Writing for the Love

Released Today Lance & Ringo Tails: The wild adventures of a dog and a cat as told by their human Paperback : $9.99 Kindle Edition : $3.99 (Prime members borrow for free) It's finally here, and just in time for Christmas shopping! All ten short stories, including Tail Ten, are now available for purchase in one print and e-book collection. Exclusively featured in this collection. To buy your copy, use the links below. Paperback: $9.99 CreateSpace (Available on Amazon soon) e-book: $3.99 Kindle Store (Prime members borrow for free) From Sunny Fader, author of The Cat Who Loved Dogs : “You will love this imaginatively conceived collection featuring a dog and a cat with definite attitude.  A charming, funny read guaranteed to put a smile on the face of anyone who has ever given their heart to a dog or cat.” About the book:   Lance & Ringo Tails is a collection of ten short stories (“tails”) about the wild adventures of a do...

Released Today Lance & Ringo Tails: The wild adventures of a dog and a cat as told by their human Kindle Edition : $3.99 (Prime members borrow for free) It's finally here! All ten short stories, including Tail Ten, are now available for purchase in one collection. Click either cover or the link and you will be directed to Amazon. It makes a great Christmas gift! Click "Give as a Gift" on the purchasing page. All you need is the recipient's email address. Exclusively featured in this collection. From Sunny Fader, author of The Cat Who Loved Dogs : “You will love this imaginatively conceived collection featuring a dog and a cat with definite attitude.  A charming, funny read guaranteed to put a smile on the face of anyone who has ever given their heart to a dog or cat.” About the book:   Lance & Ringo Tails is a collection of ten short stories (“tails”) about the wild adventures of a dog and a cat as told by their human. Lance ...

Now that I've self-published my first e-book, I'm learning quite a bit. In my opinion, the technical side of uploading an e-book is not terribly difficult. A little time-cosuming, yes. I'm exclusively using Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). Perhaps that contributes to the ease of the tech stuff for me. Reading is required, but the instructions are clear and thorough. There are several places on the site to find answers to questions. I found their guide very helpful. I chose KDP in order to enroll  O Brother, What Art Thou? in KDP Select. The program requires the e-book to be available through KDP exclusively for ninety days. Then the e-book can be borrowed for free by Amazon Prime members. I still earn money from each borrow. I really liked that option. There is a catch. My best friend attempted to borrow the book, but she does not have a Kindle device. I assumed a Kindle app would be sufficient because anyone can read a Kindle b...

Please note: Info about the e-book is at the end of this post. I may have mentioned this several times now, but I'll go ahead and repeat myself. One message I have consistently received from the Lord for over a year now is humble thyself. How have I gotten the message? Via his Word, messages at church, worship songs, Bible studies, friends, and even in my prayer times. Not necessarily his audible voice, but the repetition certainly grabs my attention every time. The funny thing about attempting publication as a writer...there's a conflicting message to humility. A writer who wants to be published, and especially one who is already, has to sound their own horn. Or bang their own gong. Or use all the instruments in Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas if they want to get attention for their book. How effective is that in the rest of life? The people I've been around who sing their own praises are often obnoxious, appear to be unaware of their own self-center...

For the upcoming long weekend, I realized that I made NO plans. Hubby works, and I get Monday off for MLK day. Therefore, I am creating a dedicated Writing Weekend. This means no cleaning, no cooking, no laundry, no phone calls, no hanging out, no couch potatoing, and only a little running (if at all). I will make sure the animals get fed. I’m sure hubby will call to make sure I’m eating. I’m very excited about the opportunity. I don’t get many three-day weekends, and we usually use them to visit family or hang out with friends or do house projects. Like most writers with a day job, life is soooo busy. ALL-THE-TIME. Weekends often become dedicated to cleaning, cooking, laundry, and long runs. It’s just dirt, I’m sure I’ll tell myself when Lance comes in from the back yard (which no longer has grass). And it will be there for me to clean up on Tuesday. To set all those things aside, I felt the need to generate some accountability by announcing the plan. Saying it aloud ...

Happy New Year! I don't intend to review 2012. I'm ready to move forward, and focus on the goals for 2013. I will mention what God put on my heart all of last year: humility. The message of being humble resounded almost everywhere I went. I hope to continue to strive for humility this year. The get-a-novel-published goal remains, and will remain, until it happens. I have hopes for trying to get more short stories published. My first paid short story comes out in March. Although it has been some time in coming, I'm glad it's coming up soon. I've also decided to test the self-publishing waters with something completely different. A fellow FWA member has an e-book series (self-pubbed through Smashwords) about zombies in St. Pete. They are comical, somewhat gruesome, and definitely entertaining short stories. Visit http://www.jgerardmichaels.com/  for more info. The e-books are available on Amazon. After seeing how he made his stories available, I go...

If I do nothing, the most predictable thing will happen. Nothing. I can write in my journals, at my computer, create stories and novels all day long. But only when I send them out into the world will anything happen with them. Otherwise, they are just for me. It makes me happy to write, and maybe that is enough. I don't have to have validation through other people to be satisfied about my writing. However, my goal has always been to write books that other people can read. I've got a start. I have two short stories published in FWA collections. I have my first paid short story publication coming out in March 2013. I have two completed novels, and lots of completed short stories. I realize that I have been letting the rejections come in without sending the stories back out as quickly. It's hitting me how behind I am in the submitting process. I believe it takes hard work to be a published writer. Technically, I am a published wr...