Self-Help 101 or: How to Select a Costume to Help You Deal With People Blog Tour Stop #7

Hey everyone!  I'm over at Tonja Drecker's blog today to talk about the best way to handle setbacks as a writer.  If you're interested, please stop by and check it out!

Also, don't forget that if you want to get into the Halloween spirit, I have a couple of spooky stories available for you to read.  I wrote one of them for this month's Write Edit Publish Challenge, and I wrote the other for Spooktoberfest.

Have a great day!

Self-Help 101 or: How to Select a Costume to Help You Deal With People Blog Tour Stop #6

Hello friends!  I have a couple of things for you.  First of all, if you'd like a short little Halloween scare, my entry for Spooktoberfest is now available for your entertainment!

Secondly, Laura over at My Baffling Brain has been kind enough to host me today as part of my Self-Help 101 or: How to Select a Costume to Help You Deal With People blog tour. Today I'm talking about why I, as a writer, love Halloween.  If you're interested, please feel free to stop by!

Thanks everyone, and have a great day!

Self-Help 101 or: How to Select a Costume to Help You Deal With People Blog Tour Stop #5

Hey there!  Today I have a couple of exciting things going on. If you're interested in reading my creepy WEP entry, which uses both the constellations and Halloween prompts, you can find that HERE.

Also, I'm over at Fiction and Film with Kate Larkindale talking about my latest Self-Help 101 novella and how important it is for a writer to be open to inspiration as much as possible.  If you're interested, you can find that HERE.

Have a great day everyone!

Self-Help 101 or: How to Select a Costume to Help You Deal With People Blog Tour Stop #4

Hello!  Today I'm continuing my October blog tour for my latest Self-Help 101 novella with a stop by Lori MacLaughlin's blog.  In my post, I talk about the challenges of writing a novella series in a year and offer you an excerpt from the book.  Please stop by and check it out!

Have a great day!

Self-Help 101 or: How to Select a Costume to Help You Deal With People Blog Tour Stop #3

Hello!  I'm here to let all of you know that I'm over at Denise Covey's blog today talking about entering the IWSG Anthology Contest.  If you're a member of the IWSG, you should definitely consider entering, and if you need a pep talk, stop by Denise's and let me tell you why you should! Plus you can learn more about my latest novella in the process!

Self-Help 101 or: How to Select a Costume to Help You Deal With People Blog Tour Stop #2

Today I'm continuing my October blog tour with Tamara Narayan and a post about dealing with critique.  Some critiques are valuable and have much insight to offer, and some are simply mean-spirited and aren't worth worrying about.  How can you tell the difference?  Stop by Tamara's blog to find out!

Have a great day!

Self-Help 101 or: How to Select a Costume to Help You Deal With People Blog Tour Stop #1

Hello!  I'm just posting really quick to let everyone know that I'm over at Diane Burton's blog today talking about why I wrote a Self-Help 101 novella about Halloween.  Please feel free to stop by!

Have a great day everyone!

Celebrate the Small Things-September 30, 2016

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

I've been having a little trouble getting motivated to write for the last couple of weeks.  I'm not sure how much of it is due to pregnancy fatigue and how much is due to other factors, but I feel like I'm getting back on track again.  Fingers crossed!

This has been a big week for me.  I had two book releases in one week.  Whew!  Self-Help 101 or: How to Select a Costume to Help You Deal With People came out on Tuesday. Then Circuits & Slippers, the sci-fi fairy tale anthology that contains my story "Treating the Beast", came out on Thursday. Woohoo!

What would you like to celebrate?

Self-Help 101 or: How to Select a Costume to Help You Deal With People Release Day!

First of all, I wrote an article for StoryDam about the benefits of writing novellas.  You can check that out here.

It's here!  The third installment of the Self-Help 101 series is available now!  For those of you who don't know, here are the details!

Title: Self-Help 101 or: How to Select a Costume to Help You Deal With People

Author: L.G. Keltner

Genre: holiday/humor

Length: 29,000 words

Cover Art:  L.G. Keltner and Jamon Walker

Release Date: September 27, 2016

Blurb:

Book 3 in the Self-Help 101 series.

Dani Finklemeier is adjusting to life in college and the realities of living away from home for the first time.  She’s also learning to deal with the criticism that stems from sharing her writing with the world.  Some of the online criticism is even spelled correctly, which somehow makes it worse.

Fortunately, she has a Halloween party, a group of friends, and a supportive boyfriend to distract her from the things that are bothering her.  Of course, a holiday celebration wouldn’t be complete without something going wrong.  Between an unpleasant confrontation with an infuriating classmate, some shocking costume choices, and a bizarre fraternity stunt, the evening will be anything but dull.

Dani’s detractors may not like it, but she’ll definitely have enough material for another book.

Bio:

L.G. Keltner spends most of her time trying to write while also cleaning up after her crazy but wonderful kids and hanging out with her husband.  Her favorite genre of all time is science fiction, and she’s been trying to write novels since the age of six.  Needless to say, those earliest attempts weren’t all that good. 

Her non-writing hobbies include astronomy and playing Trivial Pursuit.

You can typically find L.G. lurking around her blog, on Twitter, or on her Facebook page.

Purchase Links:

E-book:

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Smashwords

Barnes & Noble

iBooks

Kobo

Print:

Amazon US

CreateSpace

Add it on Goodreads.

Celebrate the Small Things-September 23, 2016

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

I spent part of last weekend sick.  Not fun.  Still, I'm feeling much better now, so I'm definitely celebrating that.  Being seven months pregnant is uncomfortable enough without having an illness on top of it.

My oldest son Jude has been learning to do dishes all week. So far, we've only have one broken glass, and he's been doing a great job with getting everything clean.  My other son Lyle has also been doing a great job cleaning up toys this week.  I'm proud of their hard work.

I have a huge week next week.  First of all, my Halloween novella Self-Help 101 or: How to Select a Costume to Help You Deal With People comes out on Tuesday, September 27th.  I'm pretty excited about that.

Then, a mere two days later on September 29th, Circuits & Slippers comes out.  My short story "Treating the Beast" is a science fiction retelling of the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast. I'm definitely excited to be a part of this amazing anthology!

What would you like to celebrate?

Self-Help 101 or: How to Select a Costume to Help You Deal With People Cover Reveal!

The time has come to reveal the cover to Self-Help 101 or: How to Select a Costume to Help You Deal With People.  This is the third novella in the Self-Help 101 series.  I can't believe I've made it this far!

Are you ready to see it?  Ready or not, here we go!

Title: Self-Help 101 or: How to Select a Costume to Help You Deal With People

Author: L.G. Keltner

Genre: holiday/humor

Length: 29,000 words

Cover Art:  L.G. Keltner and Jamon Walker

Release Date: September 27, 2016

Blurb:

Book 3 in the Self-Help 101 series.

Dani Finklemeier is adjusting to life in college and the realities of living away from home for the first time.  She’s also learning to deal with the criticism that stems from sharing her writing with the world.  Some of the online criticism is even spelled correctly, which somehow makes it worse.

Fortunately, she has a Halloween party, a group of friends, and a supportive boyfriend to distract her from the things that are bothering her.  Of course, a holiday celebration wouldn’t be complete without something going wrong.  Between an unpleasant confrontation with an infuriating classmate, some shocking costume choices, and a bizarre fraternity stunt, the evening will be anything but dull.

Dani’s detractors may not like it, but she’ll definitely have enough material for another book.

Pre-order Links:

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Smashwords

Barnes & Noble

iBooks

Kobo

Add it on Goodreads.

Celebrate the Small Things-September 9, 2016

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

I finished formatting for Self-Help 101 or: How to Select a Costume to Help You Deal With People.  It's now ready for pre-order, and I'm looking forward to the cover reveal on Tuesday.  It feels good to get a book done and to see the final product in front of you.  It's a great feeling.

I'm making good progress on the rough draft of the final Self-Help 101 novella.  I can hardly believe I've made it this far.

It occurred to me that I'm about two and a half months from having another baby.  I mean, it's not as if I could forget the whole being pregnant thing (the mirror, scale, and my ill-fitting clothes won't let me), but it's remarkable how quickly the time is flying past.  Everything is going well, though.  My last checkup revealed that all is well with both the baby and me, so I'm definitely celebrating that.

What would you like to celebrate?

The Insecure Writer's Support Group: September 2016

It's the first Wednesday of the month, and you know what that means!  Let's convene another meeting of The Insecure Writer's Support Group.  Our esteemed leader Alex J. Cavanaugh has gathered another horde of minion helpers for this month: C. Lee McKenzie, Rachel Pattinson, Elizabeth Seckman, Stephanie Faris, Lori L. MacLaughlin, and Elsie Amata.

Be sure to check out the IWSG website, because today is the day they announce the theme for the next anthology contest!

This month I'm in promotion mode, because I have two books coming out at the end of the month.  The first is the third novella in the Self-Help 101 series.  Self-Help 101 or: How to Select a Costume to Help You Deal With People comes out September 27th.  This one takes place during Halloween, and it was a lot of fun to write!  I'm having a cover reveal on Tuesday, September 13th, and if you'd like to help me out, please sign up below!

I'm also doing a blog tour throughout the month of October. If you'd like to host me, please let me know in the comments and I'll get in touch soon!

The second book is an anthology called Circuits & Slippers. This book features classic fairy tales that have been retold as science fiction stories.  I'm honored to be featured alongside so many great authors.  This one comes out September 29th, and if any of you would be interested in obtaining an ARC, you can do so by following this link: 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZQHJG9V

So yeah, there's a lot going on, and I feel a bit insecure about that.  Promotion still is not my strong suit, but I'll certainly do what I can.  The great part about being in an anthology is that at least you have your fellow authors working on promotion too.  That certainly helps.

Now for the question of the month.

How do you find the time to write in your busy day?

I can say this much.  Since my kids started back to school, it's a lot easier to find the time.  Even so, the demands of daily life can still get in the way.

For me, it's all about goals and scheduling and making the most of the time I have.

I make weekly goals, and that helps keep me on track.  When I make these goals, I look at what else I need to do that week, and I think about what kind of writing goal seems reasonable. Setting unrealistic goals only discourages me, and that results in me accomplishing even less.  It's a lot easier to find the motivation when I see an achievable goal in front of me.

Each morning, I also look at what I have going on and make a daily goal accordingly.  By breaking things down into smaller, more achievable goals, I've managed to keep myself on track this year.  I'm hoping I can keep it up.

What is your insecurity this month?  How do you find time for your writing?

A Monday Blog Tour Stop

Happy Monday!  I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Today I'm over at Alex J. Cavanaugh's blog for another blog tour stop.  Please feel free to stop by and say hello!  

Celebrate the Small Things-August 12, 2016

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

I've spent a fair bit of time watching the Rio Olympics this week.  While I typically don't watch sports often, there's something exciting about the Olympics.  I've mostly watched the women's gymnastics and both men's and women's swimming events.  All I can say is that these athletes can do some amazing things.  It's amazing to watch them.

I finished a first round of edits for Self-Help 101 or: How to Select a Costume to Help You Deal With People.  Now I'm going to set it aside for a week or two to work on other projects.  Then I'll do another edit and work on getting it ready for release.

Both of my boys spent a lot of time riding their bikes this week.  Now they can both ride without training wheels, though there have been a few bumps and scrapes as a result. It's all part of being a kid, though, and they've had a great time!

What would you like to celebrate?

Check Out Another Blog Tour Stop!

Hey everybody!  I'm over at Cathrina Constantine's blog today as part of my Self-Help 101 or: How to Survive a Bombardment With Minimal Injury blog tour!  If you want to read my tips on how to write humor, feel free to check it out!

Celebrate the Small Things-August 5, 2016

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

I've been busy with revisions.  Since I finished the first draft of Self-Help 1o1 or: How to Select a Costume to Help You Deal With People, I've been deep in revision land.  It's hard work, but it's satisfying to know that I've made it this far.

I also have an idea brewing in my mind for a short story that might be interesting if I can get it down on paper.  I love having new ideas!  It's such an exciting time.

By this time next week, I should have back-to-school preparations for my boys pretty much wrapped up.  I'm looking forward to having all of those tasks done, because then I can just enjoy their excited anticipation of being back in school again.

What would you like to celebrate?

The Insecure Writer's Support Group: August 2016

It's the first Wednesday of the month again, so let's get started with another meeting of the Insecure Writer's Support Group!  Alex J. Cavanaugh  is our leader, and his minion helpers for this month are: Tamara Narayan, Tonja Drecker, Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor, Lauren @ Pensuasion, Stephen Tremp, and Julie Flanders.

Be sure to check out the IWSG website!

I'm celebrating some good things this month.  On Sunday, I finished the first draft of the third novella in my Self-Help 101 series.  I'm planning on releasing Self-Help 101 or: How to Select a Costume to Help You Deal With People on September 27th.

Earlier this year I announced that I'd had a story accepted to the upcoming anthology Circuits & Slippers.  This anthology features popular fairy tales told with a science fiction twist.  It now has a Goodreads page that you can check out.  The book is due to come out the last week of September, which happens to be the same week I'm releasing my next novella. That should be a busy and exciting week indeed!

Now it's time for me to answer the question of the month!

What was your very first piece of writing as an aspiring writer? Where is it now?  Collecting dust or has it been published?

I can say this much.  My first piece of writing as an aspiring writer could never be published.  Not unless I become famous someday and decide to publish it to show people how it's possible to go from having no clue about how to tell a good story to achieving success through hard work and determination.

I wrote that first story when I was in 1st grade.  It was long (120 pages, though my writing was large and I was using wide ruled paper) and rambling.  I didn't know anything about how paragraphs and and punctuation worked, so it was largely unreadable.  The story itself, from what I remember, involved hot pink snow, dinosaurs, airplanes, and flying saucers.  I can't remember much else about the story line now, as it has been sitting, gathering dust, at my parents' house.  I haven't looked at it for many years.

Though the story was terrible, I'm glad I wrote it.  I'm glad that I wrote every awful story I did as a kid, because that helped me learn and grow as a writer.  I wouldn't be where I am today if I hadn't written them.

What's your insecurity this month?  What happened to your first piece of writing?

Celebrate the Small Things-July 29, 2016

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

I'm nearly done writing the rough draft of the third novella in the Self-Help 101 series.  My goal is to have it finished by Monday, and I'd like to have it ready for release on September 27th.  This novella, Self-Help 101 or: How to Select a Costume to Help You Deal With People, takes place during Halloween. It has been a fun story to write.

The kids are growing increasingly excited for the start of the school year next month.  We already bought most of their school supplies, and we're busy with doctor's checkups and all the other things that need to be done before the first day of class.  How has the summer gone by so fast?

The kids have a birthday party to go to and a bunch of fun activities lined up for Saturday.  I should have some tired boys to put to bed Saturday night, which is fine by me.  I always benefit when they have a good night of sleep.

What would you like to celebrate?

Celebrate the Small Things-July 22, 2016

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

First of all, I'd like to mention that I'm over at Patricia Lynne's blog today with a post about my Self-Help 101 series and why the books have such long titles.  Please check it out if you're interested!

This week has been really hot.  The heat index has been hovering between 105 and 120 degrees the past few days. Since I'm also awkwardly pregnant, that's made it difficult for me to function.  Heat doesn't normally bother me much, but it does now.  I guess I'll celebrate the fact that the excessive heat wave is almost over.

Don't think I'm complaining, though.  A lot of good things have happened.  The kids had a great time last weekend at our local town celebration.  Here are a few pictures.

Now for the really big news of the week.  My sister-in-law had a baby boy on Tuesday.  His name is Finley and he's healthy. Having a new nephew is definitely worth celebrating.

What would you like to celebrate?