Dark CARMA and Good Karma

Want to see what's coming soon?

Check out the button to the side about The Dark CARMA tour. You'll be able to see what kinds of books are coming soon, and even see reviews about these books.

These books soon to be released in November look fascinating. I can't wait to get my hands on them. Some are in the same genre I write, and all are ones I'm interested in reading.

And you can even blog about it and be entered into a chance to win some prizes. Prizes are always good. So go check it out. Either click on the Dark CARMA button to the side or go here.

Well that was fun.

I had a lot of fun participating in the blog hop created by Tristi Pinkston. Check out the link on the side if you want to know more about it.

I also really enjoyed checking out other people's blogs and seeing what others are doing. So many fun things going on.

It got me thinking. I want to do more than just post my random thoughts or even more than just telling you about how things are going with my writing.
I'm going to try some different things to see what works for me and what will stick.
One thing I'm going to do is give book reviews. I've done one or two, but I liked reading other's reviews on their blogs because it gives me a good idea on what would be a good book to read, or what to pass on. So that will be coming.

On a side note, I still want to tell you about how my writing is coming along. I finished my second full manuscript in July just before my baby was born. I've got about 7 friends reading it to give me their feedback on it so I'll know what kinds of things I need to fix before getting it ready to query agents about. In the meantime, I've been doing some prework on a new idea for a new story I have. I must admit it's been a little difficult to let go of the persona of the main character in my just finished work and really get into the mindset of this new character. I think I'm almost there, but it is taking a bit of concentration.

I'll get there eventually. Can't wait to share my characters with you.

A blog hop and chance to win a Free Book.

Welcome to the September Blog Hop! Celebrate the beginning of fall with me and my blogger friends by hopping around, visiting our sites, and entering our contests! There are no limits - you can enter the contest on every blog. With over 40 blogs participating, that's over 40 prizes you could win. Just click on the links below to move on to the next blog.


On my blog, you can win …


An autographed copy of INSIGHT By Terron James see his website here

Would you like to win this prize? You just need to do two things.

1. Be or become a follower of this blog.

2. Leave me a comment in the trail and tell me why you'd like to win this prize.

That's it! You are now entered. The contest ends on Saturday night, September 24th, at midnight MST, and the winner will be contacted shortly thereafter. Please either leave your e-mail address in the comment trail or make sure it's visible through your profile so I can contact you to tell you that you're the lucky winner.

Now go visit my other friends ...


September Blog Hop Participants

1. Tristi Pinkston, LDS Author 2. Joyce DiPastena 3. I Am A Reader, Not A Writer 4. Mandi Slack 5. Michael D. Young 6. Six Mixed Reviews 7. Pam Williams 8. Laurie Lewis 9. Kristy Tate 10. Marilyn Yarbrough 11. Stacy Coles 12. Kristie Ballard 13. Lynn Parsons 14. Pushing Past the Pounds 15. Sheila Staley 16. cindy Hogan

17. Jamie Thompson 18. Jaclyn Weist 19. Cathy Witbeck 20. Secret Sisters Mysteries 21. Tamera Westhoff 22. Tina Scott 23. Lynnea Mortensen 24. Danyelle Ferguson aka Queen of the Clan 25. Jeanette A. Fratto 26. Bonnie Harris 27. Melissa Lemon 28. Mary Ann Dennis 29. Stephanie Black 30. Jane Still 31. Janice 32. Laura Bastian

33. Tamara Bordon 34. Betsy Love 35. Maria Hoagland 36. Amber Robertson 37. Debbie Davis 38. 39. Christy Monson 40. Carolyn Frank 41. Rebecca Birkin 42. Melissa Cunningham 43. Emily L. Moir 44. Ronda Hinrichsen 45. Lisa Asanuma 46. Joan Sowards 47. Jordan McCollum 48. Diane Stringam Tolley

Learn more about September Blog Hop here.
Get The Code

Powered by... Mister Linky's Magical Widgets.

This is a test

THIS IS A TEST

I'm trying to see if I can set something to post on my blog at a particular time so I can write something when I have a minute, but let the computer do the posting at a particular time.

Won't that be fun.

Learning all kinds of new things for blogging.

What kinds of tricks do you know about blogs?

A book review of Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book captivated me from the beginning. The only thing I didn't like about this book was that it ended too soon, and now I have to wait for the sequel to see what happens next. The story was fun and imaginative, the characters were real to me, and though they were based on Greek mythology, I found myself believing it all.

View all my reviews

Managing the time I have.

Now that kids are back in school, and the baby is getting on a routine of sorts, I figured I needed to get myself into a routine as well.

Being a stay at home mom, and attempting to write novels makes for an interesting life. I still have to maintain my home, (though some days I do better than others) and I have to take care of my children, providing for their physical, emotional, and spiritual welfare. Yet to be a writer, they tell you to read lots (Something I'm very willing to do) and you need to be consistent in the time you write, (writing every day for some people) But with only so many hours in the day, and many of those occupied by a newborn that doesn't care if I want to spend some time writing since the muse is with me, it gets kind of hard to get much writing done.

I've decided that I need to come up with some realistic goals. As I've thought of them, I've come to some realizations:

#1. Remember that writing is fun and could be something important to me, but my family needs to come first.

#2. Realize that the house needs to be clean enough to live in, but I don't have to pass a white glove exam, and if anyone thinks I need to then shame on them.

#3. Even though writing isn't the MOST important thing, it is still important to have some ME time, and if writing makes me happiest, then the dishes can sit in the sink for a while.

#4. Facebook, and Email are helpful and useful to a writer,(and a mom starved for adult interaction), but they sure are time suckers.

#5. The goal of writing at least 500 words is easily doable even if I only have 30 minutes to spare so shut off FB and Email.

#6. Keep in touch with other writers who are in the same boat, and try to rub shoulders with those who have survived and conquered.

#7. Blogging about the journey is fun and should be done at least weekly.

So after all those realizations, here are my goals:

*spend at least 30 min a day writing, and do lots more if I have the time for it.

*spend at least 30 min a day tidying up, and make the kids do the rest. ;)

*spend at least 30 min a day checking Email and FB, but after that, leave them alone for at least six hours, then you can recheck it. (you know what I'm thinking, you have to go back and see if anyone "liked" your post, or if they've left you a comment)

*read at least 1 book a week to keep up with what is out there, and see how others did it.

So to you out there, how do you organize your time to get it all done?

I got a blogging award.

Passing friendship to others...

A friend of mine, Scott Bryan gave me this award and now I want to share it.

The Liebster Blog award! "Liebster, for those of you who are not Nightcrawler or cannot speak German, means "friend" and is aimed at those who have fewer than 200 followers.

Right now I have less than 200, but some day I'll have more.

At any rate, here are the rules...

- Link back to the person who gave you the award.
Check out his blog here.

- Pick five other people to give the award to and notify them on their blog.

- Post the award on your blog.

- Bask in the camaraderie of the most supportive people on the internet—other writers.

- And best of all—have bloggity fun and spread the love.

It will also be fun to follow the blogs back and join more than the other winners blogs who accompany yours.

The winners are...

Betsy Love an LDS author who is my online writing buddy.

Shanna Blythe another writer and teacher I met online

Stephanie Milner a friend of mine who likes to share her thoughts on movies and shows. She's got another blog for her writing so if you want to see it check her out.

Tamara Bordon This is a cousin of mine who writes, but also has a food blog and the dishes look delish.

Sprintwriters Central. (this one is kind of a bonus. There are many writers with blogs to link to on this site and you'll love the features here.) It's where I go to be online while I write and get support from others.

GO CHECK OUT THESE BLOGS AND FOLLOW THEM.

Pass on the love and lets see how many followers we can help others get.

Laura