Tag Archives: National Novel Writing Month

A Brief Announcement and Redirection…

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Yes, I realize I haven’t posted anything real in over a week. (Last Tuesday’s Get Out and Vote Post doesn’t count.) Sorry about that, but I’ve been very busy with normal everyday life as well as anything-but-normal NANOWRIMO life. I’m happy to say I’ve had great success with NaNo this year, though. And here’s the big announcement: I’m up to 31,000+ words! I’m having so much fun with this one. I’ll tell you more about it later, but here’s a little hint: It’s about magic and the odd places you go to find it. It is a romance and it’s still untitled, so if anyone wants to leave me a suggestion for a title, I’d welcome it.

But if you want to read a real post from me today, I’m going to redirect you to Jersey Girl Book Reviews. As part of my blog tour, they’ve put up a very nice post featuring a little info about me and WHERE THE HEART LIES, a guest post titled “Capturing Magic: Lightning Bugs in a Mason Jar” and even a very nice, well-written, four-star review! Here’s a little tidbit from the review:

Where The Heart Lies is a poignant story of loss, grief, secrets, love, redemption and second chances.–Jersey Girl Book Review

Can you guess how much I enjoyed that review? So pop over and let JGBR know how much you appreciate their kindness to your favorite author–no, not Nicholas Sparks or J.K.Rowling. ME, silly. 🙂

Why you should make your bed during NaNo, plus today’s blog tour stop

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It’s day five of NaNoWriMo and I’m exhausted. The late nights, the weekend’s time change, and the chilly weather are combining to make me think longingly of my bed. It’s right upstairs, unmade and calling. Oh crap. If only I’d made it as soon as I got out of it!

To make it worse, I actually want to write. I’m loving my NaNo story this year. Writing 2,000+ words hasn’t been too much of a challenge. In fact, the first day I wrote 5,000+ words. NaNo should not be able to defeat me this year.

And yet.

First of all, who decided to put the time change on the first weekend of National Novel Writing Month? Okay, I realize to the rest of the world, this is November, but still. The time change always throws me off, and yesterday, when I could have slept an extra hour, I decided to get up and write an extra hour instead. Of course, if I hadn’t done that, I probably wouldn’t have made my goal before midnight, but still.

Second, I lay awake last night thinking of plot points and possible twists and the character I’ve just thrown in and how she’s going to betray the heroine…and I couldn’t get to sleep until nearly one o’clock. Then I had to get up and get my kids off to school so I could write this blog to complain about how tired I am.

Third, I did NOT make my bed this morning. Understand that most household chores go by the wayside during NaNo (or a routine writing spurt), but making the bed should never be one of them. It just makes it too easy to climb back into it!

Ah well, if you’d like to hear more from me after all this nonsense, visit me at The Brunette Librarian this morning for a very nice review of WHERE THE HEART LIES and my take on where all those people I write about come from before they spring out of my head and onto the page.

NANOWRIMO Day One: The Beginning

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As I write this, I have a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach. Is it indigestion? Butterflies? Nerves? Possibly all three. I can hardly believe November 1 is here. Today I launch myself on a quest many novelists before me (and me, several times) have undertaken. A 50,000 word novel in 30 days.

I’m ready. I’ve got character sketches, outlines and even a couple of rough scenes. Plus, I’m writing a romance, and I love writing romance, so…yeah. I’m ready.

And so here I go. On to a month of a messy house, writing every second I can and probably not getting enough exercise or sleep. But by the end of the month I’ll have a novel. At least, that’s the plan.

Sandy prayers and a blog tour update, plus a plug for NANOWRIMO

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First off, let me say I’m praying for the people in the Northeast who are going to deal with Sandy’s full wrath in a few hours. I’ve been in a hurricane. I thought Irene was bad. That was the night and day where I could do nothing but pace the floor and listen to trees falling outside my house, praying none hit our roof. North Carolina just got swiped by Sandy this year, for which I’m thankful, but I’m watching and listening to reports of it bearing down on the New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia coasts. I have friends and family in all those states.

But the show—or at least the blog tour—must go on. I’ve got a Q&A up at It’s Raining Books today. Stop by and leave a comment for your chance at the fabulous prizes I’m giving away. And don’t forget to leave me a comment here for a chance to win a print copy of Foreign Affairs. I’ll be giving that away on Wednesday, but you’ve still got time!

Finally, I signed up for NANOWRIMO (NAtional NOvel WRIting MOnth) this weekend. I’ve already got a rough outline of my book, have named the main characters and started to work on character outlines. So I’m ready to come out guns blazing on Thursday morning. I have every intention of finishing a novel this month, and I challenge everyone out there to join me. If you’re a writer at all, NANO is a great way to see if you’ve got a novel in you. It teaches you discipline and the joy of writing every single day. And if you don’t find those things by the end of the month (regardless of whether you finish the 50,000 words or not), well, you probably aren’t a novel writer. At any rate, it’s a great way to find out.

I will be blogging this month about my struggles with NANO. I am warning you ahead of time that I may use this blog to complain and vent my frustrations. I will also use it to remind myself to breathe. November is a busy month anyway, but when you’re forcing yourself to crank out nearly 2,000 words a day, it can be downright active! I look forward to finding out what it holds in store for me…