Website posts free press releases

Check out this site that allows you to submit press releases for new books, book signings, awards, events and special announcements for FREE.


AKAer  Chip MacEnulty told me about the site. Here's the link to his book.

Quote of the day

"Be of good cheer. Do not think of today's failures,

but of the success that may come tomorrow.

You have set yourselves a difficult task,

but you will succeed if you persevere;

and you will find a joy in overcoming obstacles.

Remember, no effort that we make

to attain something beautiful is ever lost."

--Helen Keller

A child's imagination

I love the way kids see the world.

I see a stick and think trash. My son sees the same stick and sees an alien blaster. Wow! What an imagination.

I always thought that the best part of childhood is imagination. Often children who are imaginative grow up to be creative thinkers and writers. Despite not recognizing the stick as an intergalactic weapon, I think I have a pretty decent imagination. How about you?

Can you think of some things you heard kids say or describe that showed their imagination? Here are some to get us started on a list.

1. A kid describes a crescent moon as the tip of a fingernail.

2. Why does the sky cry? Asks a child when it rains.

3. I want to see the bouncing lights. (Lightening bugs)

4. I picked you some pretty yellow flowers, Mommy. (dandelions)

Perhaps if we looked at the world through a child’s eyes we might rediscover its beauty.

Now, you're turn.

Dropbox can simplify writing life

I must admit, I was a little leery about Dropbox when I was first introduced to the online storage solution by a fellow writer, but it's come in handy and has simplified my life.

    Here's how it works. Dropbox stores synchronized files in a cloud so they're available on any device I've installed this tool. So if I save a file to Dropbox, I can access that file via my smartphone, iPad, laptop, etc. And if I make a change to this file on any of these devices it is automatically synchronized  on all of them.

 So if I'm waiting in the doctor's office (and waiting and waiting and waiting) I can use that time wisely by working on my story by accessing it on my smartphone.  I can even invite my agent to a folder and she can access the same story.

     Here's a video that explains how it works much better than I can in writing and an article from PC Magazine. Do you use Dropbox?

Harry Potter going digital

Author J.K. Rowling announced today that her seven Potter novels will be sold as e-books starting in October— ending the boy wizard's status as one of the highest-profile holdouts against digital publishing.

"You can't hold back progress," Rowling said. "E-books are here and they are here to stay." 

Book prices will be announced closer to October.

Meanwhile, Pottermore, which Rowling created in partnership with Sony, will include an interactive reading experience of her books.

So what do you think of the ditigal announcement? Did it surprise you?

Here's the video in which Rowling talks about Pottermore.

This WIP is exhausting

I'm working on something that is extremely challenging for me in a number of ways. The book can be emotionally exhausting at times. It angers me, shocks me, makes me cry and yet I push on because I must tell this story.

I've been praying a lot about it, too. Asking God for His guidance and to give me the strength I need to pull these threads together. I'm a double-rainbow-kind-of-girl, so fitting the dysfunctional pieces of one life with that of another life has been my most challenging work yet.

Don't get me wrong. I absolutely love this work. The characters are people to me and I want them to be happy and it bothers me that I can't make them happy. Now I know what you're thinking. Well, you're the writer. Make that happen. But that's not how it works for me. The characters show me the way and sometimes, well, sometimes I don't much like where they take me.

Do you ever feel like this? Please tell me I'm not the only weird one out there.

Oh the wisdom of Calvin and Hobbes

“-You can't just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood.
-What mood is that?
-Last-minute panic.”

Do you agree or disagree? Does the pressure of having to get something done help or hinder? And does it matter what the task is? For example, cleaning the house is different than writing. Maybe you need last-minute panic to clean the house but it would be detrimental to your writing, draining you of all creativity. Thoughts friends?

New agent open for submissions

Lauren Ruth is the newest addition to BookEnds and she's open for submissions.

She's looking for a slew of stuff, including literary fiction, romance, women's fiction, chick lit, young adult, middle grade and much more. Good luck to those who query her.

A minute list: summer day

Let's do a minute list. You know the drill. Use one word (or two)to describe the following. Mine is in ()'s. Copy and paste list into comments and add yours. Should only take a minute.

Firefly (bouncing light)
Grass (scratchy)
Garden (dry)
Pool (inground)
Beach towel (colorful)
Ice-cream cone (melting)
Yard sale (busy)
Bike (10-speed)
Hotdogs (grilled)
Sky (threatening)

Can't wait to see yours.

Harry Potter Puppet Pals

Gotta love these Harry Potter Puppet Pals.

Harry Potter vs. Voldemort Rap

Wow! This Deathly Hallows trailer is powerful

Here's the latest trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2. The movie hits theaters July 15. Do you plan on going opening day? I can't wait!