A Little Vacation!

I went down to San Diego last weekend hoping to get a little R & R, yeah right! Actually I was hoping to get some reading in and that didn't happen. I also had hoped to get "The Good Dr. Grant" finished and formatted and uploaded and the proofs ordered before I went, but that didn't happen either! But I did get a lot of exercise, (when you have two dogs on leashes you find they like to go for a lot of walks!)  I got to visit my son and my grand dog and I did enjoy myself. We took the RV and stayed at Campland on the bay and it was a really nice place. You can check them out here http://www.campland.com/ 

Now that my short and sweet vacation is over, it's time to get back to work! Have a wonderful week everyone and enjoy the pictures.

Am I cheating?

This is my Tarot for today. Hi Karen! Here is your Daily Tarot Card for Sunday, February 5

"The World card suggests that my alter ego is The Conqueror, whose superpower lies in graduation to the next level. Today I am free. I have accomplished my mission and feel on top of the world. I will enjoy the experience to its fullest. I have come full circle on my path to success. My job is done, my dream fulfilled, and I have them eating out of my hands. Accept and embrace the journey taken. It has served great purpose in my growing wiser and stronger, and has provided a sense of relief in that now it's complete."

As some of you know, I self published my first book this past week. For me it was an experiment to see if I could do it. Don't get me wrong, it's a good story. A novelette though, not a novel. It is a classic traditional romance, like the ones I used to read all the time and Romance is what I write. And I am happy, but why do I feel like I've cut in the lunch line? There are so many great writers that are sitting waiting for a publisher to pick them up and here I cut in front of them and self publish, shouldn't I be waiting in the line behind them?
And I'm not picking on others that are self publishing, I have read books from a couple of self publishers and they are awesome. You wouldn't know they were self pubbed, unless they told you. Great stories, well written, awesome covers, and I support them 100%
I am working on another book, this time a novel, or so I hope, that I will self publish also, but I will continue querying my series to agents and publishers for the time being, so I don't feel like I'm cheating? No, I don't think that's the reason. I know everyone has their reasons for choosing self publishing over traditional and I believe that we all have to make the choice that works best for us, just like we do with all the choices we have  to make in our lives.
As for my Tarot, I can't agree with it totally because, I don't believe, "I have come full circle on my path to success. My job is done, my dream fulfilled, and I have them eating out of my hands." Nope don't agree at all,
I know that I still have a long way to go!

I got the Versatile Blogger Award!

I was informed that I received the Versatile Blogger award the other day and have been procrastinating, in between writing, but have finally told myself, Karen you really need to post this" So here it is...

BECAUSE IT IS AWESOME! And I am very honored to have received it.

First The Rules

Everything in life has rules, and the Versatile Blogger award is no different. So here goes.
(Actually this is probably the easiest part!)

1. Thank the award-giver and link back to them in your post.
Thank you Debra. I am honored and surprised, because I wasn't expecting this. :-)
I love following Debra's Blog. She has been very supportive and helpful and always has a kind word and puts up with all my dumb questions. I hope you will follow her also and don't forget to follow her on twitter too!
http://debrakristi.wordpress.com/2012/01/29/reapers-and-dvrs-at-the-row80-check-in-1-29/

@DebraKristi

2. Share 7 things about yourself. Now this is hard! No Laughing!
* When I was little, I would make believe every day that I was sitting at my little table, having tea with Elvis.
* Even though I probably know all of the words to most of the songs, "I'm NOT a Beatles fan" Sorry...
* I'm a big fan of Ozzy and 80's hair bands and Matchbox 20
* I hate clutter
* I love everything vanilla and white chocolate
* I'm open minded and a positive person, who loves to help others
* I love creating things and I custom design gift baskets and party sets

3. Pass this award along to 15 recently discovered blogs you enjoy reading. Okay...I knew this would be hard, but didn't expect it to be this hard. I love finding and following so many awesome blogs, how do I only pick 15, oh well here goes...

* This is Brian's Blog. He was the first person I did a guest blog post for. It is a health related blog about his book "Death: Living to talk about it."
http://brha99.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/this-weeks-journal-jan-20th-through-jan-26th/

* This is one of Cecilia's Blogs
http://thestupidappraiser.info/LaVitaNuova/

* Genreality Always has some great advice for writers
http://www.genreality.net/stranger-than-fiction

* And this one I just started following today!
http://amloki.blogspot.com/2012/01/sign-up-for-some-atozchallenge-blogging.html

*Looking for awesome, recipes, pictures and fun/ I highly recommend
http://www.theredheadriter.com/

* I've read and loved  Richard's book "Near Death" Even reviewed it here on my blog, check out his blog!
http://richardchaleauthor.com/

*This is Caddy's blog. She interviewed T.M. Souders today :-)
http://caddyrowlandblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/interview-with-fabulous-author-t-m.html

* This is Patti's
http://theangelsarehere.wordpress.com/readers-questions-answered/

* There's only one word to describe DC's AWESOME!
http://dcmcmillen.com/2012/01/31/2118/

* This is John? Paul? :-) I never know, but he is one of the most versatile bloggers on my list! Wonder where George and Ringo are? :-)
http://blog.pauldorset.com/

*Karen's Blog. I love Karen's blog because she's got an awesome name! :-))
http://kptoz.blogspot.com/

*And Charlie's is a must see!
http://curiousstories.blogspot.com/

*Mish Who is always an inspiration
http://writer-in-transit.co.za/drabble-challenge-relief/

*Peter's blog will leave you rolling on the floor in laughter! And I love his nemesis!
http://peterhobbs1.wordpress.com/

*Zen was one of my NaNoWriMo Buddies who kept me on track!
http://zencherry.wordpress.com/

I Love All my blogging friends that I follow and that follow me. Sometimes they make me laugh and sometimes they make me cry, but they are the best!






4. Contact your chosen bloggers to let them know about the award.

Live Life to Write Better

Someone posted this saying on facebook this morning and I thought,
"That should be every writer's motto." We need to take the time to enjoy our lives and the people around us. We all have memories, thoughts, feelings, and wonderful and not so wonderful people in our lives that should inspire us in our writing.
Stop for a moment, feel your heart beating? place your fingers on your wrist. Now you feel it, don't you. Think about how it would feel if you were happy, scared, or excited. Now go out and feel the warmth of the sun on your skin. Close your eyes and hear the birds singing, a dog barking, or even a neighbor mowing the lawn. Revel in the joy of a child's first word, a lover's touch, or a kind word. Talk to people, no better yet, listen to people. Listen to their thoughts, their feelings. We have all felt happiness and sorrow it's part of life and the more we experience life, the better writers we become.

I went and visited my dad this morning. He's a character. I did use some
of his personality traits in one of my novels. He's someone I love and respect

very much. He will be 88 in April and still going strong and he's a big part of my life.

Well to sum this up, enjoy your day today and set aside your writing for just a little while and go live life. It holds some great inspirations for some great writing!

Dilemmas

Good morning! I think... Today I'm just thinking out loud, so bear with me and maybe you can relate.
I get up this morning and I feel...yuck. Not sick or anything like that, but just...
I've been sitting too much, and eating too much, and can't stand wearing my sweats or flannels for too long once I get up and yet my favorite jeans are dirty, so I put on my next faves. They don't fit like my favorite ones, but they have to do.And then to top it off, I cut my hair last week, not bad, but...It's too short to get up in the morning, run the brush threw it and put it in a ponytail and too long to get out of bed and run the brush threw, it has to washed and blow dried! UGH! And then to top it off...my dog is being annoying this morning every time I get up from the chair he's dogging me and attacking my shoes.  But these are just minor annoyances, what has got me feeling yuck? WRITING! Yes, writing.

I started a new story this week. In my head it was basically all cut and dried, BUT
I made the mistake at the very beginning of introducing a guy (not the intended hero, But he'll make your heart flutter) A crush that she has had since day one, that she grew up with. And then I have a part where she's thinking back to her past true love, and then I introduce the hero, but now I'm not sure which one should be victorious! Oh how the plot thickens...
I haven't even thought about the happily ever after, so I have no idea how the story will end, BUT
after pouring my heart and thoughts out to you, I just came up with a new plot twist! So I am off to write!
Thanks for listening and I hope all your plots go in all the right directions!
Have a great day!

Writing Love

As some of you know, I have a fondness for reading and sharing my horoscope. I find it fascinating how they relate to my writing as well as my life. And today's is no different.
I am writing the second book in my series. And I am having trouble writing just how deep the main character's love is for each other. This is a love story that has been in my head for a long time and yet...I just can't seem to capture the essence, the soul, the...The bond that they share and will for the rest of their lives, even when they are apart. It's not a writer's block, it's a feeling that needs to be conveyed to the reader, that for some reason, I can't find the words for. A passion that they share, and I'm not talking about sex, but a deep passionate love that reaches to the very depths of their soul, that tattoos their love on each other's hearts for the rest of their lives, no matter where they go, or who they are with. Oh well here's my horoscope for today. It reminds me of my hero and heroine as they stumble towards a perfect love.

Aquarius (1/20-2/18)

Not every romance can start off as a sizzling affair, so don't get discouraged if you and someone else are experiencing a slow burn instead of a white hot and intense heat. It's a good sign -- it says this thing between the two of you is more about going the distance than it is about drama. Every time your heart connects with someone else, it's a different experience and should be respected as such. Do not compare this to anything you have ever experienced before

New Book Review for "Eleven"

I just finished reading "Eleven" By Carolyn Arnold last night and am here to share my review.
I am new to this thing called "review" And also new to reading books by authors other than Stephen King!

So here goes,
The first few pages didn't grab me quite like I had hoped, but I pushed on and once I was past the first few pages, Carolyn pulled me in and hooked me through to the end. I am a big fan of the crime shows on TV, but normally don't read that genre. Carolyn really did a great job on writing her story, forming the plot and gave it a great ending. There were some great descriptions and yet she left enough to the reader's imagination. The only complaint I really have, and this is just my personal opinion, was that I would have liked to see a little less of the descriptions and a little more dialogue between the characters. I would have liked to see the character's personalities emerge though their dialogue more than through their actions.

But overall I give "Eleven" a 5 star review.
And if it's ever made into a movie, Tommy Lee Jones has got to play Jack! Or my second choice would be Billy Bob Thorton! He was my favorite character in the story. You did a great job creating him!

If you would like to read "Eleven" By Carolyn Arnold you can find it here
http://www.amazon.com/Eleven-Carolyn-Arnold/dp/146643936X/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1325613920&sr=8-6

You can find Carolyn on facebook https://www.facebook.com/carolynannarnold
And follow her on twitter Carolyn_Arnold
And don't forget to check out her site
http://sassy3421.blogspot.com/2011/12/tuck-and-roll-writers-highway-part.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CarolynArnold+%28Carolyn+Arnold+-+A+Writer%27s+Journey%29&utm_content=Yahoo%21+Mail

Love to Read!

Good Morning and Happy New Year! I was supposed to have posted this blog post 3 days ago, but... And it was supposed to be about New Year Resolutions and Goals, but...So I thought I'd combine them into one post today.
First, I don't make resolutions. To me they are like "Promises" and "Rules"
"Never make a promise you can't keep."
                  And
"Rules were made to be broken"
So no resolutions here! For me they are just a way to set myself up for failure. But I want to share some other blogger's posts with you this morning on their resolutions and goals.

http://nepheletempest.wordpress.com/2011/12/31/as-the-year-fades-to-memory/
http://www.rachellegardner.com/2011/12/goals-resolutions-words/
http://www.ericaluckedean.com/the-daily-blog/2012/1/2/theres-nothing-like-a-good-book.html?lastPage=true#comment16431943


http://clairejdeboer.com/2012/01/the-difference-between-a-new-years-resolution-and-a-goal

But wait! I do have some goals for 2012!

1. I want to read more books by new authors. I'm a big Stephen King fan, but since I started writing in 2011, I decided to start reading books by new authors and giving them support. (And I'm doing good so far. I have read two books since Christmas by new authors. Richard C Hale and Carolyn Arnold.)
2. To get better at writing reviews. I tend to be short and to the point!
3. To improve my query writing. Here I also tend to be short and to the point. 
4. To keep learning new things.
5. Finish writing the middle two books for my series, "Chris' Journey Turning Different Corners"
6. And last, but not least, to reconnect with family and friends that I seem to have been neglecting since I started writing. I've heard being a writer is a lonely life and boy they weren't kidding!

And this is my tarot card this morning. Sounds good to me!

"The Knight of Pentacles card suggests that my power today lies in practicality. I plan ahead and consider my options to set priorities or define goals that serve my long-term purpose. My values lay in the potential that often remains unseen by others. I am cautious, steady, optimistic and reliable and have earned the new trust or position that empowers me. My asset is accepting responsibility."

So I wish each and everyone of you, "An awesome new year, filled with success for all your resolutions and goals!"

My 2011 Christmas Newsletter

I've never done a Christmas newsletter. Some people do and some don't. I have received them off and on, from family and friends. This year I received one from a friend of my dads. What do you put in one? I mean, you either have great news you want to brag about, or sad news, or, maybe you just want to get everything out and have a sympathetic ear, or shoulder to cry on. So I thought I'd do mine here, but do it more as a conversation between me and you. We'll see where it goes and what happens! :-))

Karen tells her readers, "Oh I hate the thought of a new year."
And they want to know, "Why?"
"Because it's always depressing."
"I don't get it. Why is a new year depressing when it's a brand new year, a new beginning, a way to start over?"
"Well for one, I'll be another year older! And then there are all the things we leave behind."
"What kind of things? I know, tell me how 2011 was for you."
"Well in January it's a new year! Haha! Sorry, guess I should be serious. There are all the decorations that have to come down which seem to leave everything looking bare and empty. And since I had my gift shop, there was double the work and emptiness. February wasn't too bad. No wait, I turned another year older and closed down my gift shop in February!"
"Oh I'm sorry to hear that. Why did you close your shop?"
"Well for one thing, my business partner started flaking out on me in August the year before. He was going through a nasty divorce and evidently hadn't been paying the rent, which I found out in February. Luckily I had an awesome landlord. Yes, I'm responsible for the back rent, but at least he's taking payments. I could have stayed open. I had someone else that wanted to come in and be partners with me, but I decided it was time to close that door."
"Well it sounds like you were dealing with it in a positive way."
"It was just one of those things. Everything happens for a reason, right?"
"What happened after that?"
"Well, March and April were pretty quiet, except my oldest son turned 35. May had it's good and bad.
On Mother's day my middle son called me to wish me a Happy Mother's day and in the next breath, told me his dog, Slick, had been hit by a car. Now Slick is my only grand baby, none of my boys are married, and I was devastated. I told my son, "I'll have to call you back, when I can compose myself a little", I did call him back later that night and we both spent some crying time together. But there was good in May also. I started writing. I was tired of cleaning and laundry. There's only so much you can do, you know, and I had this story in my head for months, so I thought, "Might as well put it on paper." And that's what I did. Actually finished the first draft of that book on the 30th of October. Right in time too, because I started NaNoWriMo on the first of November. But let's go back to June. My son got a new puppy and her name is Sandi. Now I have never been a lover of pitbulls, but she is sweet and shy and I have grown to love her. July, August, and September, pretty much flew by. (Both my younger boys had birthdays in September. One is now 27 and the other is 22.)  Writing tends to do that to you. You seem to get lost in the story and when you hit that final period, you look up and say, "Wow where did the time go?"

And this is Sandi, who loves to smile!

"So is there anything else about 2011 that you want to tell us?"
"Well let's see...Spent Memorial day, 4th of July, and Labor Day weekends in San Diego. Got my little dog Duggy, neutered the first week of December, and I finished writing and editing my second book! So will be submitting it this coming week, so hopefully next year's newsletter, will be a little more exciting and not soooo boring! And how was your 2011?"

This is Slick and Duggy

May you all have a Merry Christmas and a safe, healthy, happy and Wonderful New Year!

No One Knows

I've been told that no one knows your book better than you!
So my question is, "How come it's so hard to write a query and synopsis?"

I was talking to a friend a couple of weeks ago. She is an English Lit professor and a writing instructor.
Right now she is grading and reading finals, but when she's done, she's agreed to read my book that I just finished. I told her she needs to be impartial.
 "Yeah right" she tells me. We've been friends for 18 years now.
Anyway, she was asking what my book was about and was trying to pull out all the details.
It didn't dawn on me until after I hung up that she was trying to get a synopsis out of me.
I should have realized this and maybe my synopsis would be done! Oh well. I'll probably get together with her next week and hopefully she can teach me some things about writing!

Have a great week everyone and if you get a chance check out my other blog on wordpress.
http://karensdifferentcorners.wordpress.com/

Was it good for you too?

Okay now that I have got your attention...Get your minds out of the gutter! I'm talking about NaNoWriMo.

I've been seeing blogs and posts on comment boards, or is that comments on post boards, (Shaking head) Hmmm...
Anyway whichever way you look at it, Some say they enjoyed NaNo and some say they didn't.
Personally I thought it was a lot of fun and I'm kind of sad to see it done.
It was my first time...
I wasn't sure I could do it, but I prevailed and look forward to next year.

I wrote my 50,000 plus words. I decided my book would only have 4 main chapters, so I finished the first, third, and final chapter. And got the beginning and end of the second chapter, but need to fill in the center.

The hardest part about nanowrimo for me is writing in a straight line...beginning to end. I tend to skip around some.

The book I wrote is actually the first book in a series of four books. I decided to write it, because I had just finished the fourth book. But on the plus side I have started on the first chapter of book too and have the ending chapter of book three done! Did I mention I skip around a lot?

Oh Well, I hope to see everyone back writing next year!

Here are a couple of blogs from fellow NaNo writers! Check them out!

Simon's Blog This was his first year too!
http://simontall.com/2011/11/30/november-a-novel-and-death-of-the-author/



And Cheryl captures the writers block/procrastinator in all of us with her short videos! http://www.cherylreif.com/2011/12/01/for-all-you-fellow-wrimos/#comment-3843

Happy Dec. 1st You survived, you may all get up from your chairs now! Take a bow and pat yourself on the back!

For those of you that like the comraderie that goes with NaNoWriMo here is a link on FB where you can continue writing your nano
https://www.facebook.com/pages/IE-After-NaNo-Writers-Group/218931721510267

Do You Doubt Your Work?

This is my horoscope this morning... Cold Feet? Me? Yes, actually I do have doubts this morning.

I have been reading little excerpts from other writer and author's books. And for me that's a No-No.
The reason is, I tell myself, is I don't want to be influenced by other's writing while writing my current book.
But over the last few days I have stumbled upon little bits and pieces here and there on blogs that I follow.
The problem is I find myself saying, "That's awesome. That's great!" And because I might be in a slump on my own writing at the moment I say to myself, "Why would anyone want to read what I write?"
Then I go back to my current work and start reading through it again, and tell myself, "It's not so bad. :-)

Do you have doubts as you are plotting out that perfect book? Do you get cold feet?
What do you do to get your feet warmed back up?

Energy
			Jupiter Trine Pluto
			November 19, 2011 to December 17, 2011
			Don't wait a second longer than you absolutely have to. You have the power in your eager little paws. Don't get a case of cold feet now!

What Genre?

I have to blog this morning. I wasn't going to, but I have to or I won't be able to move forward on my NaNoWriMo this morning. It's a brain thing....

I was reading the guidelines for a contest and am stuck as to what genre my NaNoWriMo falls in.
Here are the different genres! So many to choose from and yet my novel falls into 3 or 4
How do you choose!
http://www.harlequin.com/articlepage.html?articleId=538&chapter=0

It is a tragic love story, with friends and family for support. There's some sex (Originally I wasn't going to have any, but it needs to be there) There isn't a happily ever after, but there is a closure. A feeling of content. It is actually the first book in a series, but can be a stand alone novel. The last book in the series is also the same way. It can be a stand alone novel and it does have a happily ever after ending. There's no traveling to foreign countries, or history involved so I don't have to worry about those genres.
Here's a link to someone else's blog and his problems publishing concerning genre.
http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/your-job-is-to-write-not-worry?et_mid=526100&rid=232953210

And here is the contest link.
http://www.soyouthinkyoucanwrite.com/contest/

Oh and the Q4U is, Do you query it as the series to agents and publishers, or do you take a chance on the contest?

Back up and Save, Back up and Save!

I can not say this enough. Back up and Save. Back up and Save everything!

I can't begin to tell you how important this is and yet....
Yep, that's right, it takes a near catastrophe to remind myself to
 back up and save certain things on my computer.

I purchased a brand new desk top PC in July 2006.
 I had just started my new business of creating custom designed gift baskets in Oct. 2005
 and needed a new computer for my new website.
That computer got a virus and crashed in 2008, the day after my virus protection expired.
Here's another thing to remember check your emails frequently,
 so you'll know when your protection is expiring!
(I still haven't learned this rule either, hence the 1500 + new unread emails
I have sitting in my inbox waiting to be read) And I am giving advice! Sheesh!

Well I got the pc to run in safe mode and saved what I needed.
And then my son brought his PC in and I started using it,
until Windows did their little thing of new updates need to be downloaded/uploaded whatever,
you know those little notifications.
Anyway his PC went through all of them at once and fried the hard drive.

Well to make a long story short. Oops! Too late for that. Sorry...
I have a new laptop. Well my son bought it for me for Christmas 2009.
It's nice and has Windows 7 but I'm cheap and when my trial ran out for MS Works...
And Windows 7 is not compatible with my Yahoo Sitebuider program for my website.
I use this computer for mainly surfing the web. Facebook, twitter, blogging, etc.

I have an old laptop, Not a lot of memory, slow processor, small hard drive,
But it has Microsoft works 2003 And I Type my novels on it.
Oct. 30th...I had just finished my first MS 200+ pages, 96,000+ words and was going to do a read through, so I decided I'd get my lap desk and sit on the couch with my feet, instead here at the dining room table, and my little dog Duggy decided he wanted to play. He got tangled up in my mouse cord and my laptop went flying across the room face down on the floor. He ran off and hid under the dining room table, scared him and on my knees I turned over my laptop and there was a huge section highlighted, my mouse wouldn't work, my eraser wouldn't work and I figured it had froze. OMG! What am I going to do, I had not backed up and saved all that I had written! I finally got another mouse to work and everything was okay.
Did I immediately back up and save? Nope!

I am doing NaNoWriMo and they tell you back up and save often!
I am 30,000+ words into it and get up this morning, turn on the computer, and what do I see,
A black screen with blue words telling me, There is something wrong with my computer!
OMG! Heart attack time!
It says shut it down and restart and if that doesn't work, blah, blah, blah
I didn't take time to read it all, I shut it down and restarted and as soon as it worked...
Yep, you're right, I BACKED UP AND SAVED! Both novels.
Grabbed my little memory stick and Did it right then and there!

Please remember to back up and save!

Twitter, Spam, Passwords

This is a subject that many people don't like to take about. It's like telling people you are depressed or have cancer. It's a stigma, something that many people are embarrassed about when it's really not their fault.

And that subject is, Having your accounts "Hacked into"

I like to help people. I share their links, their blogs, tweet about them and retweet. Well the Day before yesterday, I was helping someone get their blog noticed. I shared their blog on my blog, I tweeted about them and then when I went to share on my one FB pages,(After already sharing on my other fb page)  I had a warning notice pop up saying that this was either a spam or that there was something bad with this link. Thanks, now you tell me after I shared it everywhere


Now, I think my twitter account got hacked into. Sorry....

And the thing with getting your twitter account hacked into is then your followers start getting those messages, you know the ones that say, I found a funny picture of you. Or, Someone has said something bad about you on their blog. I've gotten those messages from other followers when their accounts have been hacked into.And because I have not been able to contact them other than a tweet, or twitter message, they have no idea they have been hacked. Then the only thing you can do is unfollow them and then block them from following you.

It is so sad that people do this kind of thing.
But, just to let you know, I have gone in, changed my twitter name and changed my password.
Also, I don't not send twitter messages, never have and never will, I will respond or reply to ones that have been sent to me, but I never initiate one. So that said, if you ever get one of those messages from me, please let me know via facebook or my email kkrafts58@yahoo.com.

The reason I am talking about this, is that I lost 17 followers within a few hours after sharing that one blog, which by the way has now been deleted off of all my pages.

So remember to change your passwords often and watch what you share with others
And now with that said and my mind finally uncluttered, I can get down to the task of writing!


Happy Monday Everyone!

.

Clutter!

I hate clutter! OMG I think I have an OCD! Well, maybe not that bad, but I do hate clutter.
I believe everything has a place, and everything should be in it's place. If it's not used, get rid of it!
 I do tend to get all jittery and irritated when there are things out of place, or that need to be done.
Take my house. Well not literally, but as an example. When I had some remodeling done, for months every time my niece would come over, she'd tell me that my house always looked like nobody ever lived there. Nothing was ever out of place. No dirty socks, newspapers, etc. And when I posted a pic of my remodeled bathroom, someone commented, "How pristine"

My biggest problem is the people I live with.
Two are pack rats, or hoarders, or whatever you want to call them.
One is the classic, The one with the most toys win, or I might need it someday, or the best one, it might be worth something. Yeah, but only if you sell it :-)
Then there is the collector slob. Who collects everything and is too lazy to take his dishes in the kitchen or throw out his trash. (We keep his door closed, so I don't have a meltdown)

Then there is the one who actually likes his room cleaned. Strips his bed every week, does his laundry, and runs the vacuum in there. Hey I like him!

But really my blog today, is supposed to be  about the clutter in your head.
I can't seem to focus on my writing when my head is cluttered up with what I want to blog about.
 Or tweet about, or even what do I want to post on fb!
I will walk around with mainly a blog post in my head and cannot concentrate on my writing,
 until the blog has been written. And today I have two in my head, so that's it for this one!
And my Q4U is, what clutters up your head and gets in the way of your writing?
 And how do you get rid of all that clutter?


Love to hear your thoughts and solutions!

What do you want to Achieve?

Good morning and Happy Thursday everyone! Hope your day is going well.

I was reading a blog by Lindsay Buroker  http://www.lindsayburoker.com/
And it got me to thinking what do I want to achieve with my writing....
Do I want to get rich from it?
Be able to make a living from it?
Be famous?

I think..."A"  Yes, I would like to see money come in from it. Get rich? Nah...
             "B"   Make a living from it? That would be nice.
             "C"   Be famous?   Nah, I mean if that happens, okay, but not mandatory.

I think what I would like to achieve is to write good books that people will enjoy reading.
Get Published.
And I really, really, want to do at least one book signing!
I have no idea why I find that exciting.
Considering I'm the shy, bashful type, but I do love meeting new people,
 I just get all tongue tied when trying to talk to them,
but I am an excellent listener! :-)

I mean that is why I decided to sit down and put all those words to paper and computer, right?
To get published, so others can see into my world of imagination?
 Otherwise, what is the sense of sitting here, letting my legs go numb and my eyes go all wacky!

I am loving what I'm doing, creating a whole different world for others to read, is exciting and fascinating!

What are your goals? Your hopes? Your dreams? What do you hope to achieve?
 Or what have you achieved already?

Confused yet?

Good morning and Happy Wednesday! Just wanted to clear up a few things about me.

When I tweet I'm http://twitter.com/#!/myuniquebaskets My Unique Baskets

When I write I'm http://www.facebook.com/pages/Different-Corners/282985538382248?ref=ts At Different corners or here!

And when I follow your blog I am usually kkrafts.

I have been thinking I need to get then all together and use one name, maybe "Just me!" or "Uniquely Me!" but thought it would just confuse everyone even more!

I also have two other blogs if you want to see what else I do in this very confusing world!
http://myuniquebaskets.blogspot.com/
http://kkrafts58.blogspot.com/
Have a great day everyone and Happy everything! :-)

Queries!

Aak! Eek! Ugh! Okay now that I've got that out of the way...I want to ask a question...At least I think I wanted to ask a question....Wait, let me think about this. I've got all these questions rolling around in my head.  Stop! Okay had to stop the roulette wheel and pick the one I wanted. Okay here's my question... No wait let me give you a little history first then I'll ask.

I am writing a series of 3 books. I am almost finished with the third. I just need to fill in a couple of gaps, tie it together, and make sure it's flows and keeps you reading. But the thing is I haven't written the first 2 books. They are still in my head. When I first started writing the third book I had no plans on writing the first two, because the third book has enough merit to stand on it's own, is a good read, and has the happily ever after, and yet leaves some questions unanswered, that would make the reader wanting more, which then I could write the first two books. I just feel that if any get published, I want it to be the third.

Okay so here's my question for you....

When sending out my query letter, Do I just query the one book as a stand alone? Or do I need to put in the query, that it could be a series?

Is there a difference in tactics when sending to an agent? Or a publisher?

As to that I mean... Do you tell the publisher that you are querying that it could be a series or not?

Do you tell the agent that it could be a series or not?

Prioritizing My Priorities!

EEK! I make To Do Lists just to help keep me on track. I take a sheet of paper and list everything I want to accomplish that day and love the feeling of crossing things off my list.
Yesterday's list included, but was not limited to:
House cleaning, laundry,workout,sort through paper work and balance checkbook and update facebook, drag out Halloween decorations and while I was doing that, I found my computer speakers that I have been searching months for! Not to mention, Write, Write, Write!

But the hardest part of To Do lists and accomplishing everything is I get my priorities all jumbled up and end up not accomplishing everything I've set out to do, or not getting to the most important ones that really should be a priority!

When it comes to my writing...I am this close to having my novel finished and yet instead of writing yesterday, I started reading back through and did some editing and revising! I also start stressing on how to write a query or a synopsis and who am I going to send them to. Trying to find either a publisher or agent can be time consuming. And yet most authors, agents, writers, etc. tell me just get it written and then worry about the rest. :-) But I am happy to say that this morning I think I found the agent I will send my query to, because she is currently taking queries in my genre! So I am excited and now know what my priority is for the next couple of days! Write, write, write!

Here's wishing everyone a great day and happy writing.

Oh and if you get a chance you can see all the to do things I have been catching up with...
http://www.facebook.com/pages/You-Are-Awesome/233192996701952?ref=ts
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Different-Corners/282985538382248
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1161983753
And don't forget to tweet me!
And I did get out my Halloween Decorations and have started to decorate!

And now I have updated my writer's blog! Woohoo, I'm on a roll!
Now to hook up my speakers and crank up one of my favorite YouTube playlists and WRITE!
http://www.youtube.com/user/myuniquebaskets?feature=mhee