it on their blog (and any other site that will let them without having purchased it there).  If you are interested, please let me know at my email. To find out more about my books go here.  I only want my romances reviewed (I have two) I will warn that they are said to be sweet (romance) and spicy (sex). They are by no means erotica, but they do have their fair share of sex.  Thank you all so much!  Now on with the fun.

10 STEPS TO INSANITY

1. My 6 year old is driving me nuts.  She will not behave, she is relentless in teasing her siblings, no matter what punishment I dole out, she is driving me mad. So I send her to the neighbor who has a little girl she likes to play with. She behaves there. :/

2. My 5 year old boy has been hanging around girls too much.  He has turned into a complete cry baby whiny butt. I have got to get him out of this stage quickly - he  starts school in a couple of months!!!

3. My pain has been through the roof because of my wonderful coughing fits.

4. My two year old has also become a whiny butt.  If she doesn't get what she wants, she freaks out and can cry for an hour. If you finally offer her what she wants, she changes her mind and wants something different. (We don't give in, but sometimes when we misunderstand what she wants and finally offer her the right thing, she changes her mind.)

5. Allergies are going to kill us, all of us, dead as can be. They need to go away and leave us alone.

6. Thanks to my older daughters we are babysitting the neighbor boys five hours a night, five nights a week and I really don't want to.  I was almost in tears by the time they left the last time. I hate babysitting for one and for two when you get both of them together with both of mine, they don't know how to behave, or be quiet, or stay outside or.... yeah. I am thinking that since the teens accepted the job for me, I might have to make them go over and break the news that we can only do it for this one more week and then they will have to find someone else.

7. I had a release party for my newest novel. It was fun and we are seeing a smattering of results, but only time will tell if it was worth the work it took.

8. The hubs and I are still working on a top secret project (and hell no, it is not another damn kid).

9. I discovered that I hate hate hate marketing my book.  I'm so tired of it. This is something you don't get immediate results from usually so I will be doing it for years to come until I build my fan base. What happened to my patience....oh I covered that in another blog didn't I. ;). I guess it is a good thing I didn't follow my degree to a career (PR- business) Ah crap! I did follow it in the end. Only this time I added writing to the mix.

10. It's hot outside, the kids are driving me nuts, except for my writing, I'm bored out of my mind. Yep, sounds like a typical summer week to me!

Until Next Time...TGIF  We all need a break from a crazy week. But then my weeks lately run from Friday to Friday so I don't get a break. Sigh.....Enjoy the weekend anyway. :D

EXHAUSTING DAY OF FUN!

There are many aspects to who I am. Most of you know the broken mom and the housewife and the aspiring author so now I am enjoying letting you get to know the other part of me.  I am  a published author.

So, as a published author, I can't imagine having to go on a real book tour or having a bustling book release party. All of the traveling and sitting and signing would probably drive me nuts (although I hope to do it someday!)  But for now, since I'm not famous and nobody knows me enough to want to host a book signing, I will settle for virtual tours and book launches. As a matter of fact I had a 12 hour long (10 with breaks) Virtual Release Party yesterday.  Oh my goodness was it fun!  But dang, I never imagined how tiring it could be. Every hour on the hour (except for 4pm and 6pm) I had to be there to post something new.  Pictures, excerpts, buy links, sneak peeks etc.

I can say for sure that I slept very well last night!  I received a lot of feedback and I actually gave away a signed copy of one of my books and a free kindle copy of my latest book. People were actually interested in getting my stuff! (And no, all of them weren't friends and family, ha!) In all actuality I knew one of the winners because we met on a baby website/facebook because we have kiddo's the same age and the other person I don't know at all.  It is so exciting to know that my name is finally getting out there a bit! :)

I also like some of the reactions I had to my excerpts and plotlines for future books. My email and message box were blowing up!  Yesterday was one of the biggest highs I've ever had.  It was truthfully a glorious day. Now to see how it affects sales, if at all.  The next few days will be a test to see if I feel happy or disappointed. But even if I do feel disappointed, there will still be an element of happiness because I am writing, I am sharing what I love, and I am having one hell of a time doing it.

I am me - I am broken, I am blogger, I am author, I am happy!
Thanks everyone for your support.

Until Next Time...Sometimes the best days exhaust us, but you shouldn't let that take away from your joy.  Bask in the exhaustion, knowing that you have done something wonderful.

BUSY BUSY BUSY - EXPLODE!

Do you ever have so much to do that you think you might explode? And there is an order that things should be done in, but you don't want to do them in that order?  Yeah, that's me right now.  There is so much to be done with my book coming out in June, a short story coming out in June, working on a book with my daughter to be released in August (or maybe sooner), doing at home preschool with my son, being sick, a super secret project with The Hubs,

and doing the blog three days a week. I just feel like I am  going to combust, I know it doesn't seem like there is a lot to do, but the job of getting my book ready for publication in June still has about twelve steps and I have about a week to do them in.  

I would much rather play around making a cover for the book that doesn't come out until August, ummm maybe I should just concentrate on finishing it first. Right?  But doing the cover is so much more fun! Doing pre school with my son is like pulling teeth. Not that he doesn't want to learn new things, but my kids just don't like it when I'm the one teaching them. :/

I know I need to set a schedule, in order of importance and stick to it, but I DON'T WANNA!!! I know in the end I will get it done, but sometimes I just get overwhelmed and want to stop what I'm doing and have some fun. Sometimes I tell myself not to sweat it, because it all needs to get done and as long as I keep busy working I will be fine.  Sometimes that works, but when I have projects spread out so far, that doesn't work so much.

On the other hand, I love, love, love being busy.  It is so rewarding when I cross multiple tasks off my list every day. And I guess, deep down inside I wouldn't change a thing. Is it possible that I actually thrive on feeling like I'm about to combust?  Yeah, I think it is. I'm crazy like that. ;)  So I will just take it one step at a time and get it done.  I can't ask for more, my fans can't ask for more and my family can't ask for more.

Until Next Time... Work hard and do your best. That is all anyone should ask from you.  That is what I am going to do and I know, in the end, it will all work out perfectly. :)

6 QUALITIES I WANT MY KIDS TO HAVE AS THEY GROW

Now that my first child is graduating from High School, I figure it is time that I write down life lessons that I hope they learn.

• 1st: Have a mind of your own, do what needs to be done and not what outsiders/trends/or takers push you to do 
• 2nd: Listen to authority, always. Whether it is teachers bosses or parents. Even if you feel grown  up or better than someone, always do what is expected of you.
• 3rd: Have the ability to admit when you are wrong. Being wrong doesn't mean you are stupid or unworthy. If you are wrong, admit and and move on. In the end you will be a better person and others will notice that.
• 4th: Don't lie because it is what you think others will want to hear, or just to get attention. Always tell the truth and anyone who truly loves you won't care that you are honest. Bottom line is, lies alienate the people who love you the most and you don't want to drive away your support system by lying to or about them.
• 5th: Don't be ashamed of the people you love. They do what they do and can't or won't change it. If you are proud of them, others will be too.
• 6th: Be as nice to family and friends as you are to strangers because in times of need, if you've treated them right, your family WILL pull you through, strangers won't because they don't know you.

These are all things I've seen teens and young adults struggling with and I hope that by putting them in a list, others can use them and maybe teach kids some good life lessons to make their lives easier. I know my kids can learn from some (or all) of these lessons. 

Until Next Time...I know growing up is hard, but it can be done with grace and kindness, we just need to give our children a push in the right direction.  I have yet to find out if my parenting will be a success or a failure, but within a few years, I will know and I just hope that everyone will be happy healthy and well rounded.

CONFIDENCE, FINALLY!!!

Since everything I start to write about my family (my main subject here on the blog) ends with me trashing one of my children in hopes of getting her to realize she is on the wrong path, I have decided to write about my career (writing, not housewife and mom) today.

As most of you have come to find out, my confidence isn't the greatest. It took so much courage and a huge leap of faith just to start this blog and even more to publish my first book. Well lately, things have been happening to really boost my confidence and I think in the end it will be long term.

I found a wonderful group of supportive authors via facebook and even though we are pretty much strangers, we are all ready, willing and able to help each other out in any way possible. No matter how many tutorials I read about marketing on Twitter, I never really seemed to get it or be good at it.  And after just a very short time in this group I finally have the hang of it.  I am seeing responses, results and retweets! I hope in the long run it will increase my sales and let people know that my books are out there, waiting to be read. I don't feel like such a twit when I tweet!  haha.  This group has also helped me to realize that I am not alone in this struggling, crazy, rewarding, heartbreaking world of writing.  I can't wait to see where this group of authors goes in the future.  Right now, I'm feeling like nothing can stop us!!!! https://www.facebook.com/groups/Anythinggoesauthorsgroup/

Another thing that boosted my confidence is that I received two five star reviews for Virgin Voyage in one day (5 total 5 * and 1 total 4*).  More than just one person is saying they are enjoying what I am doing!!!  That, I must say is one of the best feelings in the world.  I am reaching people, they are listening to what I have to say and most of all they are understanding me!  That is a huge accomplishment for a small town girl who never thought she would amount to anything. I know that in the future there will be people who don't like my work and it will definitely sting, but that will take nothing away from the fact that someone IS enjoying my work.  As long as I have reached, affected, or given joy to one person, I'm good. :)

So now I walk forth with confidence into the next novel and other writing projects I am involved in.  I am talented, I am worthy and I am confident. As long as I have those three things, nothing can stop me!  Look out world, my lack of confidence will no longer get in the way!

Until Next Time...I hope you don't have to suffer from severe lack of self confidence like I have because truthfully it sucks. But if you do, be patient and hang in there. The first step is to find yourself. The second is to find your comfort zone and step out of it. Work hard and don't give up. You are worthy and you will feel worthy and then just run with it! You can be confident too. :)

If you want a good read, please pick up one of my books. Virgin Voyage is available in paperback and on kindle (1.99)  Go up to the top of the blog and find the page that says Buy My Books. Click on it and you will have all of the links you need.  If you do pick it up, please leave a review when you are done.