WRITER'S TIP THURSDAY

 Good morning, friends!

We are three days away from NanoWrimo2021.  Where has this year gone?!

Today, I want to share a very special lady with you. Sarra Cannon has been my mentor for several years. I aspire to have her dedication. I keep saying if Sarra can do it, so can I! 

Sarra and her family are living a vagabond life at the moment. Through circumstances with their previous lease, then builders canceling contracts left and right - including on what she thought was her dream home - Sarra has stayed up beat, positive, and encouraging to herself and others. Their family are testing various areas of the US to see if there's someplace they are supposed to be.  I have four words...

SARRA CANNON IS AMAZING!

Today's video talks about her Preptober workbook. I encourage you to watch the video as well as subscribe to her channel and click to get notifications. We're all hoping, in her vagabond status, she'll have time to update our Nano tracker for 2021. But we'll make it work if she can't. We get it!

This is just the tip of the writer's ice block Sarra offers for FREE on her website.

All my best

~Angela

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT & REVIEW - Brooklyn Ann

 Good morning, everyone.

Bob just left and I'm back to work in full swing. 

Halloween is my favorite holiday and just a few days away. With that in mind I thought this book by Brooklyn Ann was a fitting choice for review.

My friends, this former auto-mechanic can write! Her tag line - Love for the Broken and Strange definitely fits her writing style.

Brooklyn writes four different sub-genre's of romance: Historical, Paranormal, Contemporary and Horror. 

Here's a bit about Brooklyn:

Formerly an auto-mechanic, Brooklyn Ann thrives on writing romance featuring unconventional heroines and heroes who adore them. Author of historical paranormal romance in her critically acclaimed “Scandals with Bite” series, urban fantasy in the cult favorite, “Brides of Prophecy” novels, and the award winning, “Hearts of Metal Series, she's now writing the "B Mine" series, horror romances riffing on the 1970s and 1980s horror movies.

She lives in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho with her gamer son, rockstar/IT Guy boyfriend, and four cats.

See more on her Website.

Book Blurb:

A HAUNTED HOUSE TO DIE FOR

Bookish, broken yet beautiful, Amelia Craven is trapped. Trapped by controlling best friend Tiffany, trapped dating shallow guys, and trapped into joining Amteep university’s only sorority, the Omega Pis. But things go from bad to worse when she discovers the final initiation for pledges involves spending Halloween night inside the infamous Raimi House – a dark hell hole of macabre deaths and tales of demonic possession.

The only saving grace: she’ll get to share it with her secret crush, Guillermo Romero, and being there together is the only way she'll tell him how she truly feels. That is if they can survive the night inside the most haunted house in town.

A love-song homage to Eighties classic horror films, this rollercoaster ride is filled with scares, guts and gore – plus a true romance that might be the one thing that will be their salvation.

I did not want to put this book down! Brooklyn stays true to her characters, writes amazing description without losing the story. If you're a fan of 1980s horror movies, then this read is right up your dark alley!

Grab your copy for the perfect Halloween read! I'm giving HER HALLOWEEN PARTY...

You'll find Brooklyn Ann by clicking on any of the following links:

WEBSITE   BLOG   FACEBOOK   TWITTER   NEWSLETTER

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

All my best

~Angela

MONDAY MOTIVATION

 

Good morning, friends!

Bob leaves tomorrow, so I've pre-written and scheduled this post. I'm trying to schedule more of them - 'batch blogging' so that I don't have gaps as I approach NanoWrimo.

I'll take tomorrow off from doing anything but maybe YouTube videos, napping or reading, then kick back in on Wednesday.

My Top 3 for this week:

# November Blogs

# November Videos

# November meal prep

WRITER'S TIP THURSDAY

 Good morning, friends!

I'm sharing one of the best motivational Preptober videos I've found so far. Yoanna is fun to listen to and she brings up a couple of things I've not heard any of the others mention. Watch her short video and see if you can spot her very practical tip on 'conditioning yourself to write'.

All my best

~Angela

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT & REVIEW

 Good morning!

We are back with a Christmas story review today. I hit NetGalley pretty hard last month requesting Holiday reads. 

Today, I'm introducing you to Jessie Gussman.

BIO:

USA Today best-selling author Jessie Gussman writes sweet and inspirational romance from her farm in central Virginia. Having attended, but never graduating from the school of hard knocks, Jessie uses real life on the farm to inspire her cowboy, rural and blue-collar fiction.

When she’s not chasing kids, cows and the occasional roll-away haybale, Jessie enjoys wading in Naked Creek and not cleaning her house. Most of the time her main goal is to keep from catching herself on fire…again.

While looking for Christmas books to review for this season, I came across DREAMING OF HER COWBOY'S KISS, released last November.

BLURB:

Ethan Shuff had spent a miserable childhood with an abusive father and a mother addicted to drugs and men.

No one had ever even pretended he wasn’t in the way, or that he was wanted.

Not until Race and Penny Steiner opened up their home and their lives to him. When they adopted a group of six siblings, Ethan stayed on the farm to help and to be a good example for the kids. He never intended to fall in love with the oldest sibling, Ruby.

Ruby Barclay became responsible for her siblings at age sixteen. She fought the state, social workers and anyone else who stood in her way until she had her brothers and sisters reunited and together under one roof.

With that mission accomplished, she will let nothing stand in the way of her next dream – becoming an accomplished surgeon. Maybe with more competent medical care, her parents wouldn’t have died.

She doesn’t have time to mess around and she’s not interested in silly boyfriends. If she gets married, it’s going to be to someone who shares her dream of saving lives.

But the dark eyes of the boy who’d fought for her when she was a teen haunt her nights, and maybe under her drive and ambition, she could admit that she still dreams of her cowboy’s kiss.

I had a hard time getting into the book past Chapter 1. The whole set-up just didn't seem to jive. I get being thrown into a situation out of the characer's element and making it work, bre wut I think this really stretched the rope a bit too tight. There were a lot of repetitive 'she can't do this because' passages. We get it. They are polar opposites in what they think they want from life. But in the words of Mickey Gilley, 'the lady takes the cowboy every time'.

While the story did lend us to appreciating abilities of both characters, there just didn't seem to be enough tension between the two characters to make you want to really root for them. 

DREAMING OF HER COWBOY'S KISS is Book 1 in the Cowboy Mountain Christmas series and is available on Kindle as of this post for .99.

I'm giving Dreaming of Her Cowboy's Kiss:

.5

You'll find Jessie Gussman on the following links:

WEBSITE   BLOG   FACEBOOK

   AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

MONDAY MOTIVATION

 

Good morning, friends.

I have a light week this time. Bob leaves out on the 26th so I try to spend as much of his last week home with him. That doesn't mean I'm not working on something.

# Plan November Videos

# Final Preptober Activities

# Sprints

I've been trying to write every day. It's not always happening but I'm getting better.

Do you struggle for time to write?

All my best

~Angela

WRITER'S TIP THURSDAY

 Good morning, friends.

As we approach the half-way point of Preptober, there are still tips to learn from those who've been there.

Today, we have Anna Sacket. She is a courrent youtuber... meaning she's still out there learning and sharing. 

All my best

~Angela

Monday Motivation

Good morning, friends!

I am still in Eureka Springs. The conference ended on Saturday night. Most everyone checks out on Sunday morning. I like to hang over a couple extra days to decompress from all the hustle and bustle of the conference, letting the peace and tranquility of Eureka Springs cleanse me. 

This Victorian pencil house has always been one of my favorite places to visit. I always said if I won the lottery, I'd buy this place and make it a private writing retreat. Two years ago when I was last in town I noticed someone has been working on a serious remodel. I look forward to seeing the progress... maybe this afternoon.

The hotel is quiet. In a little while I'll go up to Myrtie May's for lunch then take a walk up the 'red line' to check out some of the houses. Maybe even get to peek inside one or two. One thing about Eureka Springs residents and business owners. They are some of the most friendly people you'll ever meet. Once you get away from the touristy downtown, the neighborhoods are so relaxing. I'm sure I will find someplace to do some writing.

Since I can walk up to the Crescent Hotel (or take a trolley), I might take time for some really good pizza at the Skybar. If weather permits, pizza and a glass of wine on deck sounds like a great way to spend an afternoon. 

My Top 3 for this week:

* Relax & Recharge

* Shop

* Take advantage of the time I have in Eureka Springs to make notes on An Ozarks Homecoming

There's something to be said for stopping and smelling the roses.

All my best

~Angela

WRITER'S TIP THURSDAY -

 Good morning, friends!

I'm sharing NanoWrimo Writing tips for the Beginners. But let's face it... every year is a new beginning. We're supposed to start fresh... unless, as The Patchwork Nerd talks about in today's videos, you can play with something that you just need to finish! 

I know, in my case, I don't have enough of Book 2 to count. What I've been doing hasn't been working so I'm going to be starting from scratch... almost.

I like this young lady's point of Self-Care.  We 'll talk a bit about this in my YouTube video tomorrow. I hope you'll join me.

For now, let's see what The Patchwork Nerd shared from 2018. Note: she hasn't posted in a year but we can still learn from past content.

All my best

~Angela

WEDNESDAY REVIEW & CONFERENCE UPDATE

 

Good morning, everyone!

I've been super busy over here trying to finalize my presentation for the Ozark Creative Writers conference. I've also had to deal with truck repairs. I will resuem the Author Spotlight & Review next Tuesday.

There's still time to join me at this amazing multi-genre conference. We have an Early Bird presentation on Thursday afternoon followed by a meet n greet Welcome Back party. Masks and Social Distancing are required but we will still be having tons of fun and would love for you to join us!

The Conference kicks off with our keynote on Friday morning with Bill Bernhardt. He will be talking about what Best Selling Books have in in common. 

I have two sessions (back to back) on Friday afternoon on the importance of blogging as well as a 'how to' for authors. 

Click this LINK to be taken to the main page. You'll find everything else by following any of the tabs.

In the meantime, I've kicked off my AuthorTube channel. We're talking about PREPTOBER. Don't know what that is? Check out my first video.  Future videos will run on Fridays.

I'll see you back here on Monday for more Motivation to KEEP GOING!

All my best

~Angela

MONDAY MOTIVATION - The Countdown Begins!

Good morning, friends!

Ozark Creative Writers Conference

There's still time to join us!

I'm scheduling this a full week ahead as this week is going to be nuts as I prepare for my trip to the Ozark Creative Writers Conference in Eureka Springs AR. I will be presenting back-to-back sessions on Friday afternoon. My topic: Blogging is not dead. 

My Top 3 for this week is really simple:

* Pack

* Clean the house

* Prep meals for Bob

Mind you, Bob is quite capable of cooking for himself. He's a very good cook. But, there's still that 1950s hosuewife upbringing that won't let me go on a trip without ensuring Bob at least has a few things he can heat up. He also eats out on occasion.

I love going to Inn of the Ozarks. The place has become 'home away from home'. I've been staying at the hotel at least once a year (except 2020) since 1996). I've made many friends there. Here is a short video about the hotel & conference center:

One of the things I hope to do is visit the Bridgeford House B & B. Bridgeford House was the inspiration for Stephanie's home in An Ozarks Christmas. I've never seen the inside. I'm hoping for a tour.

Bridgeford House B & B

There are a couple other places I'm hoping to check out as they relate to An Ozarks Homecoming. Maybe a bit of on-sight inspiration will kick this book into gear!

I've scheduled posts for the next couple of weeks so the blog won't be totally deserted. 

All my best

~Angela