Goodbye to 2016

Hello, everyone!

I know I haven't posted in forever. I miss blogging, but unfortunately I just couldn't find the time in 2016. It was kind of a crazy year for me.

As far as writing things go, I parted ways with both my publisher and my agent. Yikes. But it's all for the best! I was able to re-release my novel, Don't Fall, and I have plans to re-release my novellas as well.

In the meantime, I've been working on other projects. My latest YA, Hello Goodbye, is on Swoon Reads, where you can read it for free. 

I have another YA I'm revising, and two middle grade projects I'm working on.

Writing was hard in 2016. I lost my confidence and my focus, but in 2017 I'm determined to get back on track. I will be attending the Storymakers conference in May, which I'm wildly excited about. Anyone else going? I can't wait to see people!

I'm putting my writing goals here to try and keep myself accountable. I will finish and polish one of my MGs to pitch at Storymakers. I will finish revisions on my YA. I will re-publish my novellas.

They may seem like modest goals compared to many people, but they're a good start for me.

How about you? What are your goals for 2017?

I Miss You!

Hello bloggers! It's been a while. I know.

I miss blogging, but I can't seem to remember how I ever managed to keep up with a blog, raise my four kids, and actually have time to do things like write, or do laundry.

I didn't finish Nano (this was my first year trying it) but I did write more words than I probably ever have in one month. I have one WIP out with cps, and another half finished. So I have been writing! And the laundry gets done, (if not put away.) ;)

But the blogging has basically stopped. Many of my old blogger friends I've found on Facebook. If we haven't connected there, please feel free to friend me! (There are not a lot of Schieffelbeins.)

I hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful (for my US friends) and I hope you're excited and joyful about the upcoming holidays. :) Please fill me in on any new happenings! I'd love to hear how your writing is going, or anything else that's been great in your life.

Perhaps in the new year I will find more time to keep up here. I certainly hope so. :)

Patsy Collins isn't a Crazed Stalker, and other Fun Facts

Today I have Patsy Collins here. If you aren't familiar with Patsy, you should be. She's a fun, witty romance writer and blogger. You can find out more about her on her website. 

Patsy has a new book out called Firestarter and it sounds wonderful. But before we get to that, a little Q&A with Patsy:

1. Alice in Firestarter has a fireman fantasy, (which I'm thinking many women can relate to.) There's just something about servicemen. Do you prefer firemen, cops, or military men yourself? (I'm actually married to a former Marine who is also a fireman.)

All the nice girls love a sailor, don't we?

My husband was in the Royal Navy when we met. Formal naval uniforms are very smart and that look really suits him. So did the No. 8s trousers (working uniform, rather than ceremonial), especially when I followed him up stairs. *sigh*

I should perhaps explain that I wasn't a crazed stalker who stowed away on frigates; we worked together. I had a really sensible civilian job in a finance department and he needed to sweet talk someone in my department into signing off on the photographic equipment he needed, so that worked out very well for me.

Not that I have anything against firemen. Especially if, like Hamish, they're nice to animals, can cook and are pretty good at massage. Obviously he's good at the whole rescuing people from burning buildings part and has muscular thighs. *sighs again* (though not quite as much over my character as my lovely husband)

2. It sounds like Alice's family is also a big part of the story. I love reading about family dynamics. Who was your favorite family member to write about, and how do they add complications to Alice's story? 

Yes, her family are important, both to Alice and the story. Her parents are both lovely, though her dad is perhaps just a touch obsessive about his hobbies which include making the worst wine never to kill anyone.

My favourite though has to be Alice's big sister Kate. She was so much fun to write about that I'm considering giving her a book to herself. Kate is very fond of her sister and wants what's best for her. That is, what's best according to Kate.

Alice's steady boyfriend, Tony, is altogether too dull, according to Kate. Eggs on plates is a daft idea, according to Kate (to be fair I agree). Daring red dresses are a sensible choice, according to Kate. Hot sex with members of the emergency services is also an excellent idea. Trouble is Kate doesn't keep these opinions to herself and doesn't often let people avoid following her advice. Generally it's Alice who's her target, but Kate isn't opposed to helping others, even complete strangers in changing rooms.

Then there's the calender thing, all that rubbish over ring sizes and the way she reacts when Tony claims to be innocent of making the hoax calls. Basically Kate herself is a complication for Alice.

3. And just for fun, when writing or reading romances what's your steamy drink of choice? Tea, coffee, cider, or hot chocolate? 

When writing, it's tea. I do about a paragraph to the cup if you include editing. Actually it's tea for reading to, usually. I drink a lot of tea.

And now for a little more about the book! (Which looks awesome, by the way.)

Alice has a fantasy. It starts with being rescued by a hunky fireman, involves the kiss of life and ends in him not needing his uniform. At the New Forest Show, Alice is offered an innocent version of her dream. Reluctantly she turns down fireman Hamish's invitation. 

Despite Alice's blameless behaviour, boyfriend Tony's obsessive jealousy kicks in. Hamish wants to take Tony's place, but a hoaxer ensures Alice already sees far too much of Hampshire Fire Service. The threat of an explosive sprout surprise, her mum's baking, sister Kate's mind boggling pep talks and the peculiar behaviour of Alice's boss Miles provide distractions. 

Is Alice really in danger? What is Kate up to? Can Hamish possibly be as perfect as he seems? It takes Alice masses of wonderful food, disgusting wine, smelly mud, red footed crows and steamy Welsh passion, but she finds the answers. And rethinks her fantasy.

You can buy Firestarter on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

and add it to your TBR list on Goodreads.

IWSG: October

It's the first Wednesday of the month and that means it's time for insecure writers all over the blogosphere to unite!

Big thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh and his wonderful co-hosts this month,TB Markinson, Tamara Narayan, Shannon Lawrence, Stephanie Faris, and Eva E. Solar! 

Also going on now: the IWSG Anthology Contest is open until November 1! The theme is Alternate History/Parallel Universe and any member of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group is encouraged to enter.

I had a rough summer, writing-wise. I had so much going on it was really hard to find time to write. I started feeling like a giant loser. Like I was basically quitting. Thankfully this month I've finally gotten back into the swing of things. It's the 7th and I've already written more than I did all last month.

But I was talking to a friend yesterday and she was going through the same thing. Feeling like quitting. It's so hard. I think we all go through times like this. Where we feel like phonies. Or we feel like it'll never happen for us. 

But one thing I've learned is that the people who it happens for, the people who have books out in the world, are the people who just flat out don't give up. They work their butts off. The push through those doubts and they keep going.

So that's what I'm going to do. And what I encourage all of you to do. 

IWSG: September

It's the first Wednesday of the month, and that means Insecure Writers Support Group day. :) A day for writers all over the blogsphere to share their insecurities and help encourage each other.

Big thanks go out to Alex J. Cavanaugh, our fearless leader and IWSG founder, and to his wonderful cohosts, Heather M. Gardner, Christine Rains, Dolorah at Book Lover, Julie Flanders, and Murees Dupé. 


As I sit here and think about writing this post, I'm not sure what to say. What am I insecure about? A better question right now may be what am I not feeling insecure about? This summer has not been a good one where writing is concerned. I've been so busy with other things, writing has taken a backseat. But with school starting I'm excited to get some more down time and hopefully get a lot more writing done.

Hopefully.

I'm also on submission right now, which is hard. There's a lot of waiting, with occasional nos thrown in, then more waiting. Needless to say it is anxiety-inducing.

And now I need to change the title of my ms that's on submission because a popular author just released a book with a very, very similar title. And while I know that titles often change once in the hands of a publisher anyway, it still feels stressful now. I still feel like I need to come up with something else to call it while on sub, because we all know the current title will need to be changed at some point. And I hate titles.

Boo.

Okay, whining over. On the up side, I have finished another round of revisions on said ms and I think it really is in the best place now. On the up side, I am on submission. Which means I found an agent who loved my story and I'm thankful for that.

It's easy to get down about things at any step along this road, because each step can be hard. But it's good to stop sometimes and remember all the hard steps we've already made.

Have a great September everyone! I hope you had a wonderful summer! :) :)

Cover Reveal: NO INTEREST IN LOVE

So remember that pretty book that was on my TBR list? 

(I'm reading it now and it's great so far.) 

Well, the cover for the next book in the series is being revealed today and it's equally wonderful!

Don't they look great together?

You can find out more about it on Cassie Mae's blog. If you (somehow) aren't familiar with Cassie, you really need to go check her out. She's as sweet and funny as her books. :)

You can add NO INTEREST IN LOVE to you TBR list on Goodreads here!

IWSG: July

It's time for another Insecure Writers Support Group. The first Wednesday of every month we share our fears, our insecurities, and also our encouragements. Big thank you to the group's founder and co-host, Alex J. Cavanaugh, and the other awesome co-hosts, Charity Bradford, S.A. Larsen, AJ, Tamara Narayan, Allison Gammons, and Tanya Miranda!

This is a wonderful group for writers, and if you aren't familiar with it, I highly recommend you check it out.



So, insecurities. . . There are plenty to choose from. I'm trying to get back into blogging, but not doing so great. I'm on submission for the first time, which is its own big ball of scary.

But right now the thing freaking me out the most is probably time. In that I don't have enough of it. Summer is already one third over and it's been crazy. We're working on our new house and slowly moving in. (Although we hope to fully move in this weekend and then get our old house ready to show.) There have been horse shows and band lessons and sleep overs, and rehearsals for Cinderella. All things cutting into my writing time and leaving me feeling rather unproductive.

So, any tips on keeping your writing time sacred? On not letting the demands of everything else in the world keep you from your keyboard? Thanks. Because I need them right now. :)

(Maybe I'll repeat this in my head a few times a day.) ;-)