January and February are, with the exception of my eldest‘s birthday and Valentine‘s Day, a boring time of year for me. Looking out at day after cold gray day gives me cabin fever as I wonder how long before it will be warm outside. I notice that people’s enthusiasm has waned for the resolutions they started out the year with. That’s one reason I no longer do New Year’s resolutions. The word ‘goals’ is so much more encouraging.

One of my goals for 2012 is to refresh myself by going on what Julia Cameron calls ‘Artist Dates’, short excursions once a week to do or see something that is just for you. The nice thing is that you don’t have to be an artist to try one. The operative words are fun and scheduled. At the beginning of January, I thought of a few things to try:

-Go to a movie with a friend. (You can go alone too, if you like. I just prefer company.)
-Browse at a new shop my daughter told me about.
-Attend a free lecture on tea.
-Visit a touring historical costume exhibit at a local museum.

So far, I’ve done all but the costume exhibit, and that’s coming up next week.

Some of you are thinking ‘there is no way you could drag me to any of those things’. Some are thinking ‘where am I supposed to find a spare hour with my schedule?’. And some are thinking ‘how much does all this cost??’.

All valid points. The thing is, keep an eye out something you’d like to try. A notice for the tea lecture caught my eye on a trip to the library. Craft stores offer short classes on things like cake decorating, knitting or sewing. Hardware stores might have a workshop on decorative paint techniques. Sometimes the classes are free, in hopes of luring future customers. You crave greenery? Is there a nursery (or even a plant section in that hardware store) you can visit to get a whiff of spring?

Libraries are great places for free ‘dates’. I have two excursions planned to my nearby branch in February. On one, I am going to sit in the reading area and enjoy some magazines that I haven’t read before. Another day, I plan look for books to borrow on subjects that interest me and are unrelated to my WIP. A new tea shop opened recently, so I’ll visit it sometime in February, along with a notebook and pen. I’ll sip a brew I haven’t tried before, (under $5) and brainstorm new characters and plots — for me the most playful part of writing. Another week, I plan to visit one of my absolute favorite shops, a place I call the New Age Hippie Crap store. It has scented candles, silver jewelry and a surprisingly wide selection of used books. I’ll probably buy some wonderful-smelling oil and may find a book by one of my favorite authors as well. Counting travel time, I’ll only need 5.5 hours out of the month to accomplish all that.

Did you notice that I planned and scheduled these outings? It sounds silly, but it works. When you write something down in your calendar, there’s a lot less chance you’ll decide not to go after all. Plus you have the pleasure of anticipating a treat. You have to work through lunch today? Ick, but your planner might remind you that tomorrow you’re going to eat at that little café on the corner that’s intrigued you forever, but that you haven’t made time to try before. Just seeing the words will give your pulse a little bounce.

Right this minute, if you could take an hour to do anything you wanted to that’s fun or new, what would it be?

If you’re a writer, you probably know about TSTL.  If you’re a romance writer, you have to know about TSTL.  If you’re an agent or an editor, not only do you know what this is, it drives you insane.  And for all you confused readers out there, TSTL is the “too stupid to live” character we come across from time to time.  Sometimes we love them, sometimes we hate them, and sometimes we hate to love them.  The TSTL character will fumble for her car keys, then drop them in a mud puddle as the bad guy races toward her with a butcher knife.  The exasperating TSTL character may hear an omnious bump in the night, and instead of dialing 9-1-1, go investigate with a puny candlestick, knowing a murdering rapist has been striking the neighborhood.  Another example is when little Miss TSTL runs in the wrong direction, usually toward the brain eating zombies, not once or twice but every time. 

The male TSTL counterpart can be just as pathetic.  Yep, there IS a male TSTL counterpart.  He is too blind to recognize love, too stubborn to admit he’s wrong, too arrogant to listen to anyone else.  He is the idiot who keeps pushing away the perfect girl because he just can’t believe he deserves her.  The TSTL male character will sacrafice love because he lives a dangerous life.  Oh, please!

When done right, we don’t even recognize the TSTL character is too stupid to live.  It’s all about being believable and not over the top.

Finally, there is the TSTL plot.  Time traveling alien zombies.  Need I say more?

Do you find TSTL characters exasperating or fun to read?  I’d love to know!

~Tiffany

New Year's Resolutions date far into the past. Janus, an ancient Roman god, was placed at the head of the Julius calendar, what we know as the 365-day calendar which was rearranged around 46 BCE by Julius Caesar to better reflect the seasons. Janus was always depicted with two faces -- one facing front, the other facing backward. This is symbolic, meaning reflection of the past at the same time as embracing the future. Hence why the New Year is typically marked with reflection of the past year and a goal is set to make the coming year better.

Last year, I carried on the proud tradition of failing my New Year's Resolution miserably. Although, to be honest, I might have set a goal slightly too high for myself. This year, I have divided my goals into two parts.

On a personal front, this coming year I will learn how to knit. I've already bought the wool and needles, and have been shown. All I need to do is find the time to practice and get good at it.

My goal on a professional front will be a little different this year. A little more achievable.

As you may know, I write in several different genres, all of which are now published -- romance and fantasy under the name L.K. Below, young adult under the name Lindsay Below. My writing goal for the coming year is to:

Complete and submit one project in each: romance, fantasy/sci-fi, and young adult. No, a romantic sci-fi for young adults does not count (lol). At least one of these three projects must be a full-length novel. At least one of these three projects must be one of the many books I have started but not yet finished.

I would also like to complete the worldbuilding for two of the major series I have planned. Writing the books is a completely different story since they each will contain over a dozen books, but one step at a time. Maybe I'll write the first book in one of these series as part of the above, who knows? :)

This year, I kicked off the new year by being awoken at 4:00 AM by a fantastic new idea. If that's any symbol of the year to come, I'd say it bodes well!

What are your New Year's Resolutions?

L.K. Below

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Things have been hectic at my house since October. Early in the month, we had laminate floors installed in our entire house. Dust was everywhere. It still is. The week after they were finished, we went on vacation and drove the final stretch of Route 66 from Gallup, NM to the Santa Monica Pier in California.

In November I embarked on a 26 day blog tour to promote my two new releases–A Marshal of Her Own and Born in Ice. It was loads of fun but kept me glued to my computer for almost a month. Then of course, the holidays arrived and my focus was on family.

January 3, 2012 we started renovations on our kitchen–new granite countertops, sinks, faucet, and a new range. It’s beautiful but guess what, the job added more dust to the dust I’d been fighting for two months. Oh the joys of  upgrading your home.

Now I’m involved in two blog tours. Currently thirteen authors are participating in the Amazing Author’s Event and giving away ebooks. Take a look at Ginger Simpson’s blog for the schedule. Starting February 6th I’ll be taking part in Romancing the West Cupid Party. Six authors are involved and we’ll be giving away a Kindle with 6 books downloaded and in addition 6 individuals will win ebooks.

Due to all this activity, I’ve gotten little writing done. My goal for January is to finish my wip and begin something new. How about you? What are you goals for 2012.

Happy Reading and Writing!

Linda

http://www.lindalaroque.com         www.lindalaroque.com

I was recently asked if I would speak at a local high school for a career day coming up next month.  Since I have a niece and nephew who go there, and I love to talk about writing, I accepted. I was told that my three, twenty minute talks should strongly encourage students to go to college—explain what classes would be beneficial to one who is pursuing a writing career, that sort of thing.

So, as I’ve been thinking about what awe inspiring words I’m going to share that day, I began to fall back on the basic, universal elements I believe are crucial to achieving the success you envision for yourself in writing, or whatever career you choose. So, if you aren’t interested in writing, that’s okay, substitute and please read on.

To me, pursuing a career goes deeper than just taking the right college classes. Sure, I’m a big supporter of college. In today’s world I believe a college education is a must. But I also believe there are a few other prerequisites you need in order to select your path, whether as a writer, doctor, professional bull rider, a small business owner, a scientist, or a concert pianist, etc. We all need these basic elements to land us on square one and move us forward.

They are:

Desire

You’ve got to “want” to write. You’ve got to “want” to study medicine. You’ve got to “want” to play the piano. If you don’t, you probably won’t be very successful, and in the meantime will live a life in hell because you’re so miserable doing it. Don’t do that to yourself. Life is too short.  Choosing the right career is about what you want, not what others want for you, or what you feel is expected of you by family and friends. And it’s not just about where you can make the big bucks. Remember, money isn’t’ everything. Yes, it helps in many ways, but it’s not everything. Choosing the right career is about you being happy, living a fulfilling life, and paying it forward.

Discipline

Okay, no bones about it. You’re going to have to work your butt off. Regardless of what you’re doing, you’re going to have to put in long hours, work or study when you’d rather be veg’ing on the couch, slumming with your buddies, or sleeping. This is one concept I struggle with on a daily basis. I work from home, I’m my own boss. I’m accountable to no one but me. Therefore, all the work, whether on the creative or business side, all the pressure, all the responsibilities that come along with my career, fall on me to get the job done. If I don’t sit down at the computer to write, the words don’t get written, the book doesn’t get finished—which means there’s no book to sell—and I don’t get a paycheck.

Determination

I’m not going to sugar coat it for you. There will be days when you don’t feel like doing the job. There will be times when people try to knock you down. There will be days when you receive yet another rejection slip that you, with a mixture of frustration and anger, add to that dreaded file which is growing at a faster rate than The Blob of movie fame. But so what! Shrug it all off. Your determination to be a success will get you through. It bears repeating—if you’re determined to make it in your chosen profession you will succeed regardless of the hard knocks and setbacks you face. That success might not come over night, in fact it might take years, but if you welcome patience into your home to work alongside your determination, it’ll prove to be one of the best friends you ever have.

Faith

In spite of all the setbacks, adversity, and times you question your chosen path, you must keep the faith in yourself. Be your own biggest cheerleader. You can do this. You are talented. You are knowledgeable. You are a hard worker. And remember, you have the three D’s in your corner. You have the Desire, the Discipline and Determination to make this work. And Patience is your friend. Treat it well, keep site of those three D’s that got you here in the first place and Faith will sustain you!

As a treat to readers, I’m offering WOMAN IN CHARGE free today only on Amazon. Happy reading, and good luck with your chosen career!

Sherry James

Every so often a reader will ask, “How did you decide to write about the 50’s? Where do you get the slang, the ambiance, and the color?” Much as I hate to admit it (and my age), I confess that I’m bone lazy so I take a route that doesn’t require tons of research. I just open my high school annuals or take a peek back into the diaries I kept way back in the day. I was a teenager in the 50’s—the very late 50’s, of course. I wore a pink poodle skirt with a gold chain leash for the prancing poodle that decorated it. I had a swinging ponytail that came almost to my waist. And when I was seventeen or so, I was madly in love with a guy who wore a black leather jacket with an eagle on the back. He didn’t have a motorcycle—it was a Triumph TR3, English racing green with white seats. And I suspect I may have been more in love with the TR3 than the fellow who drove it. At any rate when he sold the Triumph and bought a conservative sedan, I gave him his ring back.

That TR3 may have been my first four-wheeled love, but it was nowhere near my last. The next was my own golden steed, a 1959 Cadillac, pale yellow with a buckskin interior. I thought I was pretty cool tearing down the back roads of Texas in my leopard coat, long hair flying and radio blasting Elvis, Jerry Lee, Fats Domino, and their peers. And there followed a slew of low-slung, fast-moving chariots, including the date-mobile, that turquoise 1957 Chevy, that was a featured player in a half dozen teen romances. Seemed like every girl I knew had her first kiss or suffered her first broken heart in that fabled ‘sports sedan’ or one just like it.

I suppose, given my mis-spent youth and the great memories I have of the period, it’s just logical that I would revisit the times in my books. In a few days the fourth book of my Santa Rita Series, HALF PAST MOURNING, will be released. There’s a love story, of course. Peter and Nina face some sharp turns on their road to romance. And there’s a mystery: What did happen to Danny Wilson when he walked out of his own wedding reception and vanished? In addition, the sleek sedans and classy convertibles of the time—a 1955 T-Bird, an antique Isotta-Fraschini, a wood-sided station wagon, and a historic car museum—decorate the scene. I had so much fun playing with the cars, finding just the right details, and planning the vintage-car road rally, that Peter and Nina were afraid I’d forget to tell their story. Don’t worry; they made every scene exciting and memorable for me. I hope readers have as much fun with the reading as the author had with the writing.

Is there a special icon or social element that brings back an early love or special moment in your life? Though ’57 Chevys and ’59 Cadillacs are rare on the road today, once in a while I see one and I’m taken right back to those days of hep cats, hot rods, and party dolls. If there is something that transports you back somewhere in time, would you share it? I’d love to hear about your timeless token.

I’m adding a scene from HALF PAST MOURNING up in the ‘Excerpt’ section. Take a look and see what Nina is facing as she tries to make sense of a life turned wrong side out. Happy reading, and if you’re in the neighborhood of Santa Rita, drop by. We’re never very far away—just over Memory River and down the road from Remember When.

Fleeta Cunningham
www.fleetacunningham.com
Santa Rita Series
DON’T CALL ME DARLIN’
BLACK RAIN RISING
ELOPEMENT FOR ONE
HALF PAST MOURNING (release date 2/3/12)

Okay, did anyone else catch that bus? Because it left with a cloud of dust. That was 2011 saying sayonara, baby. And let me tell you, I will not miss it. Don’t get me wrong, I had a fabulous year. Contracts, an outstanding conference I attended, a booksigning with a close friend, and oodles of good things.

But 2011 wasn’t short on bad, either. If you noticed, I’ve been MIA, with cause. In 2011, Texas was hit with one of the dryest and worst fire seasons in our state’s history. (Heck, we’re so dry, we make the Sahara look good.) September saw weeks of this, so much so that we made national news. Sadly, my family, parents and one brother whom all still live in the area, were one of the homes lost to the Labor Day fires. My other brother and sis-in-law were blocked from working or maintaining their restaurant for more than two weeks. Major financial losses there. (Thankfully, they were out of the range of the fires.) For almost a month, I was immersed in all of that. On the heels of September, we had a personal family crisis. We’re okay, but I’m sure you’re beginning to see a trend here.

And then WHAM! The HOLIDAYS!! Eeeep!!

Hey, would you look at that? I can still produce coherent sentences, words strung together and they’re not babbling. So what am I doing now?

I am putting 2011 behind me, and looking toward 2012. I have releases already on the roster, books in the works, and more planned or being tossed around (Even I know that means they’ll be written. My muse loves to overwork me). I am not short of things to keep me busy. I plan on keeping one foot going in front of the other. If it’s not a running start out of the gate, that’s okay.

I am definitely starting this year out with a bang. On the heels of 2011, 2012 looks very promising.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Diana

Hi all,
I know I’m late in getting my entry posted today, but I wanted to stop in to say “hi”. 2011 was a tough year for me. I think it was a year of hibernation – I focused on my health. I want 2012 to be different. My goals for this year revolve around returning to my writing. I hope to find the strength and energy to get one or more books published this year.

Sometimes, I worry about regaining my health but I think my trip to visit a friend in California last week helped me. I was slower than I’d been just a few months ago, but I still managed to do quite a bit of walking around San Francisco. My friend and I also took a trip to Monterey. The crashing waves were inspirational. As exhausted as I am tonight, I am still so glad I went. I had a great time and it was so nice to share the holidays with someone who has known me since I was four years old.

I’m going to keep my post short tonight. So, how were your holidays? Do you have many goals for the upcoming year?

Let’s get on with this countdown!!!!

DAY 1!!!

I was researching something that would say Christmas and still fit with my book HOME set in fall 1967. My hero was a medic who’d been sent home early to a town that treated him with the crude stigmatism so many Vietnam veterans did then, and still do today, live with. I found this passage from a veteran during the war (1965- @ the time Sam Callahan enlisted)and thought how it fit my hero, Sam Callahan in so many ways. It is worth sharing here with the link in case anyone wants to read more.

X-MAS 1965, GETTING OUT OF “SYNC”

by N.A. DOC BLAND

Some of this is kinda fuzzy, but I am sure that I spent X-mas day of ’65 flying

TWA to RVN.

Dec. 21:    Leave Evansville, In……. Dad, mom, & and girl I had met while home

on leave, and spent two days and a real unforgettable night with.  She give me a real

nice letter to read right before I boarded plane, turned out to be a “Dear John” letter.

Only the second time I ever saw my dad with “tears” in his eyes,  remember wondering

“why.”  My dad had served in South Pacific during WW 2, with Marine Corps.  After I

was in country about 3 mins I knew “why.”

Had stop and change of planes in St. Louis, Mo.  Next stop San Francisco.

Checked in Oakland Repo-Depo, think I spent a day or two here.  Don’t remember anything except they made sure we had on Class A’s summer uniform on and gave “strict instructions” that we keep them on until we arrived in RVN.

Think we left from Oakland in daytime.  On TWA.

Stopped at Seattle, Washington…. had to get off plane while they refueled.  A

few of us got together and went to Booze store for a larger group.  Had to run about

a mile in cold and snow on ground in short sleeves to store, as I remember we had to

go there because the airport was not allowed to sell booze by the Bottle.

When we got there the line was real long standing outside.  We started at back and

asked folks if we could get in front of them, telling them we were on our way to Viet-Nam

and had to be back on plane in about 30 min-utes or so.  Everyone was so nice and let us

go ahead of them, one guy even pitched in a few bucks, had one ass-hole that didn’t want

to let us ahead of him about halfway through the line.

Some real big “logger” looking guy that was a few spots ahead, overheard this ass-hole,

come back and grabbed him by his shirt collar and took him off to the side for a little

“talk”, someone at the front said right away “you guys hurry up and get right up front of

me,” wonder what the “logger” said to the ass-hole?

Seems like it got dark real fast while here.  Everyone got a arm load of booze,

think store manager even give us a few free bottles.  So anyway we got back to

plane with 3 minutes to spare. Next stop Anchorage, Alaska, Dec 24th, bright sunlight but real cold, had to get off for some reason (fuel?). All I remember is everyone was making comments about the cold and having short sleeve shirts on. Don’t seem like hardly any time at all went by and it was dark again.

Do remember that the pilot announced that we would cross international

dateline soon and that X-Mas Day would only be 7 hours and some

minutes long.  Can remember one of the stewardesses took our booze and

fixed everyone up to three drinks, started serving them when we crossed

that dateline, and it was X-Mas. Think most every one only had one or two drinks, and I remember it got real quite

and stayed that way until we got ready to land in Toyko, by then it was the 26th.

Remember looking at Cameras there.

Next Stop:    “Viet-Nam.”

Hard to believe that I was under serious consideration for CMH while there, yet

found myself in Jail for “vagrancy” X-Mas of 67.

PS:   Sitting here with tears in my eyes thinking and wondering about the “guys”

I shared that plane ride with, would I recognize any of them, doubt it.  Never saw

any of them before or after that X-Mas ride.  God it hurts to think about how

young and innocent we were, and knowing a bunch of them didn’t get to come

home sitting up in a seat, like I was lucky enough to do.

I sit here in this “lab” and see the kids, and think to my-self, “was I really that

young, how the hell did I survive it?” Will X-Mas ever be that “special” again for me, are the “best” of times over for this old medic?

One last personal note, if could share one thing with folks about X-Mas season

and giving I would say “Give of your self, the ‘stuff’ passes out of our lives for

the most part, Warm Memories Stay for a life-time.”

That stewardess warmed my heart so much that when I came back and was on a

flight headed to Kentucky to see my folks, I gave the “stewardess” one of two

“yard” bracelets that had been given to me by a couple of real “special” yards.  If

you really want to do something special for X-Mas, if you see someone with that

scary, lost, pained where-am-I look in their eyes, try to just give them a warm

compassionate smile.  You never know–that “smile” just might save their life. http://www.vietvet.org/xmastime.htm

Wow. I think this still holds true to this day for our soldiers serving today.

And now a little about my novella, HOME, from The Wild Rose Press.

TAG: What could a gypsy and a Vietnam veteran have in common?

EXCERPT-

“I’ll always want you, Poppy.”

Her head shook in automatic denial. “You’ll want a girl who fits your life. Not some gypsy with no family lineage to brag about. Your momma won’t accept that, either. She’ll make you choose someone like Connie, someone who fits into your world. Not the girl everyone avoids and whispers about behind her back. You’re gonna be the town’s doctor. You need an uppity wife who will make you proud.”

When Sam laughed, his chest shuddered against her back. Deep, husky, real. He turned her in his arms and looked down at her, smiling. “Poppy, do you honestly think I give a damn what people think? Look at me! I’m the town outcast, the survivor who should have died saving the others, not be here planning a future that includes a wife, a medical practice. “I shimmy under park benches, run from my mother’s lipstick, for God’s sake. I wake up screaming and crying over nothing in the middle of the night, crawl under my bed and hide, shaking,

until morning. Hell, I can’t even be a doctor because I haven’t finished school yet.”

“I didn’t know. It must be awful for you.” No matter how it hurt Poppy to know he used her, it felt much worse to know how he hurt alone. “The only time it isn’t awful is when I’m with you. When I think of you.”

********************************

Get your copy of HOME at The Wild Rose Press and on Amazon.

Small-town country girl Calisa Rhose lives in a semi-remote area of Oklahoma with her husband, five dogs and one horse. All of her three daughters and their families live within throwing distance. She’s a member of RWA and the local chapter OKRWA. She intends to nurture and continue to grow as an author with the help of her family and supporters.

Find Calisa at her website/blog http://calisarhose.wordpress.com

On twitter @Calisa_Rhose and Facebook @Calisa Rhose

She loves to hear from readers so drop her a line at calisa.rhose@gmail.com

The day following the New Years Day party on my blog (that’s TOMORROW!!!) I will be giving away the first copy of HOME to one lucky commenter! Don’t forget to leave your EMAIL ADDRESS in your comment! Be sure to come to my BIG SALE PARTY on my on January 1, 2012! The more you comment this week, the greater your chance to win! You can find the full tour schedule on my website at the link above, or you can go directly from here for the release week party schedule http://calisarhose.wordpress.com/2011/12/26/home-for-love/

Thank you for hosting me at Authors By Moonlight!

Hi, everyone! Hope you all had the kind of Christmas and New Year’s you wanted (and needed). It’s funny the older I get the more important holidays and traditions are. I’m so pleased to be invited to blog again for Authors by Moonlight, my absolute favorite blog site!

Since my last book, “Letters From AL” was released in April of 2011 I have finished another, a Texas Cowgirl story entitled, “A Perfect Fit”. It was half-finished when “Letters From AL” came out and so I didn’t get a lot of time to work on it. It’s funny how writing ebbs and flows, if not by success, by life. Family and other things can intrude and interrupt, and it’s not always easy to get on track again. I was very pleased with “A Perfect Fit”. Sandy is a grade school teacher by fall and a wrangler on a dude ranch by summer. She needs both jobs to help her father who’s been crippled by a fall. He gets by doing leather work for cowboys on their little ranch where Sandy grew up. Working at the Rock R ranch is bittersweet, her high school sweetheart lived across the meadow and they made plans to work the ranches together as well as rodeo together after graduation.

As plans do, they changed w/the times and she was crushed when Jesse went on to college and deserted both her and his father’s ranch. He never did get along with his father. She tried to understand but it wasn’t even that he broke up with her, it was the way he did it. Life went on, she put herself through college and became a teacher. Life intervened again just when she thought she’d gotten over her heartbreak. Jesse comes back to the Rocking R when his father has a heart attack. This time, Sandy is ready for him, or is she? Can she make her heart settle down when she sees him? How can she can work at his father’s ranch with him there, so near and yet so far. How can she ever forgive him, and does she even want to?

The cast of characters that support Sandy and Jesse are as colorful and fun to read about as the brilliant Texas sunsets that calm Sandy’s heart. The problems are similar to many young lovers but can time and distance be set to right when they’ve both met others. Can they forgive each other? Is there really “A Perfect Fit” to this story? Be on the lookout for “A Perfect Fit” and find out.

Several of my best gifts this Christmas were a new novel and a blank journal. I’ve journaled for years, sometimes taking breaks in between but I love to go back over them occasionally and see how I was thinking and feeling then. My books are my friends and so you see, I’m never lonely as long as I have a book nearby. Be sure and check out the new releases from the writers of Authors by Moonlight.

You’ll never be lonely either! Hope to hear from you soon. Have a happy new year! Kathleen Pieper