COMING UP FOR AIR!

February 3rd, the ground hog was blessed with his shadow and JANO 2014 is behind me. That about sums up the past two weeks.

I did not finish the rough for Heart on the Line. The story just did not want to come out. I didn't have writer's block by any means. Words were flowing fine on everything else but my characters, Kassie and Bo, were determined to hide on the tour bus and not deal with their feelings. On January 30th, they decided to step out of the shadows and begin their journey to man and wife - thanks to a nudge from deceased Granny Pearl. I wrote over 4,000 words in the last two days of JANO, turning in a total word count of 25,038. Half way is good.

Our JANO after-party is scheduled for this Saturday and snow is in the forecast so as of right now, I'll be missing the celebration (4-hr round trip in snow does not sound fun!) But that's okay. Hubby is only home one more week. Once he is back on the road I can work round the clock again to get more accomplished in a day (and half a night).

For now... I just want to get business done during the day and spend time with him in the evening.

Happy Writing!
Angela!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! - A New Year with a New Plan

Wow!
I've had a couple of surprises this morning. First thing I thought of as I got out of bed was that I had not been in here to update you guys. Shame on me! My music blog and my creative blog have been humming with activity this week. But sadly, not here.

The second surprise came when I noticed I had not posted so much as a Merry Christmas since Cara Bristol stopped by in November. Okay... that six weeks I can understand and once I give you a quick rundown, you will too.

I spent the remainder of November scurrying to finish the bedroom remodel and start putting the house in order for the holidays. Right after Thanksgiving I made a trip to Nashville to get my granddaughters for 10 days while my daughter and son-in-law flew to WA state to do a meet and greet for her new job. There are a lot of miles between my home in southeast MO and their new up in northeast WA state. So I had to get in all the grandma love I could. I'm use to seeing my girls whenever I want so this move for them is really hard on grandma and grandpa.

While the girls were here, we hosted a luncheon for the Polish Sinfonia of Krakow Poland and our friends Maestro Steven Byess and his fiance Sara Graef.

After the luncheon my oldest granddaughter, Adrian (6) and I went to the local nursing care facility where the chamber orchestra entertained the residents with some holiday music. This while my supportive husband cleaned up and put food away. Right after the performance, we loaded the girls up and headed to Nashville.

Back from Nashville and time to breathe before we went back to Nashville for Christmas with the girls. They left for Arlington WA on January 7th and are on the road the final 14 hour drive of their journey as I speak. 

Since the new year I've been striving to get blogs on a running schedule, focus on work (and not how far away my babies are!) AND doing JANO with the Sleuth's Ink group. I have basically started my Nano book, Heart on the Line, from scratch. I want the rough draft of this novella finished THIS month. If determination counts for anything...

I have already scheduled blog guests for the coming months beginning in February. I also plan to revamp the blog a bit to make Who I Am and What I Write more clear. (Thanks to the fabulous advice from author Mia Marlowe) Check out her link for some great tips on what to look for when setting up or reconfiguring your blog.

So hang in there. I am! and 

Keep Writing!

~Angela

JANUARY RECAP

I was just over visiting a new blog I love. The author is Jennifer Greenleaf. Jennifer is a sweet gal and we share a lot of the same interests though we are miles apart on the map.

Today Jennifer talked about how even with a 2013 business plan in place, her January is not off to a good start. She is one of those people who've been plagued by a virus since late December. I know how much those things can bog you down. As she says, you have to keep reminding yourself it's beyond your control and keep moving forward. Her post inspired mine.

I was telling Bob a couple of days ago that I figured out why I just can not seem to get a foothold on my January. He is always gone the first three weeks of January - usually leaving right after New Years Day. This year, he was HOME the first three weeks.

Now understand, Bob does not do anything to prevent me from following my dream. He is the absolute most supportive man I could have ever asked for. He has always made sure I have what I need to keep plugging away at my career. The challenge is, because he is gone three weeks at a time, I value the time I have with him and want to spend my time with him. Yeah, imagine that. I actually want to spend time with the man I married. LOL

JANO helped me focus on at least getting my nighttime writing in. Now, with him gone for three weeks I'll be laying the foundation for the rest of my year. My editor at Polymer Cafe has already told me she will take all I want to submit and I've had a couple other good leads.

Saturday, we have the Wrap-Up party for JANO 2013. My art blog hop will be over with as of Sunday night (If you're a paper crafter, you'll want to check that blog hop out beginning Saturday to win some cool stuff!- KellysCreativeDreams )

If you made GOALS for 2013, NOW is the time to evaluate your progress.There is still plenty of time to make adjustments so you stay on track!

Happy Writing!
Angela

BEGINNING 2013...

... with a slow start.

I had that one week between Christmas and New Years to breathe. Afterwards it has seemed like I just can't catch up. But I'm gaining ground.

The first thing that caught me was JANO 2013. Now I KNOW JANO comes around every January first. And I also knew I would be the chairperson this year. So why did I still feel as if I were not prepared? I should have been. I knew what my JANO project would be and was (still am) excited about it's prospects. I was also able to get all the necessary book work in order for tracking the JANO participants. But the other things I wanted to also kick off the first part of the month seem to be dragging behind like the tin cans on the bride and groom car. I know they are there... I can hear them banging for my attention. But I'm trying to move forward while they continue to follow me.

Every day brings me closer to eliminating one of the cans. Like updating this blog. I had intended to talk all month about my JANO progress. I wanted to share the 'Rapunzel meets Fifty Shades of Grey' concept and how I was enjoying my first foray into a true erotic novel as an author. Instead, I've spent the time actually writing the novel. There's a concept. Although I'm not making the progress with this one I did in Nano, I am still finding the footings that I hope will be the basis for a great four-book series.

One of the things I am doing new this year is not just talking about my goals in a standard post but I am making them a permanent part of my sidebar. As I accomplish the items, I'll make notations. Together we can track my progress.

For now, I'm late to a writing sprint.
Happy Writing!
Angela

Where am I?

Wow... other than guests popping in on occasion, I've really left this place in the dark. I've been writing, but not much fiction. Right now my passion is in resurrecting an old love... music. Specifically, working in the entertainment field. I've been doing interviews, reviewing albums and books. Most of who I work with on a daily basis are Texas entertainers, though every once in awhile a Nashville guest walks through the door.
If you'd like to check out this side of me, you'll find me almost daily at KellysCountry

The other area keeping me busy is freelance for Polymer Cafe magazine. I began working with their editor about three years ago with the occasional "The Last Word' column - more of an editorial style. It was a nice foot in the door for what is becoming more steady work with this editor. I love working with Polymer Cafe and this editor. I'm hoping to step through other doors under the Scott Publishing umbrella next year.

I have done some short fiction pieces for competitions and little things are pulling me back to the longer items I want to finish.

And then there is always NanoWriMo and JANO on the horizon.

I'll pop in here more regular over the closing of the year. 2013 will find me writing full-time and sharing it all with you.

What are you working on?
Best
~Angela

Post Nano

Okay, my Nano was a complete wash as far as workable word count is considered. All I managed was to get a grasp on what the book needs to be about (aside from The Wild Rose Press guidelines for HonkyTonk Hearts), who the players are and what's at stake for each one. Oh yeah, and I proved I am definitely an outline kind of gal.

I think I'm a throwback from members of my family who were all truck drivers. Dad, retired after many years on the road, taught me at a young age how to read a road map. Two of my older brothers and an older sister all drove truck at some point in their lives. Being an over the road trucker (before GPS) meant knowing how to get from point A to point B and in the shortest amount of time. On the road, making delivery deadlines, like any other deadline, is critical to making sure everyone gets paid.

I am a planner. I need to know where I'm going, how I'm going to get there and if there are alternate routes should I need them. My road map stays tucked into the back of my driver's seat at all times just in case (though I have given in to using hubby's GPS when I go to Nashville). As a planner, I need to know all of those things about a book before I can write it. That's what I did for Nano.

I take December off from writing. December is my time to close out one year and prep for another. It's the only way I can manage all of the projects I have going on 24/7. But come January 1, 2012 while the rest of the world is recuperating from festivities and celebrations, I'll be participating in JANO with my local writers group, Sleuths Ink. We do things only slightly different than the big NANO group.

1) we still have to write 50k in NEW WORDS

2) we can work on an existing project AS LONG AS IT'S NEW WORDS

3) member privileges allows for some of us to do a collection of short stories - totaling 50,00 min.

4) we have an extra day to write. That 1 extra day can make a difference

5) members who write 50k + also go into a drawing for a Kindle at the end of the year.

So yeah, I'm gearing up for January 1st. Anyone is welcome to play. But joining Sleuth's does have a couple of advantages. :-)

Wanna play?