A BOOK STORE SPOTLIGHT

 I thought I'd fill in this Thursday with a news piece. 

All My Best!

~ Angela

CAMP NANO PREP #3 - And An Apology

 Good morning, friends

First off, I got so caught up in prepping for the weekend Write-A-Thon I failed to post the information here. However, if you watched my Camp Nano Prep #2, you got the information anyway. I will try to do better about my postings.

This was the Camp Nano Prep #3 from last week where I talked about TOOLS. What are the things we need to have for camp. While I address the normal things you'd think about when sitting down to write, also consider things that are more personal to you. We are three days away from Camp Nano Kick-off! I will be doing a premiere on Friday, March 31st. Time yet to be determined but I'll let you know tomorrow when I post Camp Nano Prep #4.

Here's #3 in the video series:

All my best!

~Angela

AUTHOR TUBE RE-LAUNCH & Camp NanoWrimo Prep!

 Good morning, everyone!

I really loved the quote yesterday by Mark Twain. A simpler version of that quote that has come through over the years is 'If you can Believe it, You can Achieve it.'

However you phrase those words, the meaning is still the same. 

For me, I Believe I can be a 6-figure author. Is that going to happen overnight? No. But I do BELIEVE if I take the proper steps, I will get there!

I'm determined to finish Book 2 of the Planned to Perfection Series. I took four days to soak up Eureka Springs energy and get the scene cards in order. I figured out I had lost my 'voice'... something we'll talk about in a later post.  Now that I've found my 'voice' again, this book should just about write itself... in a manner of speaking. LOL

Camp NanoWrimo is going to play a big part in that. I'm focused on accomplishing my goals. As of April 1, we'll move into the second quarter of the year... and my Q2 planning in the HB90 planner... created by author Sarra Cannon. Sarra is my mentor. I think she finally realized her impact on her community last year when she spoke at a conference in Houston and so many people came up to her... knowing who she was. At first, she was caught off guard and her anxiety kicked in but as the conference progressed she realized how truly blessed she is!  You can here her story HERE.

In honor of Camp NanoWrimo, I've re-launched my YouTube channel.  

For the next two weeks we'll be prepping for CampNano. With some tips from Sarra, as well as things I've learned along the way, we'll set ourselves up for a successful April Camp. Keep in mind, success is different for everyone so think about what you want to accomplish during Nano, check out this video and I'll be back tomorrow with Part 2.

All my best

~ Angela

MONDAY MOTIVATION - Making Progress!

 Good morning, everyone!

I have a full week ahead, bringing lots of things. 

I finally started tackling the household chores that have been let go during my illnesses. Felt good to give the bathroom and laundry room a deep clean yesterday but boy am I feeling it this morning.

One of the things I need to do this week is to contact the Media dept. at Fort Polk. I finally figured out what the internal struggle is of my hero (as well as a bit of enlightenment on the heroine's issues) In able to approach my hero's growth, I need to know if the scenario I have in mind for him, what has caused his struggle, is valid. When it comes to the military stuff, I'm trying not to leave anything to chance.

Last week, I sent off about eighteen requests for info from the authors in the Something Blue anthology releasing May 17th. I've heard back from three so far. I'd hoped to start shining the spotlight on those authors this week, running the spotlight on Tuesdays and Wednesdays until I had spotlighted all of the authors. One author I did hear back from was Shirley Jump. I've known Shirley for years. We each ran workshops back in our AOL days almost twenty years ago! She is happy to join us however, she is in the midst of wedding stuff and asked if I could put her last. I am happy to accomodate!

In the mean time, I did pick up a new Love Inspired on Saturday and will be using that tomorrow. 

As to my day job as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator (only for a few more months), the company will release a new catalog and line of products to the public on May 3rd. That means lots of prep work for promotion and project making between now and then. 

The kanban board didn't get completed last week so you'll see that on the list. I also didn't get to sprint every day but I did spend time making notes on the issue I mentioned above. 

* Kanban board

* Video tracking board

* Stampin' Up! necessities

I'll see you tomorrow with a Spotlight and book review

All my best

~ Angela

WRITER TIP THURSDAY - How Do Books Get To Our Readers

 Good morning, everyone!

I have an unusual Writer Tip Thursday this week. 

Thanks to my friends in Sarra Cannon's 'hearties hangout' on Discord for sharing this!

Do you know the POD process? Here's a video that shows you how our books get into the hands of the reader:

All My Best

~Angela

MONDAY MOTIVATION - My Weekly Plan

 

Good morning, everyone!

I've decided to go back to the Goal Setting posts for Monday with a bit of positivity woven in. Please bear with me on this transition.

Here we are - the first quarter of the year almost gone and I'm just now setting goals for the year. 

One of the first things I did was sign up for Sarra Cannon's HB90 Bootcamp course. I've followed the idea through her videos for the past three or four years but decided now was the time to actually take the course. I've followed Sarra for years. Life has thrown her lots of curves in the past year yet she is still smiling, still positive and still motivating others.

Her HB90 course has you setting and managing three main goals to through in a 90 day period.  We've just started this round but she offers the course four times a year. Follow her (under HeartBreathings) on YouTube, FB and IG to get a heads up when the next round will begin... usually the last two weeks of a quarter so the next round should begin about mid-June. She uses the Kanban board method. I'll drop one of her videos at the bottom of this post.  I love working with the Kanban board and have used her system very loosely the past couple of years. With having lost nearly the first three months of this year, I decided 'loosely' wasn't going to work if I want at least two more books published by the end of the year.  You will also find her HB90 planner in her ETSY SHOP.

We had our kick off call yesterday. For the next seven days, we'll be given assignments to help set us up for success. There's a lot of prep work. We don't even get to the KanBan board until Day 6 or 7. 

I'm already off to a slow start, having slept through the first twenty-five minutes while on pain meds. I am not a skier and usally pretty steady on my feet but...

We had about 2.5" of snow last Thursday. Most of it was gone by Saturday morning but I took the least steep part of the yard to go out to my truck. I needed a grocery trip. I made it to the truck once to start the vehicle warming up, came back into the house for my purse/ phone - then promptly fell on my backside going back to the truck. Mind you, there wasn't 1/4" of snow left anywhere I was walking and the temperature was above freezing. I was fine til I went to roll over so I could get up... and heard the #4 rib pop on the right side. So all the things I planned to do, like have my HB90 workbook/ planner ready to go for the conference call on Sunday didn't get done. I'm comfortable sitting/ reclining but getting up to move is like doing crunches, compacting the rib into the one below. So not comfortable or condusive to accomplishing anything. Of course, Bob is on the boat so I'm managing on my own.

My Top 3 for this week are simple

1 - Remember to take it easy so this rib can heal

2 - Work on An Ozarks Homecoming EVERYDAY

3 - Remember to take it easy

I'm not going to push myself. I need this rib to heal before I have to start working in the yard/ garden. That said, I think getting older is going to make healing a slower progress than I would like. It is what it is.

Here's one of Sarra's many videos using her HB90 method and her Kanban board:

What's on your agenda for this week? Are you writing? Share in the comments below what is going to be your biggest hurdle this week in achieving your goals!

All my best

~Angela

FRIDAY PHOTO On Saturday - Play Monopoly Day

 Good morning, everyone!

NOTE: I really wanted to inclulde this post but yesterday was Writer's Nest so I'm posting this one today. Have fun!

I think most every household in America (and around the world) has owned a monopoly board game at one time or another so seems fitting the game should have its own day.

Write a memory of playing Monopoly or include the game in your current story. 

With just the two of us, Bob and I have found we prefer a card game version called DEAL. Santa brought us a deck a couple of years ago. When Bob is home, the deck/ card holder never leave the dining room table. We are on our second deck. This particular deck is hard to find. The newer one is harder to read. The deck we have is shown in the video below.

All my best

~ Angela

WRITER TIP THURSDAY - Garrett Robinson

 Good morning, everyone!

With a lot of us participating in NanoWriMo, I though this tip timely.

I talked about writing sprints in my video HERE.

Today's writer's tip comes from YouTuber Garrett Robinson on 6 Tips for Better Writing Sprints.

If you're looking to participate in sprints, leave me a comment below. I'm usually writing between 3 & 6 p.m. CST  and power writing on some Saturdays. You can also message me on IG - @AngelaDrakeA

There are also sprint groups on Discord, Slack and YouTube. You'll find links to some of the YouTube sprints I've found on my video link above.

All my best

~Angela

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

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

AN OZARKS HOMECOMING - A Final Resting Place

 Good morning.

Today's post is the last in this series about Cpl. Donald Matney. In the previous video, Tom gave kudos for the respect and the coverage given to his nephew's homecoming. 

This video is the presentation from one of our news stations out of Springfield MO.

All my best

~Angela

AN OZARKS HOMECOMING - Searching For A Loved One - Part 1

 Good morning, friends

In keeping with the 'An Ozarks....' theme in my titles, the Soldier's Homecoming has become finalized as An Ozarks Homecoming... since I have two military men coming home in the story.  

I first told you about how the germ of this story came about in THIS POST, introducing Cpl. Donald Matney.

I can't fathom the despair learning your son or daughter isn't coming home. Compound that heartache with not knowing where they even are! MIA - Missing In Action leaves a lot of questions unanswered for families. 

Did you know that the Korean War was the first war where they returned remains to the US? Yet, they still refer to Korea as 'the forgotten war'.

Donald Matney's family never gave up. His niece, Sandy, grew up seeing her uncle's picture on the wall and asking 'who is that?'  As she grew older and identifying remains in the Punch Bowl in Honolulu became a thing, she and her husband (Tom Gormley) began the long process of finding Donny and bringing him home. Tom has been invaluable in my research, both through his video presentation at the Broomfield Veteran's Museum in Broomfield Colorado and providing actual documents through email.

Beginning today, and for the subsequent four weeks, I'm going to share the video presentation from Tom. If you have someone you've been trying to find, perhaps the Gormley's story will give you direction. Along the way you'll get an inside look as to what those men and women in Korea endured on what was only to be a 'Police Action'. 

All my best

~Angela

WRITER TIP THURSDAY - The Master Class

 Good morning, everyone!

I'm in the garden early this morning then in the kitchen canning this afternoon.

Welcome to a new month!

PIXABAY

The Month of July is going to be Christmas In July. Christmas reads you might want on your list, tips from authors who've written Christmas stories, etc.

I'm still putting the list together so in the mean time, I thought I'd kick the month off with THIS article from MASTERCLASS on 8 Tips for Improving Your Writing. 

Camp Nano for April began today. I'm really hoping to push through this block. I have ideas but household stuff has to come first. You'll find me on the boards as RainLyte! I invite you to come friend me and we'll encourage each other!

I've also started #6M4L with Sarra Cannon. There are some areas in my life I really need to work on. One of them is being more consistent with my writing so I've joined her 'Don't Break the Chain' promise... to write every day. We're focusing on July but what a great way to keep the momentum going by the end of the month.

If you'd like to join us, just look for the hastag #6M4L .

For Don't Break the Chain, simply pull out any calendar for July. Every day that you write, put an X through the date, put a smiley face sticker... whatever will inspire you to KEEP GOING! You can also sign up for Sarra's newsletter and get access to a lot of free printables.  Check out her video below then join us. You'll find her links in the video description box:

I'm off the rest of this week. I purchased peaches and blueberries yesterday that need put into jars... and of course, writing!

All my best

~Angela

FRIDAY PHOTO - National Cellophane Tape Day

 

Good morning, friends!

Yesterday was National Cellophane Tape Day.

Okay, I'm going to admit to stretching the post topic a bit today so please bear with me.

While a lot of things are digital in today's office duties, we still use cellophane tape a lot - especially around the holidays and other occasions requiring us to attempt gift wrapping.

That said, whenever I hear the word 'cellophane' my brain instantly goes to the scene in the movie CHICAGO (that link will take you to the movie version)  But when I went looking for the previous link, I found the following one by Ben Vereen performed on The Muppets:

All my best

~Angela

WRITER'S TIP THURSDAY - J. K. Rowling - 5 TIPS!

 Good morning, everyone!

I know there are mixed beliefs when it comes to J. K. Rowling but you can not discount the fact she's made a ton of money as well as a astronomical readership. She has also brought young writers to the forefront, encouraging them to tell the stories within them.

You can follow J. K. Rowling on her WEBSITE, TWITTER and FACEBOOK

Through various interview clips, J. K. Rowling shares FIVE great tips for writers"

All my best

~Angela

FRIDAY PHOTO - NATIONAL UNDERGROUND AMERICA DAY

 Today is National Underground America Day!

Here's a brief explanation taken from the National Day Calendar website:

On March 14th, National Underground America Day recognizes the approximately 6,000 people who live in some form of underground architecture across North America. The observance also celebrates the lifestyle, architecture, and benefits of underground living.

Completely covered homes or earth-sheltered homes are covered on all sides with soil while earth-bermed homes leave one side exposed. Both allow for more stable temperatures within the home and less exposure to the elements.

However, there are also some disadvantages. If you like lots of light and throwing open the windows on a summer day, this type of house might not be for you.

Founded by Malcolm Wells in 1974, National Underground America Day recognizes that thousands of Americans dwell within the Earth, not just upon it. Wells (1926 – 2009) is considered “the father of modern earth-sheltered architecture.”

 Wells was also a writer, illustrator, draftsman, lecturer, cartoonist, columnist, and solar consultant. He practiced what he preached by living in a modern earth-sheltered building of his own design, too.  He also took up the challenge of underground architecture as he believed the Earth’s surface was “made for living plants, not industrial plants.”

One of the activities suggested to celebrate National Underground Day is to tour an Earth Home. Here's a video for you.

All my best

~Angela

WRITER TIP THURSDAY - Ian McEwan

 Good morning, everyone.

I am loving the videos I'm finding on YouTube. Many are intros to The MasterClass series. I've heard good things about MasterClass.

Photo Credit from his website:

Annalena McAfee

Today's video is with Ian McEwan.

Mr. McEwan is from the United Kingdom. I enjoyed hearing his speak and I hope you will, too.

You'll find Ian McEwan on the following social media streams:

    WEBSITE   FACEBOOK

All my best

~Angela

WRITER TIP THURSDAY - Nicholas Sparks - Tips For Aspiring Writers

Good morning, everyone!

Today's writing tip video comes from Nicholas Sparks. 

This guy has written some of my favorite books that became movies. I think my favorite is Nights in Rodanth.  

I'd love for you to share your favorite in the comments below.

You can catch up with Nicholas Sparks via the various social media sites:

WEBSITE   Facebook   Twitter   IG ( NicholasSparks )  

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT & REVIEW - Julia London - Jack (Book 5)

 Good morning, everyone!

I'm coming in a bit later this morning than I'd planned. I slept in later than normal, probably because I was up way past my bedtime swiping my kindle screen. Once I start reading one of these 7 Brides for 7 Soldier's books I can NOT put them down. I've been reading them from start to finish.

Today, we're shinging the spotlight on Julia London. 

Here's a bit about Julia from her website:

Julia London is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of more than thirty romantic fiction novels. She is the author of the popular  Cabot Sisters historical series, including The Trouble with Honor, The Devil Takes a Bride, and The Scoundrel and the Debutante. She is also the author of several contemporary romances, including Homecoming Ranch, Return to Homecoming Ranch and The Perfect Homecoming.

Julia is the recipient of the RT Bookclub Award for Best Historical Romance and a six-time finalist for the prestigious RITA award for excellence in romantic fiction.

She lives in Austin, Texas.

I love when author's take their bio to the next level. Make sure you check out her ABOUT page for  a 'more like Julia' bio. 

Julia wrote Jack's story in the series and I knew as soon as I hit a specific part in the story, this lady had to be a Texan. I also thought perhaps, she may have interviewed a friend of mine as part of her research. Maybe not, but as I read I seriously went 'Oh my God, this is Chuck's song' - a song by Texas musical artist (and he truly is an artist when it comes to songwriting - see my Interview with him HERE) Chuck Hawthorne and the story line of how Jack Carter came to have his struggle he needs to overcome in able to be with the woman he loves, 

A reminder about this series:

Fall in love with seven sexy and irresistible soldiers who find their courage and heart tested like never before in the battle for love! This multi-author collaborative series of contemporary romance novels is brought to you by bestselling authors Barbara Freethy, Roxanne St. Claire, Christie Ridgway, Lynn Raye Harris, Julia London, Cristin Harber and Samantha Chase. You won't want to miss a single one!

NOTE: Published in 2017

One of the best reviews you can give a book is to say this simple phrase: I could not put this book down! While the heroine, Whitney Baldwin, has her own struggle and tends to be a bit chatty, there's a reason. She tends to talk too much, and rapidly, when she's nervous. While I'm a big dialogue person, the chattiness bothered me until I understood why she talks too much at times.

Julia London did a superb job of getting into the soul of her character and his struggles with PTSD. I'm sharing a video by Chuck Hawthorne that while not talking about PTSD, does give us an incredible insight into what our men and women see over there. Things we don't even want to imagine and why so many come back troubled. Check out this video by Chuck:

As I've done with the previous books in this series:

Please check out Julia's BOOK PAGE to see a complete list of all her fabulous books! 

You'll find Julia London by following the links below:

WEBSITE   FACEBOOK   TWITTER   IG   PINTEREST   TUMBLR

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE   GOODREADS   

All my best!

~ Angela

WRITER TIP THURSDAY - Diane Callahan

 Good morning, Friends!

I'm sharing a video today from Diane Callahan. She is a writer as well as a book editor. Check out her webpage for some great content.

Wait... not yet!  In this video she offers up great advice on writing every day:

All my best

~Angela