Romance Writers’ Weekly #lovechatwrite

This week on our blog hop we’ve been asked to answer these two questions-How do you take care of yourself? and What do you do to practice self-care? My biggest self-care routine that I do on a regular basis, is take walks with my dog. As long as the temperature is above freezing and below 100, I’m out there walking every day. We usually do around 4-5 miles each day. The exercise, the fresh outdoor air, and the time alone with my best friend combine to relieve whatever stresses I may have. Less frequently, I’m able to escape to our beautiful Colorado mountains to ride horses and hike. It’s great and I try to do it a few times each year. This year, I also bought a season ticket to Colorado State Men’s Basketball. Throughout the season there have been 1-3 games per week, and win or lose it has been a great enjoyment and stress reliever and a way to make wonderful friends. Reading a good book is also a great way to take care of yourself. Check out the second book in my Peakview Series, Breakfast for Two at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B014VA616G. It’s a heartwarming story about finding family and taking a second chance at love. Then hop on over to Leslie Hachtel’s blog and see what she does to take care of herself at https://lesliehachtelwriter.wordpress.com and check out her first historical romance in a set of three at https://amzn.to/41nxqMR

Romance Writers’ Weekly #lovechatwrite

This week we’ve been asked to answer these questions: Where do you write? Do you need to be in the same place or move around? I write in my home office, which is currently a converted bedroom on the second floor of my house. The second question made me laugh. I’m guessing it assumes that authors have portable laptop computers which can be moved around. I don’t. I’ve never had a laptop–never wanted one. I write on my desktop computer with a monster-size screen that is easy on my eyes. I don’t have the luxury of moving it. Not that I think I’d want to if I could. I enjoy setting hours to work and hours to play. When I’m in my office I work. When I leave it, then I do other things like play with my dog. Want to see what my office looks like? Here’s a few pictures (excuse the mess).

Hop on over to PG Forte’s blog and see where she writes 🙂 at http://rhymeswithforeplay.blogspot.com and pre-order her new release here: https://books2read.com/u/m0En1l

Romance Writer’s Weekly #lovechatwrite

This week on on Romance Writer’s blog we’ve been asked these questions. How do you stay creative? How do you feel your muse? and What tips and tricks do you recommend to stay in the creative zone? I love to write. I think I stay creative because my mind loves to create. In my mind I am always creating. Sometimes I’m two or three chapters ahead of what I have written down or sometimes I’m two or three books ahead. The trick for me is not staying creative, but getting it all actually written down. New ideas come to me every day. What I recommend is to let your mind wander, to always be open to new ideas, and to observe the world around you. You will find inspiration everywhere. If I’m stuck, I take a long walk to clear my head. When I sit down to write, I need to have my mind cleared of everything around me so that I can fully immerse myself in the location of my book. I do that by taking care of everything else in my life in the mornings, and then writing in the afternoon, when my mind is cleared of other things. It may not work for everyone, but it does for me.

If you haven’t already, get yourself in the mood for Christmas with any of my seven Christmas stories filled with hope and second chances. And hop on over to Leslie Hatchel’s blog at to read her answers to the questions at https://lesliehachtelwriter.wordpress.com and check out her novel below at https://amzn.to/3FnDb4H

Romance Writer’s Weekly #lovechatwrite

Thus week on our Romance Writers’ Weekly blog hop our topic is: How did you get started in your career, how did you get to where you are today and what’s next for you?

I started writing novels almost by accident. I had been practicing law for many years when I became friends with another author in my office building. She had just started writing her first novel and was so excited. I spent a couple of years following her writing journey and sharing in her joy of writing. One day, when I was especially discouraged with the practice of law, she suggested I try to write a novel. I laughed. I knew nothing about writing fiction! But I sat down a couple of days later and started my very first romance. I loved it. It was so different from the formal legal writing I was used to. I guess you could say I never looked back. I split my time between writing and practicing law for about four years before I took the plunge and transitioned to writing full-time. I’ve never regretted the decision. Today, is the release day for my twenty-sixth novel. Writing romance and happily ever after is something I truly enjoy and hope to be able to continue to do for the rest of my life. I have found my calling 🙂

How did you get started in your career? leave a comment and then head over to Jenna’s blog at https://www.jennadasie.com to see how she got started, too 🙂

Romance Writer’s Weekly #lovechatwrite

This week our Romance Writer’s Weekly blog hop topic is: Memorial Day Weekend is coming up. What traditions do you and your family have? Will you start any new ones?

When I was a child, I remember my family getting together with my parents’ friends and their kids for Memorial Day and having big picnics and barbeques. It was always fun. As an adult, I seldom had jobs where we got Monday holidays so it wasn’t something I really celebrated. Now as a full-time author, I pretty much work seven days a week. Holidays mean very little to my schedule. This year in particular, the first book in my new Montana Pines Series is set to release on May 31st, the day after Memorial Day. I have to admit when I set the release date, I didn’t even realize that it would fall that way, since Memorial Day is later than usual this year because of the way the day falls on the calendar. So, I’m sad to report that I will be sitting at my desk all day working on last minute promotion and advertising for the release. If you are doing something fun and festive, let me know in the comments so I can live vicariously through you 🙂 #lifeofawriter

When you’ve commented hop on over to my friend, Brenda Margriet’s page and see how she celebrates the holiday. https://www.brendamargriet.com/blog And check out her latest novel here:

Back to Writing

Happy 2017! I hope everyone is having a good year so far. The past month has been hectic in my life. The Christmas and New Year had three weeks of company at my house. It was so good to see my whole family and get to spend some quality time with all of them. But my writing got put on hold. Then when everyone left, I had a week of trials in my day job. Exhausted, this weekend I realized I’ve written virtually nothing in over a month. Where were my hero and heroine when I last left them? It’s time to get back to work, and let them continue their story. I’ve missed them. My New Year’s resolution is to find more time for writing and I’m determined to do just that. Three more Peakview novels are in the works for 2017, and I hope to finish them all before years end. Wish me luck.2017

 

Why Write?

smile

Last night I plopped down on my couch to watch some TV. The Olympics were on for the 12th straight night, along with lots of reruns on most of the other stations who acknowledge that their viewers were watching the Olympics. Don’t get me wrong, I love sports and especially Track and Field, but I was tired of watching it all evening, every evening. So I started flipping through higher numbered channels, some I didn’t even know existed. That’s when I came to the BYU channel. Who know universities had channels? Now I’m not from Utah nor am I Mormon, so I assumed it would have little to interest me. I looked at my watch-6:56. I flipped to the channel because it had a movie starting at 7:00. I’d give it a try and guessed that by 7:10, I’d be back watching the Olympics.

Well, the movie was entitled, The Letter Writer. It was about an elderly man in a nursing home who flipped through an old worn out phone book every day and picked names at random and wrote letters to those people. Kinda creepy, huh? Except in this case it wasn’t. This dying man wrote letters of affirmation and hope. Letters to total strangers telling them to follow their dreams, that life would get better, and that he believed in them. Each one a little different, but with the same positive message. The only return address was a pen name he made up for the purpose of the letters only. Then he’d stamp them and shuffle down to the front desk to place them in the mail. In the movie, a high school girl who everything was going wrong for ( and I mean everything!) got one of his letters and since her life was such a train wreck she set out to try and discover who sent the letter. I wont tell you what happens because if you like truly heartwarming movies and ever run across this one, you should watch it.

Anyway, as a writer this movie really spoke to me. This man wrote for two reasons: writing was his passion, and he wanted to use that passion make a difference in people’s lives. He received no money or recognition for what he did.

Its easy to get caught up in the fame and fortune part of writing. I know I need to at least make enough money doing it to continue spending my time and energy on writing. But in the end, isn’t following your passion and making a difference what life is all about? I know it is for me. I hope it is for you, too, whatever your passion is.

In case you were wondering, I watched the entire movie and still got to turn back and see “the world’s fastest man” win yet another race before my evening ended.

Welcome 2016!

2016

Here I am (or at least a reasonable bitmoji facsimile of me) looking forward to a bright 2016.  I have to admit I was ready to leave 2015 behind.  It was a hard year in many ways. My business slowly declined and failed to pick up the entire year forcing me to make the hard decision to close my office downtown, where I had been for 16 years, and move my office into my home last week.  I didn’t know how it would all work out–still don’t–but I am looking forward to a great new beginning and a more productive and profitable year.

Not that 2015 was all bad. In fact, some very awesome things happened this past year. I self-published my first two romance novels, Colorado Sunset and Breakfast for Two, and while I haven’t sold enough books yet to quit my day job, I have sold more than expected and gotten some wonderful reviews 🙂  Colorado Sunset even hit number one on Amazon’s best seller list for contemporary western romances for a couple of days in October!  The first draft of my third book in my Peakview Series, Colorado Cabin in the Pines, is complete and in the process of editing, so I’m moving ahead.  I also just sold another story to Chicken Soup for the Soul, my 5th.  I am truly honored to be a part of such wonderful, inspiring books.

I’m looking forward to some great events this year: my youngest daughter’s wedding on October first, a mission trip to San Francisco in June and attending the RWA convention in San Diego in July.  In between, the plan is to complete and publish three more books this year. I honestly smile whenever I think about the year ahead.  I am moving forward confidently, and it’s going to be a great year. I hope you all move confidently into the new year and look forward to great things to come, regardless of where you are right now.

Funny Writing thought for the day

So when I started writing I was reminded how important the little things are, like punctuation. Not something I really wanted to concentrate on when I was in the middle of a great story line, but essential to the meaning of what we write.  My favorite example of this has always been– Let’s eat, Grandma. versus Let’s eat Grandma. Being a Grandma myself, the second one was very concerning. Punctuation can save lives!  But now today, thanks to this picture I saw on FaceBook, apparently we need to be just as careful with our fonts. I hope this makes you smile as it did me. Fellow writers, something to think about 🙂

fonts matter