This I know for sure...

I seem to get more done when my manager is out of the office.  Doesn't seem like it makes sense, does it?  One would think if the boss is gone, then less work would get done.  I admit the atmosphere is a little more relaxed, but not much because it's a very casual office to start with. (I can wear jeans to work every day.) I think I get more done when he's out of the office because I'm not getting the constant interruptions from him giving me something else to do that "needs to be done today" even though he's known about it or had it on his desk for a month or more and now the deadline is looming or worse, already past.

Please Welcome My Guest...

Please welcome my guest, Romance Author Mariah Lynne.

Tell us something about yourself both writing and not writing related.

I love where I live. Island life provides great settings and many interesting characters.

I have through my past business always supported island charities and causes. I am a member of our local marine environment protection foundation and served as a board member of a county no-kill animal shelter. I love animals, birds, mammals, and sea life.

I have a ten- year- old shelter adoptee Max who can perform magic tricks and hear dolphin sounds under the water before they surface. When he was a puppy we were standing near the seawall when a large dolphin stuck his nose way out of the water near us and let Max lean in to touch him. I wish I had my camera with me but that picture is imbedded deeply in my mind. I love to travel whenever I can and was honored beyond belief to serve as Grand Marshall in 2011 for our island Shrimp Festival parade

I'm jealous, especially now when the high temperature at my house today is supposed to be 37 degrees. Do you have a writing routine? Where do you usually do your writing?

Since I’m still working part time, writing routines are hard to establish and follow. I do try very hard to write first thing in the morning. I know I should do that every day and but life seems to interfere. I write at a small desk in my family room next to patio doors that provide me with a view of a tropical lagoon. It’s inspiring watching the dolphin, birds and manatees.

I work full time so I can definitely sympathize with trying to establish and follow a daily writing routine. Why do you write in the genre/sub-genre that you do? Any plans in the future to write a different one?

I write romance because I like to read stories and watch movies (like “Sleepless in Seattle”) with happy endings. I guess I’m a romantic at heart but do enjoy a good mystery as well. Psychics have always been of interest to me. I had a couple as customers who seemed really sincere in strong desire to help people. I also had an animal communicator who drove Max nuts.  (Yes the dog came to work with me!)

Joining The Southwest Florida Chapter of Romance Writers of America has been a wonderful, encouraging as well as a learning experience. I encourage all writers to look into their local professional chapters. A future project that I am working on slowly is a cozy island mystery with a touch of romance.

How do you stay motivated when writer’s block hits or your muse won’t cooperate?

When my muse doesn’t cooperate, I step away from my work and literally forget about it. Then, I’ll be driving or doing a household chore totally unrelated and an idea about how to start a story or continue the plot will burst into my mind. Of course I run for a pen and pad before I forget what just happened.

I  always get my best solutions to manuscript problems that way too. What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever done in the name of research?

I will be taking a concealed weapons course with two other writers to see how we can incorporate what we will learn into our future stories. Research doesn’t always appear as such. Travel to English royal homes, ancient sites like the pyramids, and romantic cites can serve as research after the fact.

A concealed weapons course sounds interesting. What’s the best writing advice you were ever given?

The best writing advice is to never give up, never get discouraged, and to constantly learn how to improve your craft. 

That's good advice for everyone. What do like to do in your leisure time?

I have very little leisure time but I love to swim, read, go to the movies, and on the boat. I love to travel and experience first-hand new cultures, relive history and witness the sights I’d read about in travel books and magazines

Tell us about your current release in a couple of sentences.

THE LOVE GYPSY recounts the romantic dilemma of beautiful Florida homicide detective Brianna Breeze who can’t seem to catch a man unless she handcuffs him! So her best friend decides to take matters into her own hands and tricks Brianna into seeing the Love Gypsy, a time traveler’s friend noted for her extraordinary matchmaking skills.

When a tall, muscular man wearing jeans, a black leather jacket and slicked back 50’s hair bursts in on her first visit, Brianna is bewitched. Despite the gypsy’s warning not to get involved with him, Brianna can’t get him out of her mind – even though she more than anyone knows the pitfalls of romancing a stranger.

A present day murder, a mysterious vintage car registered in the past, and a smoking gun complicate the puzzle. Brianna doesn’t know if her lover from the past is a murderer, or a savior, but she’s willing to risk time travel to find out.

 

Sounds fascinating. Can you tell us a little about your next project?

My next project is about an English duchess from the past who seeks The Love Gypsy’s aid in solving a problem brought to the present by a scoundrel of an ex-lover. During her visit, she meets the love of her life.

Sounds great!  Thank you for letting me interview you today.  

Well, dear readers, if you want to learn more about Mariah Lynne or buy your own copy of THE LOVE GYPSY, check out the links below.

Buy Link: http://www.thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=177_139&products_id=4917

Website: MariahLynne.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mariah-Lynne/295721153858612

Getting Organized

In the past, I've always just written down my goals in a one sentence format but found it hard to keep myself on track. Last year was the first year I broke them down into smaller pieces, so to speak, and found it easier to make progress.  Since I'm a big believer in the adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," I'm going to follow the same model this year. 

I wrote on Friday about setting goals for this year.  Right now those goals are broad one sentence statements. I need to break them down into mini goals so I stay on track.  I'm going to set quarterly, monthly, and weekly goals so I can track my progress toward that big main goal.  I find by doing this I have a sense of accomplishment as I check off those smaller milestones. 

This week, I'm going to get myself organized, set those smaller goals, mark them on the calendar, and try out a few time management tips I've heard, read, or found.  Some days, it seems I don't have enough time in the day to get everything I want to, or need to, get done after I'm done at the day job so I'm hoping those time management tips will help at least a little.

How about you?  Do you set broad, overarching goals or smaller goals to meet throughout the year?  Also please feel free to share any time management tips you use that work for you.

This I know for sure...

It's very easy to make New Year's resolutions or to set goals at the beginning of a new year.  As we all know, it's very, very hard to keep them or meet them.  There have been numerous blogs about how people often fail at meeting goals or New Year's resolutions in recent days, enough really to discourage one right from the start.

I haven't made any New Year's resolutions the last couple of years because I never managed to keep them for more than 3 or 4 months.  All those good intentions on January 1st dwindled and died.  Instead, last year I made  a list of goals that I wanted to accomplish by the end of 2012.  How did I do?  Not too bad over all. I meet my writing goals, and two of my personal goals.  Since I did better at meeting those goals than I ever did keeping my New Year's resolutions, I've decided to set goals for 2013.  

Please Welcome My Guest...

Please welcome my guest, Historical Romance Author, Alison Henderson. She's written a great post about writing novellas, or as we writers call it, writing short. 

Short, Sweet, and Unexpected

Hi, Katherine and friends! Thank you for inviting me to visit today to talk about my new novella, The Treasure of Como Bluff. After three full-length novels, this was my first attempt at writing something shorter, and I have to admit the structure gave me fits almost until the last chapter.

The Treasure of Como Bluff is a part of the new Love Letters line from The Wild Rose Press. I’d never considered attempting to write a novella until I read the editor’s call for 20-25K word historical stories in which the action is precipitated by a letter—a love letter, a Dear John letter, a letter about an inheritance—any kind of letter. The premise intrigued me, and the kernel of an idea began to germinate in my imagination.

I’d had the image of a female paleontologist finding an unconscious man at her dig site in my mind for a long time; I just didn’t have a story to go with it. This premise made me wonder, what if she found a letter in his pocket? It was the perfect jump start for what turned out to be a lighthearted, funny story set during the Bone Wars in Wyoming in 1879. How’s that for unexpected?

My two previous published novels were essentially serious stories set in a serious time—America right after the Civil War. Like the rest of the country, my heroes and heroines had suffered deprivation and heartache and struggled to create new lives out of the ashes of their old ones. The Treasure of Como Bluff gave me an opportunity to do something completely different.

When I originally wrote my post-Civil War novels twenty years ago, I must have been a much more serious person. They are both poignant stories about overcoming hardship. The Treasure of Como Bluff is just plain fun. I had a great time writing the snappy banter between Caroline and Nick and thinking up outrageous situations to amplify the conflict. One reviewer likened them to western versions of Hepburn and Tracy or Lombard and Gable. (I don’t think it would be giving too much away to note that Nick spends an inordinate amount of time in a pink sunbonnet.)

Here’s a blurb about the story:

In her race against rival bone hunters, the last complication paleontologist Caroline Hubbard needs is an unconscious stranger cluttering up her dig site. Nicholas Bancroft might have the chiseled features and sculpted physique of a classical statue, but she's not about to let him hamper her quest to unearth a new species of dinosaur and make her mark on the scientific world.

Nick has come to Wyoming in search of silver but, after a blow to the head, finds himself at the mercy of a feisty, determined female scientist. Despite his insistence that he's just passing through, he agrees to masquerade as Caroline's husband to help save her job. Once their deception plays out, they face a crucial decision. Will they be able to see beyond their separate goals and recognize the treasure right in front of them?

And here’s an excerpt:

            Nick laughed. “Are you always this grumpy when you’re working?”

          “I’m about to face the biggest challenge of my life, one that will affect my entire future, and you refuse to take it seriously.” She glared at him through narrowed eyes. “I have every right to be grumpy.”

“Perhaps, but remember, you asked for my help. You need me to pull off this deception.”

He was right. She did need him, and if she wasn’t careful he’d get back on his horse and ride out of her life forever. The thought pushed her near the edge of panic. “I know, and I’m sorry. It’s just that this is so important to me.”

Nick slid his arm around her shoulders. “I know. Don’t worry; I won’t abandon you. I owe you. You saved my life, remember?”

When he didn’t release her immediately, Caroline breathed a tiny sigh and allowed herself the luxury of leaning against him, wrapped in the safety and comfort of his arm. She closed her eyes and rested her head against the warm solidity of his chest, absorbing the reassuring rhythmic thump of his heartbeat. She’d always been alone in her quest; it would be a relief to have someone to share it with, even if only for a few days.

She thought she felt something whisper-soft touch the top of her head, almost like a kiss of breeze, but the air was still. It couldn’t have been Nick...could it? She lifted her head and turned until she could see his face. The devil twinkled in those sea-blue eyes, and a lazy smile played across his lips.

“Flip you for the bed.”

Thanks again for allowing me to share my new story with you, and here’s hoping you like a little humor with your romance.

Alison

www.alisonhenderson.com

http://alisonhenderson.blogspot.com

 

A New Beginning

I'm not good a keeping New Year's resolutions so I've stopped making them. I do make yearly goals though. Somehow it's easier for me to meet goals than it is to keep resolutions. I'm not sure why. Maybe, it's just that word - Resolutions.  So many people make them at the start of a new year, but so few of us ever keep them so maybe I set myself up for failure just by using that word.  At least that's what I'm telling myself.

This year I've made both writing goals and personal goals.  Right now they're just big goals. For example one of my writing goals is to keep on top of writing related email instead of letting it pile up and become unmanageable.  Right now, I have 478 unread emails in my writing email account.

I'm going to use this first month of the new year to fine tune those goals, break them down into smaller goals with deadlines quarterly, then monthly, then weekly.  By breaking them down, they'll be more manageable and easier to achieve.  One goal may be - "this week I'll clean out 25 emails, while keeping up with any new email as it comes in." It's a lot easier to know I only have to clean out 25 emails than it is to feel overwhelmed by trying to tackle the whole 478 at once.

I'm looking forward to this year with an optimism I haven't felt for a while.  Maybe it's because I'm in a better place than I have been the last 2 1/2 years. Or maybe it's because there's something about a new year. It's a fresh start, a new beginning. A time to let all the stuff that happened in the past go, or at least try to.