MONDAY MUSINGS - Deadlines

Deadlines, whether self-imposed or given to us are important. They keep us on track and on our toes. I have to tell you, I will be like a ballerina for the next eight weeks. I have not one but THREE crucial deadlines that all come to a head the first of October in some form.

My main goal is to have AN OZARKS CHRISTMAS ready to sell at the Ozark Creative Writers Conference October 11-13. That means I have to finish the revisions, get my cover, pass inspection of Beta readers plus a final run edit then set up and copies ordered by end of September. Also, I'd love to have my cover by the end of THIS month so that I can have something to begin marketing when I'm on Tiereny James' Sizzle In the Kitchen at the end of this month. We're going with a Christmas in July theme (since those are the best pictures of my kitchen!) so a great opportunity to start building interest in the upcoming release.

Speaking of the Ozark Creative Writers Conference. When you register for the conference, you may enter as many of the individual contests as you want at no additional charge. I have a list of about twenty out of the twenty-six categories I'd like to enter. This gives me the opportunity to write out of my comfort zone, try out new story ideas and hopefully win some prize money. I REALLY want to enter the Oxbow Award which has been a long-standing category offered by Dusty Richards. This year, the category will be a tribute to Dusty as he passed away earlier this year. OCW just isn't going to be the same without the big guy. Those entries HAVE to be postmarked by August 25th! Yikes! Have I started? What do you think? LOL

I am speaking at the conference this year on selecting the Social Media platforms that work best for you. There is NO WAY I can cover everything in a 30 min (plus 10 min for Q & A) talk. So I want to have a companion workbook available to sell. Note that also has to be done by end of September so I can get copies ordered.

Are you seeing a pattern of craziness here?

To top it all off, I'd love to have the rough draft of Jayson's Range finished so that I can pitch the story to Tiffany Schofield. Tiffany has been waiting two years and I feel this is the year. Jayson's Range is the first in a trilogy set in late 1800s Texas. I plan to dedicate the series to Dusty Richards.

So.. as I exhale here and think I may have lost my mind, I'm off to kick things into gear. I hope to later this week introduce you to my Writer's Bible and how I'll be using the set-up to keep me on task.

Tomorrow, we get back to our Spotlight Author series. Addison Brae will be joining us for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week.

In the mean time,
Happy Writing, Enjoyable Reading!

CURRENT PROJECT - September 22-28

Yes, it's me. No, I did not fall of the face of the earth. I have been writing. What I feel like doing right now is turning off the computer and taking a leisurely stroll through my property, on a path very much like this one. Though the leaves have not changed color yet, with today being the first day of Autumn, I know they will soon.

I put work aside last week to try and finish the first draft of Jayson's Range. I was not successful. But I wore myself out in the attempt. This week I am back to business during the day, then sprinting to work on Jayson's Range only for a couple hours at night. With no real deadline in sight maybe the story will flow better. Less pressure to write what isn't there.

Autumn begins at 9:29 p.m. CST. I hope you'll take a few minutes to welcome in the new season.

Off to write!

CURRENT PROJECT - Week of August 11, 2014

Welcome to the Old West...

For the next few weeks I'll be traveling back in time to 1884 in the first book of what I plan to be a trilogy - The McCracken series. The first is Jayson's Range.

Here's a sneak peek
When Kathleen Kennedy steps off the train in Merkel, Texas as a mail order bride with her young son she expects to meet the man she has come to marry. Instead, his oldest boy, Jayson, greets them. The tall man with the firm jaw is the farthest notion of a boy and where is Jay? Hearing her betrothed has been murdered, Kathleen refuses to show desperation. She and Charles have no place left to turn. Jayson’s temporary solution begins a journey for the three of them in a land where only the strongest survive and love is the tie holding everything together.

I can't remember how this story came to me but the characters began forming in time for Nanowrimo 2009. And here the WIP sits with only one polished chapter, the rest outlined and lots of work to do in between. Later in the week I hope to have a word count meter set up. My plan... to finish the rough draft of Jayson's story so I can pitch the series to Liz Pelleteir of Entangled Publishing at the ORA Conference in late September.

So hang onto those reins... we have a long trail drive ahead.