Allowing space in your day to relax!

Danica Favorite here, and I've been slowly working on finding a balance between my fast-paced life, and finding ways to care for and nourish myself. I recently started doing videos on Periscope, and yesterday's video was a lot of fun. I'm posting it here, but I also wanted to hit the highlights for those of you who don't want to spend ten minutes watching me putter around my kitchen (but my kitchen is super cool, and you do get a tour of my messy kitchen!).

One of the most important points I made was that sometimes, the very best thing you can do for yourself is to take a break and relax. I was SO tired yesterday, and really struggled with getting going after the holiday weekend. Usually, I try to push through it, but to be honest, I'm not very productive when that happens. So, I took a break, took a walk, made myself a yummy smoothie, and did a fun Periscope of the process. Afterwards, I felt SO good. It was amazing how much more energy I had, and I really think I got much more done than I would have had I not given myself that break.

Sometimes, the biggest thing we need to put on our to-do list is taking care of ourselves. So today, I hope you take a little time to be good to yourself and do something to care for yourself. It might seem like a waste of time, but it will energize and prepare you for whatever else you have to get done.

If you're on Periscope, come find me at danicafavorite. And, of course, I'd love for you to stop by my website at www.danicafavorite.com and say hi.

Wishing you 'glee'

Hi, Charlotte Carter here. What gives you ‘glee?’

Holly Jacobs  writes charming tales of romance and love for Harlequin SuperRomance and Montlake. She is the most optimistic person I know. She finds ‘glee’ everywhere: her grandson’s smile (he is adorable), a new sink for her kitchen, walking in the snow. Everything is a joy to her.

I find it easy to name some relatively obvious things I enjoy: starting a new book, sitting in a quiet pine forest and reading a book, sunsets (sunrises not so much), giving a workshop and having people laugh, watching a cat play. (I’m lobbying my husband to get a new kitty since ours passed away last summer.)

Identifying the little things that give me ‘glee’ is harder and took longer. The leaves of an Evergreen Ash tree covering our backyard and the irony that it’s not ever green at all.


A pair of redtail squirrels playing with abandon in our backyard. A box of Sees candy, especially if there are chocolate covered cherries included. Seeing my 12-year-old grandson make a basket for his team. Watching winter-brown vacant lots in Southern California turn green after a rainfall. The swoop of pigeons from one perch to another at the local park. Contrails across a blue sky turned pink in the setting sun. A toddler smiling at me from his mother’s grocery cart.

The last rose of winter.

I want to be like Holly with all of her enthusiasm for life. In 2013, I’m going to work harder to see the ‘glee’ that’s in my life and cherish those moments.

How about you? Where do you find glee?

Happy reading......
Char....

www.CharlotteCarter.com

Autograph anyone?

Pat Davids here.
I'm getting ready for one of my least favorite activities. A book signing. The picture above is me in the red and the lovely Kim Vogel Sawyer in green at a book signing in Atlanta several years ago. That wasn't a bad signing. Steeple Hill gave away the books so people lined up to get them even if they didn't know the author from Adam or Eve. I may be smiling in the picture, but trust me, I am terrified.

Don't get me wrong. I love meeting readers and talking about my books, but I don't like sitting like a lump of coal in front of a bookstore trying to entice perfect strangers to come over and check out my book. That's hard enough, but autographing each copy is tough. I mean, what do I say to those perfect strangers?

I've got a few standard lines.
Blessings
Best wishes,
Happy reading.
Enjoy the story.
It was great meeting you.

After that, I'm kind of at a loss. I never know what to write and I'm scared to death that I'll spell the person's name wrong. I keep a pad handy and I have everyone spell their name. I don't care if it's Mary or Lisa, they have to spell it for me because it could be Merry or Lesa.

Misspelling someone's name is scary enough, but why is it that people from your past always walk just as their name flies out of your head? I'm so nervous when I'm signing that I can't remember my own name. The worst time was when I signed in my hometown and the mother of a grade school friend walked up. It was Dalene's mother. We chatted for as long as I could stall but finally I had to ask, "Who shall I make this to?"

The dreaded answer. "Just me."

Now, I was really stuck. I had to drop my head and say, "I can't make this out to Dalene's mother or Mrs. Phillips." She laughed and said she hadn't been Mrs. Phillips for years. I should make it out to Ruth.
Of course! Ruth! Why couldn't I think of that? It's such an easy name.

Wait, what is my name again? That's the other trouble with book signings. I use a pen name. Davids is not my legal name. Have you tried signing a fake name dozens of time? Sometimes I mess up. There are a lot of books out their with a signature of Patricia M. Davids. My middle initial is not M. My real last name is MacDonald. I usually catch myself was soon as I start the M but a few books are signed Patricia MacDonald Davids. My secret is out.

Okay, now I want to know what are some of your funny or awful book signing stories? Authors, what salutation do you use? Readers, what kind of personal note would you like an author to say in your book? I'm always looking for new material.
Have a blessed day.

Writing amid the Chaos

Some people thrive in the orderly, I thrive in chaos. When I'm in the throes of a book, my office looks like a tornado ravaged the room. My desktop is piled high with various layers of papers, anything from bills to research info to school stuff for my kids. And believe it or not I do have a catalog in my brain that tells me where any given paper that I am looking for is within the layers. I have books, The Synonym Finder, A Dictionary, The Plot Doctor and various other research books that pertain to what ever subject I'm writing about, stacked around, either on the desk top or on the floor with in grabbing distance. Pens and pencils lie haphazardly on the desktop for easy use, as do scissors and highlighters. A phone is close by and the printer is an arm's length away. Right now I have a tub of Trader Joe's Animal Crackers sitting next to the printer (in case I get the munchies) and a cup of tea. On my lap is my daughter's little dog named Simba. He likes to put his head on the keyboard as I type.
Behind me, I have a book case stuffed with books, some research and reference, some writing how to books, and lots of fun fiction. I also have a tall filing cabinet the top of which houses a pretty vase with my beautiful roses from Rose City Romance Writers, the chapter gives a rose every time an author sells a book. On the floor infront of the closet are tubs full of stuff, more books, things for reader baskets, papers that I don't need right now but may one day and a ton of notebooks full of story ideas. At my feet is a CD player; again that chaos thing, I can't work in silence.I will confess that between deadlines, I do clean my office so that the chaos can be rebuilt with the next book. And so my life as a writer goes.
I'm knee deep in a book that will be a December 2009 release titled Chasing Shadows- so as you probably have guessed my office is in shambles.

This month I have a Classics release. This is a reissue of my first two books in one volumne. I love the cover. Steeple Hill does such a great job with the art work on our covers (see the cover above).

New Mule Hollow book by Debra Clopton! THE COWBOY TAKES A BRIDE

Gail's post a couple of days ago Why Not Me? is such a true example of the angst, the ups and downs and doubts writers go through along the rocky path to publication. I was going to post a comment but because what she talked about is also the bases for my upcoming July book THE COWBOY TAKES A BRIDE I decided to make a blog post instead.

Like most authors I've been on both sides of that entry Gail blogged about. Before I was published I worked so hard and editors were really interested, but then I just couldn't seem to make my revisions meet with their vision of the story. And the sale wouldn't happen. So I began to ask God why? And I felt like I was running a race but was stuck on the track going round and couldn't find the off ramp to publication. Then the doubts started and I began feeling like God was actually asking me to give up my dream! What! No way could I even contemplate such a thing...after all I was almost published. Almost doing what God had called me to do. HOW could He be asking me to give it up?

Because I knew this is such a major struggle for writers I wanted to explore this in situation in my fun new Mule Hollow book THE COWBOY TAKES A BRIDE.

My heroine Sugar Rae Lenox has extremely stong reasons for knowing she is called to be an actress. But, she is always just missing her big break. And she's started feeling like God is asking her to give up her dream! God put a fighting spirit inside of Sugar and she's never given up on anything so surely she is misunderstanding God.

You can read the actual blurb on this website in the upcoming book link.

I believe this is a struggle and a question that each person must work out between you and God. In THE COWBOY TAKES A BRIDE Sugar Ray fights all the way to her answer while at the same time falling in love with cowboy Ross Denton. She, like I did, and like I hope you do to if you are struggling with similar doubts and decisions came to understand God's plan for her life when God's timing was right.

Like I always say, God's timing is worth waiting for because it's always the best timing. I know it was for me. But like my heroine, Sugar Ray, I fought through the doubts and held on and didn't give up in my quest. I'll forever be glad God put that fighting spirit inside of me so that I was able to persever...because if I had given up on my dream during all the years it took me to make my first sale then I would have really missed out on all the fun I'm having writing for Love Inspired!

Have you been to Mule Hollow yet? Come on and join the fun :)

Until next time, live, laugh and seek God with all your heart!

Debra Clopton