Celebrate the Small Things-July 31, 2015

It's Friday!  Let's Celebrate the Small Things with Lexa Cain!  Tonja and I are her co-hosts.

This has been a pretty good week.  The boys had a pizza party at the library to celebrate the end of the summer reading program.  They ate pizza (obviously) and cookies, watched a movie, and came home with candy bars.  As you can probably imagine, they were quite happy.

Mina Lobo gave my novella A Silent Soliloquy its first review on Amazon and Goodreads. Thank you!  I spent a half hour just staring at it and feeling amazed at how beautifully written it was.  She sure has a way with words.

I self-published my short story collection Cosmic Seasoning on Smashwords this week. I was kind of amazed at how much easier the task of formatting was the second time around. If anyone would like to download it, you can find it HERE.  It's free, if that helps at all.

We have some family visiting out of town this weekend, so that should be fun.

Tonight is a blue moon!  Too bad a blue moon doesn't actually look blue.  That would be cool.

Since I already indulged in a decidedly geeky moment, here's another.  Happy birthday Harry Potter!

What would you like to celebrate?

Cosmic Seasoning is Now Available!

It's crazy!  I've published two books within a month's time.  It's been a lot of work, but I think it's going to be worth it in the end.

My science fiction short story collection Cosmic Seasoning is now available at Smashwords for FREE!  Feel free to check it out and spread the word if you can.

Cosmic Seasoning Update

I promised to keep all of you updated about the progress of my upcoming short story collection Cosmic Seasoning.  I designed a cover for it using Canva, and I think it turned out well enough considering my complete lack of artistic talent.

Here it is.

Some of the stories in this collection are humorous, some serious, and I hope people will enjoy them.

There will be ten stories in all.  They're all written, and I've finished editing and revising eight of them.  I'm in the middle of revising the ninth one as I write this.  This collection should be finished, formatted, and available on Smashwords within the next week or two.  I promise I'll make an announcement as soon as it is!

Thanks to all of you for being so supportive!

Celebrate the Small Things: July 24, 2015

It's Friday!  Let's Celebrate the Small Things with Lexa Cain!  Tonja and I are her co-hosts.

The kids enjoyed being in the parade last weekend.  They'd be in a parade every weekend if it were possible.  I got a sunburn that same day, but it was a minor one, and it didn't bother me by the following day, so I'll celebrate that.

Writing has been going reasonably well.  I've also been doing some editing, and that's going well, so how can I complain about that?

I've decided, as a way to promote myself on Smashwords, I'm going to offer a collection of ten short stories for free.  They're already written.  Six of them have previously appeared on my blog, but I'm revising all of them to some degree for this collection. The other four stories are brand new.  Since everything is already written, I just need to get everything polished up.  I figure people will jump at the chance to read something free, and if they like my work, they might be more inclined to check out my other stuff.   It's worth a shot, right?  Anyway, I'll let all of you know when that's ready.

What would you like to celebrate?

Final Day of A Silent Soliloquy Blog Tour, Celebrate the Small Things, and Express Yourself Catch-Up

First of all, today is the final day of the blog tour for my novella A Silent Soliloquy. You can find me over at Patricia Lynne's blog.  While there, you can read a character interview involving one of the  especially important secondary characters.

It's Friday!  Let's Celebrate the Small Things with Lexa Cain.  Tonja and I are her co-hosts.

My kids are riding on a float in a parade tomorrow.  They are super excited.  They also got some new kites, so they're looking forward to flying them.

Jude lost a second tooth.  He is now missing both the bottom center teeth.  He was concerned about being able to bite his food, but he seems to be coping pretty well.

Like I already mentioned, today is the final day of my blog tour.  It feels like an accomplishment to have made it all the way through.

My great grandma who died a couple of months ago would have turned 100 today.  I can't help but think of her as I write this post.

What would you like to celebrate?

The Express Yourself Weekly Meme is hosted by Jackie @ Bouquet of Books and Dani @ Entertaining Interests.

I have a couple of questions to answer this week.

July 6th-10th: Name three things you wish you were better at.

Singing

Dancing

Running

July 13th-17th: If you had to eat the same thing for breakfast every day for the rest of your life, what would it be?

An omelet made with green peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, garlic, bacon, and pepper jack cheese.

A Silent Soliloquy Blog Tour: Day #10

Today I'm visiting with Laura over at My Baffling Brain.  She's got another excerpt from A Silent Soliloquy for you.  If you're at all interested in the ways TIPPIE has been used as a weapon during her young life, you'll want to check this one out.

A Silent Soliloquy Blog Tour: Day #9

Today for my blog tour I'm over at Some Dark Romantic with the always amazing Mina!  You should totally stop by, because if you do, you can read an excerpt from A Silent Soliloquy.  And even if that isn't enough to entice you, you should still stop by because Mina's blog is pure awesomesauce!

A Silent Soliloquy Blog Tour: Day #8

Today my blog tour takes me to Cathy Kennedy's blog.  For today's tour stop, I wrote a super short piece of flash fiction that was inspired by the cover of A Silent Soliloquy.  So, if you were curious about the image of the bloody flower, you can stop by to learn a bit about it.

A Silent Soliloquy Blog Tour: Day #7

Today for my tour I'm over at Lori MacLaughlin's blog.  She asked me to talk a bit about my publishing journey, so if you're at all curious about that, pay her a visit!

A Silent Soliloquy Blog Tour: Day #6

Today for my blog tour I'm over at Diana Wilder's blog.  If you want to know all about my original vision for my cover and how I envisioned my main characters as I wrote them, then feel free to stop by and find out!

A Silent Soliloquy Blog Tour: Day #5 and Celebrate the Small Things

First of all, I'm over at Tyrean Martinson's blog today for my blog tour.  She has a top secret file to share with you.  Just be sure to keep any secrets you might learn there to yourself, yeah?  I knew I could trust you. :)

It's Friday!  Let's Celebrate the Small Things with Lexa Cain.  Tonja and I are her co-hosts.

My novella A Silent Soliloquy is out there in the world.  That's something to celebrate!

My son Jude lost his first tooth on Sunday.  He also has another loose one, so it's only a matter of time before that one comes out too.

My other son Lyle got his first tick this week.  Yeah, that one isn't so much worth a celebration as a shudder.  He certainly wasn't thrilled about it if his panicked screams were any indication.  However, I managed to successfully remove the pest, and the wound where it attached is healing perfectly.  Lyle will likely never admit to how freaked out he was.  He might even tell you that he's a big boy for getting through it. I'm just glad it's over with and there were no other issues.

What would you like to celebrate?

A Silent Soliloquy Blog Tour: Day #4

Today for my blog tour I'm visiting Karen Elizabeth Brown.  She asked me to talk a little about the writing process behind my novella A Silent Soliloquy.  If you're interested in learning more about how this story came to be, check it out!

A Silent Soliloquy Blog Tour: Day #3

Today I'm visiting the always generous Yolanda Renee, and I brought with me a little piece of flash fiction that takes place before the beginning of A Silent Soliloquy.  If you're interested, then by all means stop by her blog and check it out!

A Silent Soliloquy Blog Tour: Day #2

Today is the second day of my blog tour.  You can find me over at T.F. Walsh's blog where I'm talking about the world building involved in writing A Silent Soliloquy.  So, if you're curious about how I went about building the world in which my novella takes place, please stop by!

Release Day!

It's finally here!  A Silent Soliloquy has now been unleashed on the world.  I can hardly believe it.

It's also the start of my blog tour.  Today you can find me over at Alex J. Cavanaugh's blog, so stop by if you're so inclined!

Celebrate the Small Things-July 3, 2015

It's Friday!  Let's Celebrate the Small Things with Lexa Cain!  Tonja and I are her co-hosts.

Is it July 3rd already?  The release of my novella, A Silent Soliloquy, is on Monday.  Oh my.  That's really close.  That's also my husband's birthday.  I'll have to figure out a special surprise for him over the weekend.

My husband has today off work.  Since this is Independence Day weekend, we'll be seeing some fireworks and spending some quality family time outside.  That's certainly worth celebrating.

What would you like to celebrate?

The Insecure Writer's Support Group: July 2015

It's the first Wednesday of the month!  That means it's time for another meeting of the Insecure Writer's Support Group.  Our esteemed host Alex J. Cavanaugh has enlisted the help of a few good minions: Charity Bradford, S.A. Larsen, AJ, Tamara Narayan, Allison Gammons, and Tanya Miranda.

There's an IWSG shirt now!  Isn't that amazing?  You can find it HERE.

My insecurity this month is easy to pinpoint.  Monday, July 6th is the release day for my novella A Silent Soliloquy.  (That's also my husband's birthday, but I'm not insecure about that side of things.)  To say that I'm nervous about my book release would be a serious understatement.  The book is ready to go.  My blog tour posts are completed.  All I can do is sit back and wait to see how things play out from here.

I've tried to focus on my other writing projects to keep my mind occupied, but it isn't working.

I wonder how my fellow authors handle release day.  It's intense stuff.

Luckily, the upcoming Independence Day weekend should keep me occupied.  Maybe that will help me take my mind off my nerves for a little while.

What are you feeling insecure about this month?