PERSISTENCE by Rolynn Anderson

Our trawler, INTREPID, has brought us safely from Alaska to Sullivan Bay, B.C., a most interesting floating community. Yes, every building in this town, bobs on the water, held together by more than a half mile of wide wooden docks. A restaurant, fully stocked store, fuel dock, laundromat and library, offer services to the homes in the town as well as to private boats who dock here. In a big blow, the whole city rocks and rolls! What should be an unsettling environment is clearly a thriving community.

Other oddities we’ve come upon on our Virgin Trip to Alaska.

Example #1: Human Interest. We met a couple with a boat like ours, who spend days on end searching for glass beads and glass balls on the wild shores of Alaska and British Columbia. One year they found twenty-five Japanese glass balls (the kind used to float fishing nets, back in the day). During the summer months they comb Pacific Northwest and Southeast Alaska beaches for the t-tiniest glass beads…called ‘trade beads.’ I’ve seen the jewelry…the beads are beautiful! But to find these little things on a beach among multicolored rocks and miles of sand…I mean you’d have to be a little crazy (and willing to live with a crick in your neck). Until a week ago, I’d never heard of the incredible prices people will pay for tiny glass trade beads, made in Europe, but used hundreds of years ago to barter with Native Americans. Who would have thought?

Example #2 Salmon in Peril. We anchored at the end of Lowe Inlet (Princess Royal Reach, B.C.), where a waterfall spills ten feet (at high tide) to the ocean. Black bears (see the story below) wait to catch any salmon that jump to paw or jaw height. For the first time, I saw the difficulty involved in a salmon’s impetus to spawn. The critters attempted to scale that giant wall of falling water, but the task seemed impossible, even at high tide. I saw scores of fish leap, smack their noses or bodies on the rock wall, and fall back, stunned, probably too weak for another try. Hundreds got caught and eaten by bears. In fact, in all the time I watched, I never saw one salmon succeed in scaling the waterfall. And I thought using the Internet as a marketing tool was tough .

Example #3: Bears. Evidently, bears have to eat lots of salmon to build up their fat reserves for hibernation, so they get mighty greedy when salmon run upstream. Turns out they’ve got as many challenges as the fish they’re trying to catch. I observed six black bears anchor themselves precariously on the rocky side of a small waterfall and wait patiently for salmon to jump within their grasp. Frankly, I wasn’t impressed by their hand-eye coordination…their misses were many. They’d try to stab the critters with their claws or snap them up with their jaws, but they failed ninety percent of the time. Plus the poor things got drenched by the waterfall as they fought for footing on the steep, mossy bank. When one was successful, he’d secure the fish in his mouth and carry the wriggling fellow to the woods. I’m told most black bears feast on salmon eggs to get the most protein out of their prey. Not to worry, the eagles were always on hand to carry away the leftovers.

Humans, salmon and bears. Persistence counts.

And now for something completely different...

First I must set the stage. It is a long time ago and I am a junior-high student in my physical education class. It is raining outside and so we are all in the gym waiting for our PE teachers to start whatever they have planned for a rainy day.

Indoor dodge-ball? Modern dance? Maybe some gymnastics? Hey, we could have fun today!

And then it begins... From the overhead speakers a brass band erupts, the sound of trumpets, trombones, and drums in an all-too-familiar refrain. My heart sinks and I close my eyes as from all around a massive groan erupts. “Oh, no. Not CHICKEN FAT!”

But alas, it was, and for the next almost seven minutes we would exercise and listen to Robert Preston doing his best to encourage us to do push-ups, march in place, and sing along with the refrain “Go you chicken fat, go away. Go you, chicken fat, go!”

The Chicken Fat Song

For those unfamiliar with this epic song, this was part of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports under President Kennedy. Meredith Wilson wrote the song and Robert Preston sang it, both of The Music Man fame and it sure sounds like they got the same marching band they used in the movie. According to one source I found, a copy was sent to every school in the USA in 1961. Maybe some schools didn’t use it (my husband doesn’t remember it) but mine sure did.

It was bouncy, energetic, and altogether too enthusiastic for a morning gym class. But listening to it just now made me smile, and giggle, remembering how I secretly enjoyed marching in place with Preston counting cadence for us.

So why has this come up now? Well, first of all, I saw a local production of The Music Man a couple weeks ago and remembered how much I enjoyed it. In researching what else Meredith Wilson had done I found that he'd also been responsible for the Chicken Fat song.

Also I’ve been on a health-kick recently and have lost almost 20 pounds through diet and exercise in the past five months. I know it was mostly “chicken fat”, meaning fat that had accumulated through inactivity and over-eating. The picture is me last summer at one of my weight highs (the Tigger shirt hides a multitude of extra pounds.)

So go you Chicken Fat, go away. Go you, Chicken Fat, go!

Enjoy The Roses

The last few weeks seem to have flown by. My oldest daughter is preparing to move back to North Carolina to start her second year of college. This year she has an apartment and will be moving there to stay year round at least for the next three years. My middle daughter received her driver's license yesterday will be starting her junior year in high school, and in a couple short weeks my youngest will be starting high school. Needless to say, life seems to be moving at full speed.

This morning as I sat in my rose garden having coffee -- taking a few minutes to slow the pace of my life and just enjoy the roses -- it hit me how much we have to truly make the effort sometimes to just slow down. We get caught up in life, work, family and the things we truly enjoy just pass by.

Having just celebrated a birthday I was reminded that it was just four short years ago that I came to the realization that I had not done what my heart truly wanted to do -- write a book. With the support of my husband and children, I started writing. Four years later I am celebrating the upcoming release of my book Crashing Hearts in January, 2012. My second book is just about finished and a third already started.

As the past few weeks whirled past me and knowing the upcoming weeks will continue to be crazy until the kids are in school, I try to find time to write. I get a bit done on my lunch hour, and try to write some either mornings or evenings on weekends. The thing I realize the most is I need to keep writing -- it is what I would rather be doing -- and slow down and enjoy the time I have with my family. Life changes constantly and will pass you by if you don't slow down and enjoy the roses.

Social Networking and Writing...

Social networking is a tool that a savvy writer can use to his or her advantage. The two main avenues that most are familiar with are Facebook and Twitter. Another form that rarely gets tagged as social networking are the email loops. Let's talk about all three today. Some writers don't do anything on the first two because they think it's self-promotion. They don't want to seem forward.

Guess what? It IS self-promotion and publishers expect you to do it. You are your own best publicity. Unless you can afford a publicist, you need to do it yourself. A good publicist can cost you anywhere from $1,000 - $5,000 a month. That's right. A month. So if you can afford $12,000 to $60,000 a year for someone else to promote your work, you can skip this post. If your budget doesn’t allow for that, then let’s talk about Facebook, Twitter and email loops.

Facebook (aka MySpace killer) offers a way to interact with your readers by utilizing a fan page. In fact, Facebook doesn’t like promotion on a “personal” page and might deactivate your account if you use your personal page for promotion. Set up a Fan Page or Author Page instead. First thing you need to do is fill out your profile. If you are published, put up some book covers, share some excerpts and put up a link to your publisher.

Keep in mind that if you’re sharing excerpts you need to be careful about what you put up there and what settings you have if you’re writing “adult” scenes. Link your page and your blog and your Twitter account to this Fan Page. Then tell your friends and family about it. Ask them to let folks know. Don't ask them more than once every 8-12 weeks though. Don't send "like me" notes every week. Consider how you feel when you get hit with those all the time.

Things to consider if you have a Facebook page:

1. Content rules. Even if you just put up a Character Fact Of the Day, change that status 3-5 times a week. People will get used to visiting. They will eventually leave comments. Think of your fans as feral cats. They aren't going to leap in at first. You need to keep leaving things for them. Trust me. They will start to talk to you.

2. Social means just that. You need to interact with others. Say hello to new fans as you can. Pick 3-5 people each day and visit their page. Like one of their statements or, better yet, comment on it. When someone sends a “Friend” request, don’t just accept that request, leave a comment with your acceptance.

3. “Like” other pages. It's helpful to say hello to another author that you admire or know. That does two things. You are showing that you give a fig about someone else's career and their fans may come see who you are. Maybe they will like you too.

Come like our fan page http://www.facebook.com/marilumann

In order not to bite too much into your writing time, I recommend allowing 10-20 minutes three times a week for Facebook.

Twitter has proven to be extremely useful for the Arwen half of Marilu Mann as a Tarot consultant. Arwen says: I've built up my Tarot businesses by using Twitter. Many people do not like Twitter because of the 140 character limitation. It is challenging. You have to learn how to do 'net shorthand. Personally, I used to loathe NetSpeak. Now? I've lrnd 2 lv it.

Arwen does promote both her Tarot business and Marilu’s books on Twitter, but feels that Twitter is more about shaking hands and kissing babies and laughing with friends. Where Facebook is a conference workshop, Twitter is a cocktail party. You can float in and out of various conversations at will.

A mini book club started on Twitter with three people discussing Changing Times: Lusting Wild 1 on Twitter. Since then that group has read the other two books in that series as well and tweeted about them.

Things to consider if you Tweet:

1. How much do you retweet others? It should be 30% or better. This is about SOCIAL networking not being your own obnoxious stage mother.

2. How much do you tweet about just mundane stuff without any real meaning? People want to feel connected. No, they don't want to know what you are having for lunch. They might want to know that your sister called and made you laugh, especially if you share the joke. They want to see you as human.

3. When you do tweet your books/signings/contests/workshops/readings, make it fun. Give something back for those who retweet. Enter them in a contest. Tell them you'll send them some swag. Arwen occasionally does free one-card readings for folks who retweet for her.

4. Don't start and then stop. Having a 5-10 minute a day Twitter fest is perfect. If you have the ability, put Twitter on your phone so you can text quick notes and retweet using your favorite Tweeting application.

Don’t obsess about followers – either who’s following you or who you’re following. But you might be surprised by the connections you make. Cai follows Jeff Probst and had a very interesting Twitter conversation with Jeff and Barbara Vey (Publisher’s Weekly) during last season’s Survivor. Many celebrities have Twitter accounts and though they rarely respond to people they don’t already know, you can sometimes get “inside scoop” on things by following them.

You can follow us if you like.
http://www.twitter.com/tarotbyarwen (main) or
http://www.twitter.com/tarotscopes (usually only <20 Tweets on Sunday.)
http://www.twitter.com/caismith

We don’t have a Twitter account for Marilu Mann mainly because neither of us truly has the time to maintain that and we don’t want it to be something stagnant.

Again, in order not to take too much time away from your writing or waste too much time otherwise, we recommend 10-20 minutes a day during the week for Twitter.

The last part of this post deals with the email loops. These are trickier because they can be a huge time-suck. They are valuable because you have access to a captive audience. If you position your posts well, you can gain exposure. You need to join a variety of lists. Our publisher has a chat loop that is open to readers. It can be a crazy, free-for-all where the posts fly fast and furious. We have List Mom days that feature one or two authors who share excerpts from their upcoming books as well as excerpts from others. Kate Hill is List Mom Extraordinaire in my book.

So look for lists that are not just other authors. Promoting your work to other authors can become a bit annoying. Yes, you want them to read your books, because authors are primarily readers, too, but you really want to reach a broader audience than just other authors. It's great to chat about the craft, but if you want the real pulse of the reading world, join a readers loop that focuses on your genre. Mind your manners though. Agents, editors and publishers also lurk there.

Things to consider if you join reader email loops:

1. Comment on other people's posts. Reply to them without inserting "my next book" in every response. Have a presence. Try to post to that list at least 3 times a week as a response to what someone else says. One great way to interact is when you respond to someone's "what should I read next" with books by other authors. Again, you are showing yourself to be the nice human you really are and not the READ ME READ ME READ ME NOW author that some come across as.

2. Have a signature line. This is a very simple way of guiding people to you. Common netiquette is to keep it under four lines. More than that and you risk people not reading any of it. They want short and sweet not "War and Peace". Some loops even limit the number of lines you can have in your signature line – and don’t put your book covers in there. Book covers don’t belong on your signature line. They belong on your Facebook account and your website.

3. When you post promotion, try to make it less about the book and more about something else. You can run contests that ask people to like you on Facebook and retweet your book title for a chance to win a $10 gift card to Amazon. That's far cheaper than that publicist.
A reasonable recommendation for email loops is 20 minutes three times a week. Put the busier ones on digest and filter them into a folder rather than having them go straight to your inbox. It might put you a little bit behind in replying to some messages, but you also don’t waste time reading posts that aren’t of interest or concern to you.

If you do it right, you can spend less than 4 hours a week doing easy self-promotion. If you are working a 40 hour week, that leaves 90% of your week to devote to writing.

Final words of advice? All ways chek yur spellin. Otherwise you may lose more readers than you gain. Second, keep the personal opinions to yourself unless asked for them. Though you might think of yourself as a “font of all knowledge,” chances are others won’t. Maintain your professionalism at all times because you just never know when your post might go viral and be seen by editors, agents, and other professionals in the publishing industry. You don’t want to be “that” author.

Counting Down to Release Time

I'm supposed to be on vacation. It's been two and a half years since I've been back to the US, so this down time is important to me. But, I haven't been able to exactly wean myself off the computer, a future post I think and a habit I need to work on. I do have an excuse. My novella Out of the Shadows releases next week, August 16th from Samhain Publishing. I have numerous guest blogs to write and chats to make, which means that despite being in sunny San Diego I find myself sitting in front of the computer more than I should! LOL!

Next month on the 11th I believe I'll do a post on the musings of an American ex-pat visiting home. For this month, forgive the shameless promotion but I'm so excited about the start of my shadow warrior series. This is a contemporary paranormal romance woven with Aztec mythology. Did you know the mascot for San Diego State is the Aztecs? The ties to Mexico are very strong here in San Diego and the culture visible everywhere.

Out of the Shadows is set along the Arizona border with Mexico. It involves shapeshifting, elemental magic, and some wickedly strong Aztec gods. I'll leave you with a blurb and an excerpt:

When the last shadow warrior falls, so will all humanity.

With each demon he vanquishes in service to the Aztec sun god, Tomás fulfills his duty to defend humankind—and surrenders another piece of his humanity to his wolf spirit. All hope seems lost until a mission leads him to the door of the one thing he thought he’d never find…his spirit mate. The only woman who can save him from oblivion.

When Carolina hears the wolf’s howl, it pierces the very core of her lonely heart. Yet she dare not answer. As the last guardian of her land and the secret it contains, she is haunted by the mistake that cost the lives of her family. Never will she repeat that mistake, especially with a warrior who is more beast than man.

Chasing away the demon is easier than breaching the barriers around the heart of the young woman who possesses a strange power over water—and his very soul. But if they are to survive the night, he must convince her they are destined to stand together.

***EXCERPT***

A wolf’s howl pierced the desert silence, causing the animals to stir restlessly in their stalls. Wolves had been reintroduced into Arizona, but she had yet to see or hear one so close to her ranch. Was it an omen?

Carolina paused in her chores to stare out the open barn door into the gathering darkness.
For a moment, she let herself get caught up in the long, solitary note. It felt like a kindred spirit. She knew loneliness intimately. Only her loneliness did not come from the vast miles of the sun-parched Sonoran desert that surrounded her, but out of the necessity to protect her goddess, her land’s secret. As one of the few amongst her people to become a guardian, her choices were limited.

The one occasion she’d invested herself in another, he’d betrayed her. She’d foolishly placed her hope and trust in Billy and she’d paid a horrendous price. Her desire to find someone to share the workload, her joy and sadness, and the burden of her secret—just as her parents had done—had blinded her to the trap she’d walked into. By the time she understood what was happening, it was too late. Her parents were dead.

Her heart weighed heavy in her chest as if it had happened recently and not five years ago. The memory of her parents lingered too close to the surface today. This had been their land, their dream, and now it was hers to fight for. She’d vowed never to fail them again. Above her own needs came the higher purpose of protecting her goddess at all costs.

Her mare, Mariposa, snorted and reared up, pulling Carolina from her thoughts. The animals had been growing edgier with each passing minute. They sensed the evil that blew in with the warm desert breeze. She berated herself for not paying more attention to them.
Goose bumps prickled her skin. Her tattoo, a gift from the goddess, began a slow burn on her shoulder, a sure sign that evil was approaching. She felt the heat radiating through the fabric of her denim shirt. The last time she’d experienced the odd sensation, her world had fallen apart.

Cautiously, she turned her head, seeking the source.

Her breath came out in a gasp.

Less than ten feet away sat a magnificent gray wolf, watching her. Waiting.

Dave Barry describes the mating steps.

Hi everyone,
It's the 8th of the month, and time for a chuckle. Again, I'm sharing the hilarious Dave Barry's thoughts on the steps to mating. Hope you enjoy!

"Men are always trying to rush through the mating steps. Stand next to any construction site, and when an attractive woman walks past, you'll hear guy construction workers suggesting that she go directly to like, Step 74. This approach NEVER works. Construction workers have been trying it since they built the pyramids, and not in all that time has a woman ever said: "That's a great idea! Let's have carnal relations, right now, on this pile of dirt!" And yet guys keep trying. Why? Because we're dumber than fruit flies. Fruit flies at least have some clue what their mating ritual is supposed to consist of, whereas human guys get most of their information from letters written by imaginary people to Penthouse magazine."

Me again: Well, what do you think? Are guys as dumb as fruit flies? LOL! Please leave a comment.

Celebrating Life

My post this month is short. Why? I'm celebrating.

In July, my husband and I celebrated our eighth wedding anniversary. I met my husband in November of 1999—just before the over-hyped Y2K crisis date—while hiking with the Appalachian Mountain Club along the NJ-NY border. I literally tripped over him when he bent to pick up a pinecone at the same time as I pulled my sweatshirt over my head. I fell head over heels in love.

In August, I celebrate a birthday. I'm not going to tell you exactly how old I will be, only that I was born at the tail end of the baby boom. And in September, my husband celebrates his birthday. For one month, he's a year younger than I am. Cradle robber, that's me.

Three month's of celebration. Ain't life grand?

A quick update for anyone who read my post last month, Waiting—So Hard to Do. We couldn't negotiate a deal on the house we wanted, so the hunt is back on.

Hope you're having a wonderful summer and celebrating life.

What are you celebrating this month?

Vacation Time!

After attending the RWA National Conference in New York, NY I flew back to Reno, NV. My husband’s job on the Ruby Pipeline had finished so we decided to see a few things and visit a friend before we headed back to Texas.

First stop, Yellowstone National Park.

We arrived at Yellowstone, only to find that all the campgrounds were full so we had to stay outside of the park. The next day, when we were again in the park, our daughter sent us a text asking if we were okay. She’d heard that a grizzly had attacked and killed a man who was hiking with his wife. This was the first bear killing in the park since 1986. Even so, we enjoyed our time in the park. Then we drove through the Grand Tetons and back to Nevada. Oh, and somewhere in the park someone stole our BBQ grill. We’re not sure where it happened but it had to be when we parked and hiked a few of the trails.

The park was beautiful, we saw several bison, a few elk, two black bears, and I saw a white wolf. My husband was taking pictures of an elk practically standing in the road. I stayed in the truck and saw the white wolf trot out of the woods, cross the road, and enter the woods on the other side of the road. I grabbed my camera but he was gone before I could get a decent picture of him.

Next stop, visit a friend and fellow writer.

Marlene was expecting us around 2 pm. We got there around 4 pm. Why? Well, we got stuck behind a fender bender in Tahoe, then road construction in Tahoe and over the mountain. I should have done a traffic search before heading out and I’d have known about the construction.

We had a wonderful time visiting Marlene (Paisley Kirkpatrick) and her husband. Ken. They were such gracious hosts and so comfortable to be around that even my husband and Ken, both forced into this contact, had a great time visiting. Marlene’s house is fantastic and Ken’s woodwork—absolutely beautiful. He’s a very talented man. Marlene even gave me a pillow decorated with Gerard Butler! I could have cried. Needless to say, that pillow hasn’t been out of my sight much since she gave it to me.

On our way back over the mountain, we encountered another accident. Unfortunately, this one was fatal. A semi with a tanker and a pickup truck collided. Hazmat was called in for the tanker truck. We saw both vehicles as they were towed away. I’m not sure how anyone could have survived that accident. We waited patiently and my husband talked to the worker keeping the road blocked, which is how we found out that there was one fatality and a possible second one.

Third stop, Death Valley.

This was our second time to visit Death Valley. The first time, it was on fire and we couldn’t get through the park. This time, it was flooded. Truly, I don’t think we’re meant to visit this park. We did get to see Scotty’s Castle this time though and the vegetation was very green from the flooding but we didn’t get to see everything.

Fourth stop, Las Vegas.

We’ve been to Las Vegas many times. So, we pulled into Sam’s Town’s RV park, found our name on the list with our lot number and we were set for the night. We’d arrived after the office closed so the park leaves a paper on the door with the person’s name and lot number. This lets anyone who doesn’t have a reservation know not to take those sites but any other empty site is available.

One thing that we’ve never had a problem with in any campground or RV park is theft. Not this time though. Someone stole our gas can out of the back of the truck. Now, we don’t carry that gas can for us. We have huge diesel tanks with pumps on them in the beds of both of our diesel trucks. No we carry that gas can for other people. If we see someone broke down who needs gas to get to the next exit, we can help them. I guess we helped someone, we just didn’t know it this time and we didn’t get to keep the can.

Fifth stop, Petroglyph National Monument

This was interesting but did require some hiking. The first stop did me in. I’d had a breakfast sandwich that didn’t agree with me and about 1/4 of the way up the hill, I got sick. Since I didn’t want to puke on the petroglyphs or on the trail, I headed back to our truck. My husband managed to do the whole trail. Then we did the next shorter trails together. It’s a quick little circle area, so if you’re ever in the area and want to see a lot of petroglyphs in one are, this is the place to visit.

Sixth stop, Carlsbad Caverns

All I can say is that I’m glad it was caverns because everything above ground had been burnt. The entire drive to the canyons was blackened. The scenic drive roads off the main roads were closed. We enjoyed visiting here, it was nice and cool but when I went into the Caverns my hair had a nice curl going on, it was a frizzy mess when I got back to the surface though. My son wouldn’t have been able to see the Caverns. He’s terrified of elevators. The elevator ride is 750 feet and takes one minute.

One question the man asked when we got our tickets—have you been in any mines or caves in the east in the past six years. I had to think about that since we do so much traveling. The answer was no but I did ask him why. He said it’s due to the white nose syndrome found in bats. I’d read a bit about it before going to the Lovelock, NV cave but didn’t realize humans could carry the disease. This syndrome has killed more than one million hibernating bats.

Seventh stop, Home

Finally, we arrived in Texas. I was exhausted and ready to hibernate for about a week. Not that I actually got to do that but thinking about it was pretty darn nice. Even though we traveled and saw a good bit of the US, the best part was spending time with my husband. It's nice to not be in a hurry to get anywhere. Just cruising around, doing what we wanted, and stopping to explore whatever caught our attention on our way home.

So, did you take a vacation this year? Was it exciting? Any thing special happen?

I'm Learning-- Vonnie Davis

Jazzie Miles Davis

Since I stepped into the writing arena late in life, my situation is much different than most of yours. I’m not trying to squeeze writing time in before I go to work at an outside job, or while the baby naps, or after the kids are finally in bed for the night. I’m retired; I can write whenever I want. My children are grown as are two of my six grandchildren. My obligations to others involve my husband and my cat.

Now here’s another difference: my husband is an author, too. Gee, what’s that like, you might ask. Actually, it’s fabulous. There’s great understanding of the time one must devote to writing and promotion. When one of us wakes up in the middle of the night, thanks to our characters or storyline, and needs to get up for a couple of hours to write, the other commiserates.

Calvin’s not writing anything right now, he’s more focused on seeing that I can write. He unloads the dishwasher and runs the vacuum. Sometimes he does the grocery shopping. And, as if he’s not perfect enough, every afternoon he makes me a cappuccino with frothy milk the way I like it. Yes, this man is a gem.

We found each other late in life. He was 70 and I was 55. We’re a match dot com success story. Our love for literature and writing brought us together—that and Cal’s sweet smile.

Do we bounce ideas off each other? To a degree. Do we read and critique each other’s work. Yes, somewhat. To be honest, we’re both so protective of the way we write, of our voice, that only half of the suggestions are taken.

We write differently, after all. Calvin writes sentences full of thunder and lightning. I write sentences full of emotion.

Calvin’s book, The Phantom Lady of Paris, was released on July 1^st. My Storm’s Interlude was released on July 15^th. Can you imagine double the excitement, double the promotion, double the craziness of book release time? We’re a little overwhelmed at the Davis household—and that’s putting it mildly.

 I’ve taught Calvin the lessons I’ve learned on blogging etiquette, and he’s a fast learner. Ladies, if you ever need a male prospective on your blog, he’s your man.

He’s taught me to stop overdoing. You see, I have a problem with saying, “No.” Then, suddenly I’m over-taxed with contest judging, mentoring, doing beta reads, blogging, tweeting and the whole smear. And I’ve no time left to write. My soul suffers. He says I have WWS—Wonder Woman Syndrome.

 I shake my head and smile. No, thinks I, the wonder women are the writers with outside jobs and children still at home. Those are the ladies I look up to and admire. Me, I’m the woman who simply takes on too much.

So, I’m learning. Learning to manage time wisely…and yes, learning to say, “No.” Why just last night when Calvin asked if I was going to fix any dinner, the word rolled off my tongue so trippingly, as Shakespeare would say, that all of you would have smiled with pride. Yup, I’m learning. What about you? Do you take on too much?

Birthday Resolutions

Unlike New Year's Resolutions that I constantly break, I treat my birthday month as a time of reflection of what I have accomplished so far this year and what I want to accomplish next.

This year saw me brave enough to submit to The Wild Rose Press and to see my first published book. This birthday's musing has really seen me digging deep for where I am and where I want to be. What kind of writer do I want to be?

For this coming year, starting now, I want to shop my paranormal romance to agents, self-publish at least two titles, and learn to promote more effectively. I want to use my time wisely and write at least three more books by the time the next birthday rolls around.

Do you use a specific day of the year as a time of reflection? New Year's? The end of the year? The Summer Solstice?

Jill James
Tempting Adam @ TWRP, Amazon, BN.com