THE WRITER'S NEST - Angela Drake

yep, today you get me! LOL

Primarily, my writing space is a corner of a 480square-foot office Bob had build for me about five years ago. within that space I have a couple of different places.

Sometimes it depends on whether I’m nanoing, needing a comfy spot to sit for a long period of time, if I’m working on non-book stuff or the time of day. See the varous pictures below.

What is it about this space that inspires you?

I love my sofa. It’s a comfy hide-a-bed. I snuggle into a corner of the sofa. My coffee cup sits handy on the end table. I can change the lighting. I must say though this is only good for early  mornings or late in the evening after sun has gone down or I have to shut the shade. 

This is where I write most days. Whether I'm blogging, sprinting or watching craft videos with my sister. For my work table, I can spread notes out and have everything handy. I create my time-line on adding machine tape. I can stretch that out on the edge of the worktable- in my line of vision if I get stuck.

This is supposed to be my writing space. I designated this corner for writing when I laid out the floor plan. Right now that corner is a natural disaster and not condusive to being creative. But a clean-up is in the future... just as soon as I relocate the cat:

Has finding your space been an evolving journey? How so?

Yes. When we first moved here almost thirteen years ago, I had a cave in the basement. Bob dubbed it ‘the dungeon. You can see from the picture why I needed an upgrade.

Anything you would change?

The cat off my desk LOL I love my cats though. We are working on an arrangement we can both work in. 

What advice would you give to someone looking to build their own nest?

You won’t hit on the perfect spot right away. Like your writing, finding the perfect spot is an evolution. Give yourself time to try different areas – even different times of the day. You may even find yourself coming back to one of your earlier spots.

I also do not suggest trying to find ‘the’ spot during a writing marathon period like NanoWrimo,  Camp Nano or facing a deadline. There’s enough pressure as it is to accomplish.  What you may find, though, is that the space you seem to put out the most words may very well be the place you are most comfortable. Revisit that space during a less stressful time.

Since I still don't have a new book, I'll remind you that the first book in the Planned to Perfection series is a great read. What could make you all happy in this crazy time then a cozy Christmas romance set in a small Arkansas community. 

You will find me on the various social media platforms. I also love to hear from my readers and fellow writers. 

FACEBOOK     INSTAGRAM    TWITTER    YOUTUBE

Note: the Youtube channel is still new but will be having videos coming soon

BOOKS IN A BOX!

My first book in print and I couldn't even get excited yesterday. After the company left on Monday I got a few things done but just chilled with Bob for the most part. Then yesterday I was sick. Just didn't care. How sad is that?!  I tried working through the morning then finally just crawled into my recliner with the afghan and slept for a solid 4 hours. Hubby fixed supper and did the dishes. Yep, he is my true-life hero.

First off, when I placed the order for the books, Amazon did grant me my 2-day free shipping (thank Goddess!) but gave me a delivery date of October 11... the day I need to leave for the Ozarks Creative Writers conference! So yeah, that had me nervous. So I was puzzled when UPS brought the box yesterday. Nothing on the outside gave any indication the package was from Amazon, just multiple strips of tape that said HEAVY on all the sides of the box. 

First thing I did was get out the box cutter to uncover the mystery and was quite surprised at the contents. I opened one to make sure the corrections I'd made were in place then left the box on the deck for Bob to carry into the office when he came home.

And there it sits. Nothing really to do with the books at the moment. I do need to take an autographed copy to my proofreader and a donated copy to the local library. I have 4 copies sold at the bank. Just need to take them in. 

Now that company is out of the way - for a few days - and I'm feeling better, my first goal is to get marketing sheets off to local newspapers. I know they should have been done sooner but I was afraid to jinx something. 

Now my next few days are all about getting the giveaways done for the conference. Are you coming? There's still time to register for the Ozarks Creative Writers conference (see link on sidebar). I do know that the block of rooms at Inn of the Ozarks are sold out but there may be rooms elsewhere available. There are also several hotels within a 2 mile driving distance as well as many cottages and B & B's if you want to treat yourself. We'd love to have you!

AN OZARKS CHRISTMAS - Cover Reveal!

I am so proud of this cover. Jaycee from Sweet 'N Spicy Designs did an amazing job! If you are looking for a cover artist, I highly recommend her. She is Affordable, Fast, Detailed.

I also can't say enough about my mentor, Sharon Holmes of Paperback-Press. She helped me get through my first upload to Kindle and KOPD. Okay, she did more than help last Friday. I was so hung over from lack of sleep trying to make sure everything was ready when I got to her place. She is NOT a small publisher.  She is a 'service provider'. That means she will help you with whatever stages of publication you might need for a fee. I know several authors working with her on both new and back-list projects. She is the most patient woman.  LOL

As some of you may know, AN OZARKS CHRISTMAS began as Ozark Angel, eons ago. Inspired by the Garth Brooks song, That Ol Wind, I knew there was a story. Here's a cover of the song by Richard Monaei:

I won't give all the details here because I want to save some secrets for the blogs I'll be visiting over the next two months. Here is the original mock of the back cover:

Note: the print is much more clear on the actual copy. 

I am just waiting on the results of my proof reader then I'm ready to hit the 'Publish' button. When I do, I hope to set Pre-Orders for October 1 then full launch on October 12th.

If you have any questions, have a blog and you'd like to host me, or just want to say hello, please leave your comment below or use the contact form on my side bar.

Happy Reading!

~Angela

ALMOST READY TO ROCK AND ROLL!

Okay, that might seem strange coming from someone who loves/ lives/ breathes traditional country/ bluegrass music, but like Donny and Marie - I'm a little bit Country and a little bit Rock n Roll.
I'm not sure why but I've always liked this tune from Joan Jett & the Blackhearts. I became a fan after seeing her on Happy Days. LOL

On Friday, with help (LOTS of help) from Sharon Holmes from Paperback-Press, I got AN OZARKS CHRISTMAS uploaded to Kindle and KPD. I just need to get the proof copy back from a reader then I can hit publish!  I am so excited - and exhausted. This has been a really long few weeks ... and while the end is in sight, I still have tons of work to do. 

I will be doing the cover reveal TOMORROW! I hope you'll come back for that. I'll also have the cover across the board on several Social Media platforms. Links will be below on tomorrow's post.

My projects for this week are

A) detail the house for company and get fall decor up. I am SOOOO READY for fall.

B) get the notes compiled and the beginnings of the workbook pages completed. 

I am speaking at the Ozark Creative Writers Conference in Eureka Springs AR October 13th (conference runs the 11-13)The workbook is a companion book that I'll have available for sale.

Company will begin arriving on the 28th. Some will leave on October 1 and the rest on October 7th or 8th.  A long stretch of when I will get very little accomplished. There are still the giveaways for the book to put together. I have all of the components, just lots of cutting and gluing in my future.

Today, I'm detailing the kitchen and doing laundry. Going to be a long day! 

How do you fit your writing time in amongst LIFE duties? Have tips to share? I'd love to hear them!

Creative Blessings

~Angela

MONDAY MUSINGS - The End is in Sight!

Happy Labor Day, everyone!
I hope you had a safe and blessed holiday weekend. Today 's the last day to kick up your heels. Please remember EVERYONE that makes your day a little better because of their job.

I am almost there!

Every chapter of An Ozarks Christmas has been polished to the best of my ability. I was amazed after doing revisions the second time, how many little things I found this past week in a 'final' read-through. Will be interesting to see what my beta readers catch.

I found the missing 13th Chapter and discovered that with the changes I've made, I'll need to do some alterations and fleshing out. So that's what I spent all of yesterday working on. Hopefully, by the time you read this I will be a day away from sending to betas.

I took some time on Saturday to go shopping for Scrapbook paper. I've found the cutest little booklets that I can make to hold my giveaway as well as provide the book info and my social media links. While I don't need them just yet, the book has to come first, I did want to take advantage of the 50% off The Paper Studio paper line at Hobby Lobby. They have some great papers and I'm going to need A LOT just to have gifts for my beta readers as well as the conference in October. Some are a Christmas themed while others are just a drool-worthy vintage background. I will show you those as we get closer to release.

Tomorrow I'm ordering book marks as well as the components for those giveaways. Later this week, I'll get my new business cards printed and continue the process of getting the workbook pages configured for my talk about Choosing Your Top 3 Social Media Platforms. I need to start promoting that so that maybe we'll get some last minute signups for the conference. We always have room for more!

Happy Reading!