I Don’t Know if You Know This…

But writing is difficult. Incredibly so, some days. Enough that I want to give up sometimes, because I get convinced no one is going to read my work.

Books are work. Some people don’t realize that. I mean, you walk into a book store, snatch your fave author’s latest book off the shelf, pay for it and leave. But as you’re doing that, or sitting down later to read it, do you ever consider the time and bloody effort it took to write it? If not, don’t worry. Most people don’t.

Writers get frustrated. We wonder why other authors are selling more or making more money or have more Instagram followers than we do. I’ve been blessed to have a muse who works cheap and doesn’t complain about the time we put in, but I get tired. And I wonder if it’s worth all the effort.

I wonder if I’m any good at what I’m doing. Especially when I don’t get reviews on my books. Or when people say they’re reading something I wrote and then never comment on it. Is it worth all the effort? Why put myself through it?

Because I freaking love it, damn it. Not gonna apologize. Since I made the decision to only publish my books on Kindle Vella (super easy to access them, by the way – they’re all available through the Kindle app on your phone or tablet, or go to Amazon and look my name up), I’ve been able to write and publish more. I have 14 books up on Amazon now. Four of them are being written; you can read the chapters (episodes) that are currently posted, and I’ll add more as I finish them.

But as much as I love it, it is hard work. And authors don’t always get a lot of validation, either. We don’t make much money from our work, even though we wish we did. I’d love to go down to two days a week at my job and write more, but that’s not going to happen any time soon. This isn’t a pity post. It’s a post to say, hey, next time you pick up a book, stop and appreciate the work that went into it. Leave a review. Send the author a message on Instagram or Twitter (lf you liked it. Let’s not be a jerk, okay? Plenty of that out there already on book sites).

Anyway. Thanks for reading. I hope you’re enjoying the book you’re currently reading.

💖💫📚

My work space.

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All the Holiday Cheer and Catching Up, Too

Hey everyone, long time no talk, yeah? Yeah. I haven’t kept this website as updated as I’d originally planned when I started it. I’ll get right to the point: life has been rough this year. I fell and broke/dislocated my right ankle way back in February, which was not fun. Lots of rods and pins had to be installed. We’ve dealt with other medical issues all year, and as of now, my maternal grandmother’s health is failing badly, and we expect this to be our last Christmas with her.

On a brighter note, I have sent Spin, the final Flying Ponies novel, to my editor and am waiting to hear back from her. It was a difficult book for me, much more difficult than either Lift or Tilt were, but maybe the last book in a trilogy is supposed to be. There’s a lot to wrap up, a lot of expectations riding on those final words. But I think it’s good. I think it’s fitting. I guess in March or April, when Spin gets released, we’ll see if the readers think so, too.

We saw Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker yesterday, and for me, it was everything it needed to be. Talk about wrapping up a series! Wow. And we know there’s more to come from Disney. My family just subscribed to Disney+ on Saturday, so we haven’t started The Mandalorian yet, but I’ve heard good things about it. My favorite fandom will always be Star Wars; my husband is a huge comic book fan, and I’m quite fond of a number of heroes, especially in the DC universe, but for me, the saga that George Lucas started back in 1977 will always be my fandom home. Rise of Skywalker was emotional for me, and I know it will be for a lot of people, just as it should be. It’s the ending of an era, and with Disney helming the franchise now, it opens the way for a new one.

I have the first novel in my next series all done, except for the crucial editing. It’s titled Clandestine, and it’s the first in the upcoming Traitors’ War series. It is set in the fictional world of Imperium, and the first book plays out on the fictional continent of Pentallia, a place where magic, called Illumination, has been outlawed. Different characters will tell the story through the series, including (but not limited to) a princess, a prince, a Shadowliege (assassin), a Knightagent (think a sword-and-gun wielding CIA agent), and an emissary searching for her place in the world. My plan is to release Clandestine in October of 2020, but we’ll see if that is feasible. The first chapter of it will be included in the back of Spin.

My goal for 2020 with this website is to update it once a week, and to talk about not only life in general, but the writing and author life. I hope to keep telling interesting stories.

Merry Christmas, everyone, or if you prefer, happy holidays. May the season bring warmth to you and yours, and may you make wonderful memories with friends and loved ones. My husband and I always wrap presents today, on December 23rd, and watch a movie while we do it. And tomorrow night, on Christmas Eve, after the service at our church, we hang the stockings and put out the presents, and then relax with a bit of Jack or maybe some rum, mixed in with Coke or eggnog. I like our traditions, and I know you all have yours, too. I hope they include Jesus, but if they don’t, know He is always willing to meet you.

Have a wonderful day, ladies and gents.

TILT IS COMING…

Hey everyone, I know I haven’t been posting here as much lately. I tend to post more to Instagram and cross-post to my Facebook author page and my Twitter account. But there is big news afoot…

Tilt, book two in The Flying Ponies trilogy, is releasing on Saturday, March 2, 2019. I am having a book launch party at the Shelby Area District Library (where I work) on March 2, from 4-6 pm. Both Tilt and Lift, book one in the trilogy, will be available to buy. I will also sign the books.

Here is the back cover copy for Tilt:

Charlotte Flynn is on a mission. 
Betrayed by both Penumbra and her Uncle Baron, Charlotte is seeking the missing Flying Ponies in the hopes of uniting them against their wayward leader. Joined by Dreadful, a crazy cavalry horse; Black, her new boyfriend; and her family and friends, she plans to find the missing carousel horses before Penumbra and Baron do. 

But the hunt won’t be easy. An old friend of Black’s shows up, with intentions that might not be as honorable as she says. The Tyranny holds some of the Flying Ponies in their possession – and they’re not giving them up. Penumbra, determined to have all the carousel horses to himself, will stop at nothing to defeat Charlotte and Dreadful.

And if that isn’t enough, Charlotte discovers she, like her traitorous uncle, has magic flowing through her. Determined to bring the Flying Ponies back together no matter the cost, the sixteen-year-old may end up paying the ultimate price.

I look forward to seeing everyone! If you have any questions about the books, characters, the Flying Ponies, or writing in general, please feel free to ask them. I love talking about writing!

What’s Happening Next

So as most of you know, Lift is now available as a Kindle pre-order, and the soft cover ARCs are in my hands. Three have been sent out to others. One will go to someone who will review it for our local paper, and one is staying right here with me. So what comes next?

The release party is being held April 21, from 4-6:30 pm, at the Book Nook & Java Shop, in Montague, Michigan. The book will be available from Amazon on that day as both an e-book and a trade paperback. I am also going to have the book available from other distributors; most notably from Ingram, from whom most libraries order their books.

The second book in The Flying Ponies trilogy, Tilt, is complete. I won’t look at it for 6-8 weeks or longer. When I do begin going through it, I will be looking at how it flows and what changes need to come about. When it’s as far as I can take it, it will be sent to my editor, Kat Szmit, and together we’ll mold it until it’s ready.

In the meantime, give or take a month or two, I will begin writing Spin, the final book in the trilogy. Once The Flying Ponies is finished, I’ll begin work on the next story, which I’ve already started notes for.

The writing life is busy, but I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Back To It

The holidays have come and are just about gone. Today is January first. We took down the Christmas decorations. Tomorrow, I go back to work. The kids and my hubby return to school the day after. Schedules resume, and life goes as if the holidays hadn’t happened. 

But this is the beginning of a new year, and with it, there will be new adventures for us all. My first novel debuts in April. That is an exciting adventure that I can’t wait to go on. There will be new stories to write. When spring comes, there will be trail rides to take. The Silver Lake ORV park will open, and we’ll take our Jeeps out there. Speaking of Bernadette, my ’99 Cherokee, she’s getting a lift to help her negotiate the dunes and trails better.

What you looking forward to in the new year? A new project? A new family member or job? Whatever it is, I wish you all the best!

The Author Life…or Something Like That

It’s beautiful outside today. It’s 71 degrees (according to my weather app on my Android), and there’s a breeze playing through the trees outside my window. The trees are starting to change, finally. With all the rain and wind we got here in west Michigan last week, I wasn’t sure there’d be any leaves left.

Tonight is the last home football game, and last game period for the Shelby Tigers. They fought valiantly, but without much avail this year. The highlight of the home games was the Shelby Marching Tigers, the high school marching band my son plays trumpet in. I guess maybe my opinion is swayed, being a band mom. The football team really did try hard this year.

My niece and I attended the Breathe writing conference back on October 6th, and it was amazing. I got to sit in on sessions led by two very talented women, Rachel McMillan (her Canadian accent is so COOL!) and Cynthia Beach, who led a great session on writing settings. B (my niece) and I decided we definitely want to attend the whole conference next year. It’s already in my Google calendar.

So what about actual writing? Well, I’ve been editing Lift, my YA contemporary fantasy novel coming from Wicked Whale Publishing in 2018. I’m finding out that being a pantser-type writer means quite a bit of revision. I’m also writing Tilt, the second in The Flying Ponies series.

Life does get in the way, though, of that thing we writers like to do: write. We’ve had doctor’s appointments this week and upcoming doctor and dentist appointments in the next two weeks. We’re going to Cedar Point amusement park with my husband’s brothers and their families next weekend, where I’m hoping to snag some selfies with the Muller “Haunted Cavalry Horse” carousel horse that resides in the park’s Frontier Town Museum. We’ve also got the Shelby Marching Tigers’ Spectacular next Friday night, where the marching band plays in the high school auditorium. It is quite a sight!

Throw in high school and middle school conferences, youth group activities, those pesky TV shows my hubby and I can’t live without, the books we’re trying to read, a health concern for me, and a myriad of other things (have I mentioned our two horses and two Dachshunds?!), and it’s a wonder I get any writing or editing done at all. I’m very new to this author life, and while loving it to death, I do struggle with finding time for everything. Because it’s all good stuff. Great stuff, actually, when it has to do with my family and animals.

What do you do to find time? To make time? I have a pretty pink soft cover notebook that’s quite large, and that’s what I make my writing plans in every week. I try to stick to the schedule I lay out. Sometimes I do really well, and other times, well, not so much. This week, I know without checking my planner, I didn’t do so hot. But at least I have a reference for what I really need to be working on. I put stickers and shiny sticky gemstones in it to flash it up a little. Hopefully this next week I’ll manage to follow my plans a little better.

So onward to the last football game of the season. And onward with this crazy author life!