Head Down, Bum Up

For those of you who don't know what the title of my post means, here's a definition.

head down, bum up(Noun)

A figurative bodily position adopted when working hard at some task, either physical or mental. (Head down may well be literal, but bum up is figurative.)

It suddenly occurred to me this afternoon that I forgot to do my regular Tuesday blog post. In fact, it didn't even enter my mind until now.

The reason for my serious slackness is that I'm behind schedule. And I really hate not meeting a deadline.

I have a trilogy coming out in June, July, August. I was completely on track until my darling son decided that he is nearly two years old and no longer needs a nap during the day. What the?!?!
He still has room time, but it's just not the same. I am now scrambling to get things done!

So please forgive me if my blog posts are a little irregular for the month of May. I'm not dropping off the radar completely. I will still do my Indie Life post and I will try to keep up with my YA Indie Carnival posts as well, but just for this month, I will be blogging a little less.

I hope everyone is having a great start to their month. I look forward to getting back into my regular routine as June rolls around.

YA Indie Carnival - My Writing Space

 YA writers and bloggers unite each week to share their thoughts on what it's like going indie in today's publishing world.

This week is a fun one. We get to share where we spend our writing time. I actually have two spaces thanks to the dodgy internet connection in our house.

My favourite place to work is at my desk as I have everything I need at my finger tips. Having just moved, I haven't had a chance to set up my quotes yet, but usually my walls are plastered with inspiring quotes, poems I love and my writing goals for the year. We are renting so I'm not sure I can do that here. I'm trying to figure out the best way to get this stuff up around me. Any suggestions are most welcome.

The other space I work when my internet connection isn't playing fair, is out in my dining room. I have to say, it is a bright, spacious place to work in, so I shouldn't really complain.

If you'd like to see where other authors spend their time, check out the blog links below.

And don't forget to check out the YA Indie Carnival site for all the latest updates.

1.	Laura A. H. Elliott	2.	Bryna Butler, author Midnight Guardian series
3.	Heather Self	4.	T. R. Graves, Author of The Warrior Series
5.	Suzy Turner, author of The Raven Saga	6.	Rachel Coles, author of Into The Ruins, geek mom blog
7.	K. C. Blake, author of Vampires Rule and Crushed	8.	Gwenn Wright, author of Filter
9.	Heather M. White, author of The Destiny Saga	10.	Liz Long | Just another writer on the loose.
11.	Ella James	12.	Maureen Murrish
13.	Valerie Sloan	14.	YA Sci Fi Author's Ramblings
15.	A Little Bit of R&R	16.	Melissa Pearl

This is me... in China!

Hey everyone :)

Well, the brief hiatus is now over. I'm back and it feels SO good to be here.

We arrived in China August 2nd and I have to be honest and admit that it's been a very challenging couple of weeks. With sickness plaguing each family member in turn, we were at the doctors three times in the first week! Then of course there is the massive language barrier and I can tell you that being dropped at the wrong location, in a city you don't know, and having to try and sign language your way out of it, is not a fun experience.

In saying that, Suzhou is a very cool city. I really like it. Living in another culture is a total eye opener. The smells in the supermarket definitely raise the eyebrows and the driving habits are going to be something to get used to. I love all the people - their friendly faces and eager smiles. Everyone thinks little Brody is adorable with his blond hair and they all want to wave at him and say hello.

We bought e-bikes yesterday, they are a bicycle with a battery pack that you plug in each night. I'm really looking forward to scooting around with the family and checking out some of the amazing sculptures and sites in Suzhou. There are so many things to do here. I am sure I will never get bored.

So although I have many challenges ahead of me, I also know that life is meant to be lived and I feel as though I am definitely doing that. Writing is a saving grace. It is so awesome to have that constant in my life and my current project is coming together nicely. I have also been lucky enough to be struck with a total brain explosion in the last week, which will hopefully turn into a fantasy trilogy. I've never tried anything like it before and I'm really excited. My brain takes very long walks into this new world while I'm walking to buy my fruit and veggies or taking Brody to the playground. It's a morning routine I've come to love.

So that's me for now. I'm hoping to start posting regularly again from now on. Fridays will be all about the YA Indie Carnival and then I'll do one other regular post a week. I'm aiming for Mondays/Tuesdays - depending on your time zone :)

I hope everyone else is doing really well.
I'm looking forward to catching up on everyone else's news.

(Photo is the view from our apartment window)

My Brief Hiatus

For any of you who haven't heard, my husband and I are moving to China with our boys. My husband has accepted a teaching job at an international school in Suzhou (near Shanghai).

We fly out on August 1st.
Exciting and super scary all in the same heartbeat.

There is so much to do and I know the move is going to be a massive adjustment for our family.

In preparation for this, I am slowly pulling back from my social media commitments. Unfortunately, blogging is the first to go :(

I am actually very sad about this. I am going to miss blogging very much. Thankfully Brenda is keeping the YAlicious blog going, so you can still keep up with our news from there.

So goodbye for now. I WILL be back in September. Looking forward to catching up with everyone again then :)

Cutting Back

Due to an increased work load and the move to China looming, I will be cutting back my blogging.

Instead of blogging three times a week, I will now be blogging twice - once at the beginning and once at the end.

Brenda blogs mid-week on our YAlicious blog, so if you'd like to check out her awesome posts, jump over there.

Today's one is about pick-a-path stories. Fun! I used to love reading those!

I hope everyone is having a fabulous week :)

Don't Freak Out

Okay, so this post may have some of you seasoned writers rolling your eyes, but what's a blog if you can't talk about your personal journey in writing.

Being a newbie, I am having plenty of ups and downs along this writing path. Maybe seasoned veterans have them too, but some days I feel the effects of this roller-coaster ride way more than others.

So I'm having a small freak out. A mini one really. If I just let the common sense part of my brain talk for long enough, I can convince myself there is nothing to worry about, but the emotional part of my brain keeps over riding it.

May was an excellent month for me. I was doing school visits, heading up a blog tour and I recorded my highest monthly sales since I started in November last year. Awesome!!

This month however is starting with a very minor pop followed by an awkward fizzle. My sales are down (I know, I'm not even halfway through the month, but still!) and I'm just feeling a little slumpish.

Whenever I get like this, I always have to step back and analyze why I'm feeling the way I am. It's the curse of having parents who always made me talk about my feelings. In all honesty, I'm actually really grateful  my parents did that, because now I am able to get to the bottom of my slumpish moments.

 You see a slump in sales is not the end of the world, a little more time and effort spent promoting would probably see my sales start to climb again. I haven't been spending that much time on promotional stuff the last few weeks, because I am desperately trying to get the first draft of Betwixt finished so that I can get it into my editor's hands. Once that's done, I will be able to switch my attention back to marketing.

One awesome thing is that Forbidden Territory is due for release July 1st, so I'm about to kick into major promotional stuff with that. I have my fingers crossed that there will be a slight trickle down effect to my other books, but I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

SO - even though my emotions want to jump into the pool of depression, my analytical side won't let them, because there are plenty more months in the year, plenty more opportunities out there to sell my books and it's okay to switch off for a couple of weeks to pour some intense energy into writing.

That's how I feel.
If you're a writer, how do you feel during slumpy months?
How do you get on balancing marketing and writing?

Image source: http://www.cafepress.co.uk

Okay, so here's the truth...

March was a crazy month. I had so many awesome book things going on thanks to the Golden Blood Blog Tour, among other things. I had new Twitter followers, new Facebook likers, the most sales I'd ever had, great reviews flooding in. It was amazing!

Now April has arrived and I feel like it's all come to a screeching halt. I know things go up and down so I'm not actually too stressed. If anything, life has come into a quiet patch... and this is where I'm struggling.

After months of busy marketing and frenetic work, I am now in a place where I can really focus on my WIP... the one I have been trying to get into for a few months now, but have had to keep pushing aside.

I had some time free yesterday and flapped about doing everything but getting stuck into my writing. I had lots of little jobs to get done... jobs that possibly could have waited, but I kept reasoning that if I could just get them out of the way first. Last night I had another chance to write and once again I filled the time with excuses. As I hopped into bed, I had to ask myself why... and here's the truth.

I'm scared.

I haven't written anything in a really, long time. It took me three years to finalize The Time Spirit Trilogy and the next book that's due out - Forbidden Territory - was written before I even started the trilogy. Sure, we've done major edits on it, but it has been a REALLY long time since I sat down and started a project fresh and I'm worried I can't do it.

What if I've lost my touch?
What if this book totally sucks?
What if I can't pull it altogether?
What if I can't write a page turner?

The doubts seem to be endless.

Is that stupid?

Logically, I know I can. I just have to start, but procrastination keeps kicking my butt.

Do you ever feel this way?

What holds you back from writing?

It's Time To Find The Sunshine

I hurt my back yesterday, I mean really hurt my back. I stupidly picked up something really heavy and felt something ping, then promptly passed out for a few seconds. Awesome.

I am now wobbling around and wincing whenever I move in the wrong direction. It's so not fun :(

Anyway as I groaned my way into bed last night, I picked up my little "Thought For The Day" book and it was talking about gratitude, that even when things suck, there is always something to be grateful for. As tempted as I was to fling the book across the room, I did take a moment to count my blessings and it totally worked. I did feel better.

So as I sit here this morning in relative discomfort, I have decided to find the sunshine. Here are just a few things I'm grateful for in my writing life...

1. Even though my back hurts, my hands are still working, so I can still sit at my computer and type

2. I am currently involved with a very cool blog tour, which is putting my trilogy out there

3. The Time Spirit Trilogy is getting great reviews, people are enjoying it and spreading the word

That's the one I want to focus on. People are enjoying the books. That was the reason I decided to put my work out there, so people could have a fun-filled, exciting read and they are.

So that is my sunshine today.

What's yours?

Have you ever read your stuff aloud... in public?!?!

As you can probably tell from my little ?!?! in the title, I find the idea of reading aloud in public just a touch intimidating.

I mean, I read aloud to my son every night, but he's four and adores me, no matter how stupid I am :)
Besides, I'm not reading my stuff to him!

The reason I am bringing this up, is because I have been visiting local school libraries to see if they would be interested in stocking my books. Most of them have said yes and also asked if I would like to come in and do a reading or speak to a couple of English classes about writing. Wow - such a great opportunity!

... and I'm totally freaking out :)

My first reading is this Friday.

Heart palpitations!!

I know I will be fine. I know that some of the kids who hear my stuff will not like it, while other kids will think it's awesome. Hopefully I'll have more of the latter.

I guess it's the risk we take as writers. We put ourselves out there to entertain or teach others... and we have to believe that what we share is good. We work hard to produce something magical. I guess I just need to trust myself, the reviews I'm getting and on Friday... read my little heart out :)

Have you ever read your work in public before?
How was it?
Any advice?

I hope everyone has a great start to their week. Happy reading and writing everyone :)

Celebrate The Good Times

Being a writer is like living on a roller coaster. You go from highs to lows. Your emotions are twisted and cork screwed until you feel completely wrung out. Some days you live on a high, other days you have to struggle through a low. It can take the smallest thing to swing things too - one great review, one bad review, a small burst of sales, a dry patch. Doubts can jump on you without warning, which is why it is important to celebrate the good times.

I have had a fantastic week. So many good things have happened and I really wanted to tell you about them. Please don't think I am boasting in anyway by sharing this stuff with you. I am simply doing a happy dance and wanted to include you guys... and encourage every writer out there to celebrate the little things. Life is too short to do anything else.

So - why has my week been so great?

1. Pure Blood was released on Thursday. The Time Spirit Trilogy is now complete and it feels so good. I also just received my first review - 5 stars. A good start :)

2. I have had two fantastic interviews on two amazing blogs.

Dragonfly Scrolls

Parchment Place

These girls are great writers and their questions were so much fun to answer.

3. Golden Blood and Black Blood made first and second place on the Best YA Romance list on Goodreads. I've never been 1st on anything before and it was such a buzz to see my books up there.

4. I was invited to join Triberr, which seems like an awesome new initiative that is set up to help bloggers reach a wider audience. It does take a while to get your head around how it works, but there is plenty of help out there. I think the benefits will be worth it.

5. The lovely Natalie Kroll shared a great article from Goodreads about how to reach a wider audience and the best way to get your book added to people's reading lists.

So - what am I really celebrating?

I have a bunch of supportive friends/readers who want to seem me do well and are doing their best to help promote my work.
I have written books that people seem to be enjoying.
I am learning new things everyday and slowly, but surely, I am going to get there.

Do you have anything to celebrate this week?
I'd love to hear your news :)

Time to relax

I'm going away tomorrow for a week at the beach with my family.
There will be no internet access and at first I was disappointed, but then I got to thinking...

I find it so easy to let writing consume me. Because I promised to put my family first, I only get limited times to work on my writing. Whenever I have a spare moment I want to rush to my computer and work my precious time away.
Unfortunately this is not always healthy. I love to write. I want to spend the rest of my life doing it. But if that is my goal, I need to learn how to balance my life. If I don't, I could easily burn out when I still have plenty of stories left in me.

I have started doing a short yoga session each day to get my muscles buzzing and my head clear.
Even though I am one of the most inflexible people in the world :), I am managing to give the exercises a fair go and am feeling better for it.

This break away will do my mind and body good too, so I am looking forward to it. It will be a great chance to bury myself in a book or two.

What do you do to find balance in your life?
How do you fit in all the things you want to without going insane?

Follow up to previous blog

The last blog I posted was written in a moment of frustration when my story wasn't gelling. I had to ask myself the question: "Is this total crap or do I have something?"
My answer remains the same: "Yes, I think I have something, but it still needs a lot of work!"

My story line frustrations have been stewing in my brain for the last few days and I am pleased to say that I am finally dragging myself out of the fog.
I think I have found my solution. Thomas B. Sawyer writes in his book, "Demystifying Fiction" that every scene has to have conflict. I realized that the act two of my manuscript is lacking. Different scenarios flickered through my brain and before I knew it I had solved my dilemma with two conflictual scenes that will build tension, move the story forward and add the conflict the readers all crave.

My goal is to write them tomorrow. Hopefully I will be able to sit back at the end of the day with a sense of satisfaction :)

Is this just total crap or do I have something here?

I've been working on my trilogy since January last year. I feel like that story has such potential. I like the premise, I love the characters and I feel like my pacing is good, but sometimes I sit back and wonder if my work is complete crap.

I say this because I am re-writing the first book on the trilogy. You see a few people have read it now and the feedback I have so far is that book 2 and 3 were impossible put down (yay!) and book 1 was okay. I don't need it to be okay, I need it to be fabulous, because no agent or publisher will look twice if I can't make the first book shine.

So, I'm re-writing the first book. I've spent hours on my planning. I stopped working on it for two months so that I could read books on how to improve my style, etc. When I finished my plan I was on a high, I felt like I had something really good. I've just finished writing chapter 19 and I'm wondering...

Maybe I'm taking too long to get into the story, but I need that back ground info. I'm trying to filter it in through dialogue and action, but how good am I making it?

This just goes to show, that I desperately need a few decent critiques from people who know what they're talking about. Thankfully I won one :) So I'll be sending off my manuscript as soon as I'm done.

Do any of you feel that way when you're writing? A sudden burst of self doubt?

It's like a road block, one I must plow through. The thing is, I can do this. I know I can.
I guess sometimes you just need someone else to tell you that too :)

Hope everyone has a great week!

We're All Going on a Winter Holiday....

If you live "down under" then you, like me, will be struggling through the wet and cold of winter. I don't mind the odd day snuggled up in doors, but my outlook changed drastically upon having a child :) Summer cannot come fast enough.

To all you top siders in the northern hemisphere I am happy for you. Enjoy the sunshine, the warmth, the certain freedom and joy that comes with knowing it is summer. A time for play. A time for fun.

In spite of my mild, winter blues, I am happy to announce that I'm heading off on holiday this weekend! We are flying to Sydney for a holiday with my brother and his wife. Should be super fun. I don't know what it is about getting away from home, but I believe it is essential to our sanity that everyone gets away at least once a year. The mental separation from work and duty does wonders for the brain.

So I won't be around next week to blog. I hope everyone, where ever you are in the world, has a fantastic couple of weeks and that everyone gets a chance to have at least one or two awesome writing sessions.

Now to get on with mine!

Long overdue

I am ashamed to see that an entire month has gone by since updating this blog. Life has been ballistically busy and I am struggling to find time to write this blog let alone read the blogs I used to follow religiously. Something must be done!

I feel like this is my third or fourth post relating to this same issue, but life just keeps getting in the way. Having a very active two and a half year old who has cut his day sleep isn't helping. However, I cannot use this as an excuse. If I want a career in this industry (which, like so many, I desperately do) I must make the sacrifices necessary. Even if my brain has turned to custard in the evenings, I need to make the time to stay in touch.

SO.... from this day forth, I hereby declare that I WILL start blogging on a weekly basis. Even if it means sitting up until midnight, I will make the time to read my four favorite blogs and write one of my own.

Okay - so after that public announcement, I'll catch you up on where my writing is at...

After a few disheartening rejections, I have decided it's time to step back and make things right. I have been working my way through some EXCELLENT books on writing. I will review them in my next blog. These books have been inspiring and if I can implement some of these lessons my writing should move up a notch. There is a writing conference coming up in August that I'm hoping to attend. I would like to have my rewrite finished for pitching by then. I know that puts me under major time pressure, but it's good to have goals, right :)

I guess I better get on with it.

I hope everyone else is doing great and still finding the pure joy of losing yourself in the letters :)