Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Self-employment: You make your own schedule, right?

What do you do when you have more than one release in a month? Movie it! Check it out :)

Want more info? Here's the page for Billionaire Ever After. SPECIAL NOTICE: if you want Billionaire Ever After for Nook or iBook, make sure you get yours on preorder. I've heard rumors the set is going KU after the first week.

And In this small town, nothing is as it seems…

One of the comments I get when I tell people I'm an author is, "It must be great making your own schedule."

Having been self-employed in one form or another for decades, I just smile and nod. LOL.

I had a vacation last week. I tried not to work, because I desperately needed the break. But we stayed close to home and I monitored emails and when they turned out to be time-sensitive, I went into the office and got them done.

The fact of the matter is, when you're self-employed, the only decision you get to make is the product you offer (and even that is subject to your customers'/clients' needs).

Even indie authors are buffeted by the winds of the availability of their cover designer, editor, etc. Box set authors must coordinate their efforts, and that means joint scheduling. The complex weave of daily life affects all of us, time-wise.

Reflecting on it, I do get to make my own schedule. If I want to work my hours from midnight to ten am, I can do that. But as far as number of hours go, well, if I want to eat, I work.

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Limited time 99 cent anthologies to benefit the March Of Dimes & GIVEAWAY 😍


Love Kissed Anthologies
Don't miss these LIMITED EDITION boxed sets created to benefit the March of Dimes.
Only 99 Pennies Each!!

Haunted by Love
Ten of your favorite romance authors have come together for a charity anthology. With vampires, witches, wizards, shifters, shadow walkers, fallen angels, demons, and a wraith king, you're sure to be enthralled. Be prepared for greed, lust, lies, and betrayal to culminate in coups and menages. After all, the fate of the world often depends on the actions of hot alphas.
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New Love
Seven of your favorite romance authors have come together for a charity anthology. If you like billionaires and witty heroines, or high school sweethearts and runaways, or southern stories with a love as big as Texas, then settle in for tales of finding home, overcoming the past, loyalty, broken promises, and even a surprise wedding. Even family obligations can't hinder what's simply meant to be.
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Lucky in Love
Ten of your favorite romance authors have come together. Enjoy second chance romances, sports romances, and rocker romances. Meet your new favorite bad boys and blue collar lovers. There may even be a surprise pregnancy or two.
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Dangerous Love
Prepare to dance with the dark side of love. This collection is full of suspense with crimes like stalking, kidnapping, and murder. Meet some men in blue and some bad boys too. If you have a taste for dystopian, enjoy interracial love, and get hot and bothered over sexy protectors such as private investigators, the FBI and CIA, then one-click right away.

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Forbidden Love
This set is about as naughty as a collection can get. They may look innocent, like the boy next door, or the brother's best friend, they may be working like the blue collar guy making a house call, the undercover cop, the rock star, the bodyguard, or the stripper. Don't be fooled. These stories are filled with romance,  suspense, and temptation. Oh, and no one seems to decline the opportunity for romps in public, with a stranger, a roommate, or the occasional affair.
Learn how forbidden love makes for strange bedfellows in these modern fairy tales of love, lust, and deception.
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**GIVEAWAY**

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

3T Writing Tidbit

My husband posts about creativity on Facebook. It's been helping me boost my own productivity in ways I'd never imagined.

Today (January 18, 2017) he posted one on how Isaac Asimov wrote the equivalent of a full-length novel every two weeks for 25 years (over 500, but over a lot longer period, lol). It's here: https://qz.com/886038/isaac-asimov-wrote-almost-500-books-in-his-lifetime-these-are-the-6-ways-he-did-it/

The whole article is worth reading, but what stood out was Asimov's take on the dreaded writer's block.
Frequently, when I am at work on a science-fiction novel, I find myself heartily sick of it and unable to write another word.
It's normal to get stuck. His solution? Set it aside.
I don’t stare at blank sheets of paper. [...] I simply [...] go on to any of the dozen other projects that are on tap. [...] By the time I’ve grown tired of these things, my mind has been able to do its proper work and fill up again. I return to my novel and find myself able to write easily once more.
I've done this before out of profound disgust for a project, and I practice interleaving projects to make them continuously fresh, but never have I walked consciously away from something. Going to give this one a try.

Published since 2009, over the years I've accumulated various items of writing wisdom. The Third Tuesday Writing Tidbit showcases these items in no particular order. Click here to see all 3T Tidbits.

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

2T Repeat Performance

In December 2016, the lovely Magical Musings crew decided it was time to close down their blogging shop. I had three wonderful years with them. I thought you might be interested in seeing those posts now.

photo credit: sean dreilinger via photopin cc
Do You Candy Crush? -- Favorites #6 eGames--Originally posted September 17, 2014

Let’s get to know each other!

In these first months as a Magical Musings blogger, I’m sharing my 10 favorite things and hope to hear about yours.

I'm more pinball generation than video game, but I have to admit, there's something about playing computer games that appeals to me. I started out with role-playing adventure games like Quest For Glory and Baldur's Gate, though lately it seems all I have time for is three minutes of Secret Society or Candy Crush.

I'm not sure why, but electronic games give me the same feelings as seeing a bristling Christmas tree loaded with shiny ornaments or a Halloween candy bag or a beautifully wrapped gift box.

Maybe it just comes down to art.

To me, there's a sense of wonder and joy that playing the best games brings. It's like reading a book where you get to control the story. Or like living in your very own movie. The improvement in graphics and sound quality has only increased the experience.

Even quick pattern-matching games like Candy Crush and Farmville, casual games meant to while away a few minutes in line or between appointments, make life sparkle a little more. What would we do while waiting otherwise? Something productive, maybe, but would being productive pop just a bit of joy into our lives?

When my children were growing up, we read books at bedtime, and my children still are readers as adults. Books are an important part of our lives. But we also played video games and I think it gave them an appreciation of and familiarity with modern electronics while still exercising their imaginations.

Maybe not. :) But I just bought Baldur's Gate for my tablet, and it still feels like Christmas trees and perfectly wrapped gifts.

What brings you a sense of wonder and joy?

My son recently pointed me at a site that has older games updated for current operating systems called GOG. Quest for Glory 1-5 is here.

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

August 1T Status Update

Have you got your Biting Love fix yet? These prices won't be seen again.

The whole BITING LOVE series for under $1 each. Amazon | BN | EP

Here's what I'm up to:
  • Third round of edits for Night's Caress turned in.
  • Cover mockup for Night's Caress is tongue-rollingly lovely!
  • My sightreading is getting a real working (and upgrade) thanks to one-rehearsal weekly concerts with the American Legion Band this summer
  • I need a vacation. 
  • Because of hubby's job, we need to stay around his servers. Anybody got any good ideas for a sta-cation?
  • Night's Kiss 10K words and rising.
  • File made for Soul Mates (Pull of the Moon Book 3, or in the new numbering scheme, Book 5)
  • Haunted by Love is supposed to release today :) Contains Hunt Mates, Pull of the Moon prequel to Mind Mates, or in the new numbering scheme, Book 3.
  • I'll be a feature guest tomorrow at Delilah Devlin's blog! Come chat with me about the music you like.