Got some news!!

It's been quite some time since I've had the opportunity to write (click here for the WHY), but I'm slowly making my way back to the land of the living and prepared to get my shit together. However, there will be some changes coming soon. More than likely, this blog will be shutting down. I may just have the landing page take you to the more current journal I've been keeping on my website. It seems to be easier to have it all in one place as I often forget the link the two together. It's not that I don't have enough to say (Lord knows I'll talk anyone's ear off), it's just that I have a lot going on and need to streamline my processes as much as possible. Being an author, regardless of how you're published, means taking a lot of time away from life and sometimes that means cutting out things that don't work (meaning this blog). Either way, I will update as soon as this happens, and I'll likely just link this blog back to the other. Keep in touch and stay tuned...it's about to get interesting!!!

Well how the hell are ya??

Sadly, this blog has been left lacking. Not because I couldn't write anything, but because I haven't really had many updates. I'm still working with my publisher to release the remaining Legacy of Secrets titles while working on the last few installments (seems easier than it is, I promise). Unfortunately, I'm not "in the groove" to write LoS right now and my brain keeps traveling elsewhere, delving into new stories I didn't yet want to write. I feel like if I don't put my energy toward something else, I may never actually finish LoS because I'll be TOO focused. Does that even make sense?

Anyway, here are the titles or works I've been dabbling in this year:

Blood Promise: A Legacy of Secrets Novella (3.5)
Falling Undercover (Romantic Suspense)
Unnamed Greek Mythology Saga (next in-depth series)
New Alpha Romance (started just yesterday)
Ruination (Sci-Fi Thriller!)

I've yet to actually finish any of the above, but they're on my mind here and there - ALWAYS. So, I'm off to go write a chapter in one of the above in hopes that it gets somewhere. If you don't follow me on social media, you're missing out on the fun! Keep an eye out and....

Follow Me Everywhere!!!

Wow it's been a while...

So I didn't realize until now just how long it has been since my last post. I've been super busy with a new position at my day job, the kiddos starting school, taking care of a new puppy and trying not to lose my mind! Ultimately, I've been letting life get in  the way of my writing responsibilities and I'm slowly bringing myself back in to the correct mindset. I hope you all can forgive me!

Anyway, I'm still hoping to have Fiery Secrets completed before Thanksgiving and I'm working out a plan to help with that. If it means writing every weekend for the next two months, then that's what I plan to do! Rest assured, I will come out of the dark and back into my writing universe very very soon.

Keep an eye out for more blogs and posts. I'll be setting up some stories and what not within the next few days. Until next time!

XOXOXO

Ups and Downs

It's amazing how easy it is to get swept up in the day to day and forget about everything else. Before moving back in May, I had a relatively consistent schedule for writing and what not, but now it's all jumbled. The time is still there, the energy just isn't. Honestly, I don't really know what to do about that.

Some of my free time has been spent by just reading and catching up on books I've not had a chance to read in the last year. Another large portion of time has been spent with my hunny and the boys since it's summer break. Then, of course, the rest of my time I've been working. I need a schedule pretty badly, but I'm always tired and completely drained.

So, what to do? Clearly I'm just whining because the only one stopping me is me, but it just feels better to get it off my chest. If any of you have ever had a similar problem, how did you fix it? What techniques did you use to keep yourself on track? Any and all input will be greatly appreciated!

xoxoxo

Falling Short

Today marks the day that I am officially back in action! I took some much needed time off, only working when I wasn't unpacking and/or working my 8-5 job. The last few months have been a whirlwind of excitement and sleepiness, but I think I've finally worked out the kinks. I know that I've been falling short lately (again), but I'm going to be working hard not to let that happen again. I haven't been reading much this last week, but I have been thinking about where to take my current stories and I think I have a pretty decent foundation. I am making it a point to have the first issue of Chasers out as soon as possible. I have to polish up some of the edges and do some quick edits and it should be good to go. 

As for Fiery Secrets, I'm still shooting for a late Fall release. With my hiatus over, I am actually really excited about getting back into it and busting out some good stuff for you guys. I haven't been excited about it in a while because I was so busy all the time. That's when you know you need a break! I've never stopped completely, though. I've written a few chapters here or there and some other random bits, but I haven't sat down to work steadily. That is changing now! 

Well, I'll be off to do some writing and set up some blogs for later this week. I will see you guys on the flip-side! :)

xoxoxo

What day is it???

After several days of moving into the new house, I ended up losing track of time- sort of. All of my days have run together like one long, very tiresome day. Tonight, I am getting back into the swing of things which is actually proving harder than I thought. 

Prior to moving, I had no real schedule or means of time management. That made it very hard to work my day job, take care of the kiddos, go to school and write. Luckily, I have a very supportive boyfriend and he will do whatever he can to make sure I can stay on track with my goals. That's what it's all about, anyway.

So tonight, I think I will write for a while and then do some more house related stuff. I still plan to have to revamped Cursed Secrets released my the end of May. Since I'm close to being finished, I don't think that will be a problem. Who knows? Maybe this weekend will prove to be the most effective.

Toodles, folks!

xoxoxoxo

Rainy Days

It's days like today where I'd curl up on the couch with a blanket, my Nook, and something sweet to drink. Unfortunately, I'm in the process of moving so this isn't happening! Instead, I'm trying to finish up homework for the week so I won't have to worry about needing to stop in the midst of everything to write a paper or take a quiz. Fun, right?

That being said, I'm actually close to being finished with the re-write of Cursed Secrets. I haven't had much time to work on it, but there aren't very many aspects that need to be changed. I guess you can think of it as a re-imagining. Cursed Secrets was my first novel and also the one that started everything. I feel as though I'm not doing the series justice if I don't rework this novel to put out the best possible product. The general idea to this novel will be the same, but there are some points that will be expanded and others that will be just plain new. 

I still have intentions of releasing Fiery Secrets this fall. It's still in its infancy, but once I get started I think it will be all downhill. Most of the time I just have characters screaming in my head and I simply obey and write my little heart out. Here's to hoping they don't desert me!

Well, I won't be available very much next week so I hope you all are well. I'll talk to you soon!

Happy reading! xoxoxo

Been a while

Well it sure as hell has been a while since my last blog. I've been kinda chilling out, trying to get my bearings with all of the changes occurring in my life right now. Talk about being jaded...

There really aren't any book updates right now. I will have some important dates to list over the weekend, but right now I'm in a ranting type of mood. Lovely isn't it? You'd think I'd be doing something more productive with my time, but that just hasn't been my style lately. I think, sadly, that I've lost my groove...

Sounds silly, doesn't it? Recently, I've come to the realization that there are a lot of things in my life that are changing and I'm not changing with them. I should be on top of the hustle and bustle, but I mostly feel like I'm trailing behind them, just keeping up. It's incredibly stressful and annoying. Now, I'm not the type to normally whine about life in general, but everyone's entitled to it every now and again. At least that's how I see it. 

I constantly feel like I'm waiting for something amazing to happen that will snap me out of my current state of wandering. What the hell am I waiting for? I haven't a clue. I guess, really, I'm waiting for something not to happen. See, the way things have always gone for me have been good for a while until life smacks me in the face with something brand new and equally laced with a fine coating of suck. Sad, yet true. So instead of getting uber excited about any of the potential prospects for my future, I'm weary. I'm also lacking the confidence to make the things happen that I can control. I know, I know, I'm a loser, but I'm also human.

So, where does that leave me? In a perpetual state of wait and see. I will wait and see how some things turn out and continue to do what I've been doing. I'll wait and see if the current goals will be carried out as planned, or if the suck will rear it's ugly head again. I'll wait and see if I can bring myself up to the correct level of excitement and anticipation in the wake of things to come. I'll simply just have to wait and see...

That being said, I'll "see" you guys around soon and thanks for "listening". The few of you who follow me won't be impressed with this blog, but at least I'm being honest! Ta-ta for now!

~Lisa
xoxoxoxo

What exactly is inspiration?

I've been asking myself that very question for weeks while I've been stewing in my real life day-to-day. It seems the smallest interruption can completely derail any previous motivation due to a lack of inspiration. Wow, that was a mouthful. Anyway, that should tell you where I've been the last few weeks. As of my last blog, I've gotten a bit more done, but nowhere near what I should.

So, back to my question: what exactly is inspiration? Is it something found in books, magazines, tv, movies, real life or something that exists entirely on its own? Can I set out on a journey to find it, or does it exist in everything? Is there a small being, much like a muse or a faerie, that exists on a plane interlacing with our own, whose job it is to plant the seeds of inspiration? Or is it just a word we use to describe an overactive imagination?

I don't often struggle for inspiration, but lately I find myself circling a very dangerous drain. My creative side is dying to write, sing, dance, or otherwise express itself while my "real" side is dying to do nothing at all. I guess we see which one is winning, don't we?

So what are your thoughts? How do you see inspiration? And again....

What exactly is inspiration?


xoxoxoxo

Well Crap!

There I went, talking about being back and all that and I haven't posted a blog in about a month. What the hell is wrong with me? *Sigh* It's true that I took a bit of a hiatus while recovering from the holidays and just an overall burnout from running around like a crazy person. I suppose we all need some times to recuperate every now and again. 

So, as a means of getting back into the swing of things I have been slowly working on a few things here and there. Mostly, I've been searching for the right inspiration. I've never really had a problem with that before, but lately it's been a bit of a struggle. I don't know why, really, but I don't like it! Perhaps life is catching up with me, which is entirely possible, but I sincerely hope I'm just being lazy. I know that sounds silly, but for a single mom who works full time and goes to school, my days are pretty full already. 

I obviously missed my deadline for Soul Covenant. Completely and utterly my fault. I'm hoping to grasp onto that again and finish it up very soon. I still plan on releasing Fiery Secrets this summer so I need to get my butt in gear. With any luck, I might end up with another novella and the last book of the series to be released before the end of 2013. Looking at it now, I'm starting to freak a little! But where there's a will, there's a way, right?

That being said, I need to go to bed before work becomes a chore tomorrow. I hope everyone is having a bangin' start to 2013 and wish me luck in the search for mine! Love you all and I will definitely post again soon! 

xoxoxo

One year later...

So I talk a lot about what I'm doing in the writing area and some little things, here or there, about myself and the family, but I never really discuss where I am now compared to a year ago when I started this blog. The day to day doesn't seem to change, but looking back it seems like a completely different time and place. 

Where am I now?

Writing & Junk & Stuff...

So Thanksgiving is coming up soon and I'm actually pretty excited about it. I don't normally love this time of year because of so much money being spent and so on, but I'm just generally in good spirits this year. There comes a time in everyone's life when things just sort of fit together in such a way that is unmistakably right and nothing can change your mind. This is where I am right now.

I don't have much going on aside from gearing up for the holidays. I've been writing the novella here and there, toying with some new methods. I won't go into detail as to not give too much away, but I will be definitely posting some previews shortly. I'm happy to say that I feel like the series is coming along nicely and we have some very exciting things up ahead. Be prepared for some surprises as new characters are introduced in the next installment. My heart beats a little faster just thinking about it!

But I digress. Hopefully I will have more interesting things to talk about next time. I'm not a very interesting person, so digging up noteworthy things to talk about is sometimes difficult. Oh well, such is life! Thanks for sticking with me folks, and be sure to follow me for the typical nonsense that I call news. You may feel robbed of a few minutes of your life when you're done reading my posts, but I feel as though we've bonded in even the smallest of ways. Oh yes, I went there.

Stay awesome and happy reading!!! :D xoxoxoxo

A little about life - Indie Author Network {Guest Post!!}

A little about life - Indie Author Network
Most days are the same. We go through the motions at work or school to reach the end goal, which is pretty much the same for everyone: happiness and comfort. So what does it mean when this doesn't happen?


Here's a snippet into my life...

When I was seventeen, I became pregnant with my first child. I busted my tail to finish high school, and did so just weeks before delivering. That's right, I got my diploma! Right before my nineteenth birthday, my son's father and I were married and he left for basic training for the Army National Guard. I was a proud wife and mommy. Despite the early start, our little family was starting to go somewhere...I thought.

After my husband came home, I became pregnant with baby number two. We struggled a bit at first, but we had plans of buying a house were moving on from our tumultuous past (which I don't feel necessary to divulge- just know it was typical of high school relationships). Again, I thought wrong. At five months pregnant and our one year wedding anniversary, he told me he was leaving me. My world tumbled, crashed and burned.


Click to read more!!!

Drowning in books and Michael Jackson

As most of you know, I've been working feverishly to finish up Binding Secrets for its Halloween release and busting tail to make sure there aren't any loose ends. In the mean time, I've been gearing up for what I hope to be a great Halloween with the kiddos this year. The boyfriend and I have decided to dress up as Roman people and we're pretty into Halloween so hopefully we can give it a good go. I'll definitely post some pics of our family outing that we're planning so you all can see the craziness.

Speaking of Halloween and costumes, my five year old son is obsessed with Michael Jackson. When I say obsessed, I mean this kid lives and breaths MJ and constantly sings Thriller and Bad. Last night, he and his brother were singing Smooth Criminal so loud, it was ridiculous. Of course, I can't help but sing right along considering the songs are from when I was a kid. I remember singing with my sister on our karaoke machine and trying to mimic MJ's classic vocal "oh's" and "he-he's". It's equally as entertaining to watch my five year old bust out the moonwalk (or something close to it) and other classic moves. I can't help but laugh at his quirkiness. 

On another note, my children are book reading machines. Between a school book fair, Scholastic books from the classroom and Books-A-Million, I've spent A LOT of money on books over the last few weeks. Not to mention a neighborhood boy gave them about ten other books. I'll need to find us a sturdy bookshelf! While my books are primary on my Nook or Kindle App, I did keep some of my favorites in print simply because I couldn't part with them. Some books just mean that much to me (yes, I know I'm a nerd!). 

Well, I'll be heading to do some more work on Binding Secrets. I'm on a very tight schedule and need to get it done for you guys. Talk to you soon!!!

 

Another day...another 500 words

It seems every time I sit down to write, something stops me dead in my tracks. Tonight, I had a lot of things to do for the kiddos so everything else took second place to that. One thing I pride myself on is that even if I'm busy, I'm still a mommy first and that's my most important job. Next is, of course, my regular job than my writing and school probably tie. But I digress.

A measly 500 words was all I managed to pump out thus far. I'm about to lay down and do some hand writing to see what I can come up with. The only bad part is I have about two weeks to finish this book and some parts that haven't been configured yet. Woohoo! I'm starting to sweat!

I'll be posting my progress throughout the process of finishing Binding Secrets in hopes that you all might share some of my enthusiasm. Check back tomorrow for something completely different. A DELETED SCENE!!! 

TTFN- Lisa <3

First Convention/Event...Success??

Being fairly new to the publishing scene, it's hard to determine what is a success and what isn't. Some dictate that success simply means you were about to hand out business cards and yell your name over the crowd, while others pose success as so much more. I haven't had enough experience to gauge success, but I'm getting there...I think.

This weekend, I participated as a vendor at the Handmade & Bound Nashville event. It was an arts festival/convention and they promote a little bit of everything. Although self-publishing doesn't constitute me making the books myself, I pretty much have done everything else, so I said what the hell and there I was. My wonderful and supporting boyfriend, Brian, toughed it out for the six hours we entertained a few people with the new learning experience.

I sold a few copies, put the bug in many ears and ultimately got a feel for what I need to do from here on out. It wasn't incredibly fun, as work is work, but it was more fun than my desk job!! I got to meet some really nice and talented people all while promoting each other and listening to some good music.

Overall, for the very first event I think it went fairly well. Hopefully, I'll be a little more in my element next time. Here's a few photos that we were able to take :)

A Complete Breakfast

I was craving eggs pretty badly this morning, which is rare, so I got my butt up and went to Kroger. I decided to try the "Break-free" egg substitute instead of regular eggs and was pleasantly surprised!! It was actually really good. Instead of getting hash browns, I made my own variation and that turned out really good, too. All in all, I was able to put together a complete breakfast for 563 calories. The only thing missing was fruit, but that's because I'm going to have some for a snack later :). Here's my recipe:

What is beautiful???

Are the thin models from TV and magazines beautiful? Are the big women who are proud of their curves beautiful? What makes someone beautiful, really? I've struggled for a long time with this question, mainly pertaining to myself. Should I feel beautiful if I know I'm overweight?

Here's my story:

Haircuts, rubber snakes and sparkly shoes!

It's been a rather uneventful weekend, but that hasn't necessarily been a bad thing. My boys and I had a few things to get done today, so we first set off to buy new sneakers for school. It's funny how those little foot measuring things are completely off. With both boys the size was almost two smaller than what they actually needed. I finally got them situated when I spotted these beauties:

LOVE! I wanted to buy them so badly, but I had to refrain from this impulse buy. Being a one income household means I have to buy what my boys need before I can get what I want. Plus, I'd have to buy a new outfit go match these and this week's bill aren't all paid yet! It's a shame, too. They looked really good on me! :(

Sighing heavily, we left the shoe store and headed to the Great Clips. The boys got their hair cut and some lollipops and as a reward for their good behavior, we then went to the dollar store for some prizes. Now I don't know where you all shop, but there's a retail chain called Dollar Tree here and everything in the store is literally $1.00. It's a great place to get things for the kids to do without breaking the bank.

So, we picked up a take-a-long chalk board, rubber snakes, slinky-eye glasses, pirate garb, knight's bracers, Jack O' Lantern cups with straws and left happy. The best part was that I didn't spend a lot on the toys and they've got a variety to keep them occupied. All in all, shopping trips/errands were a success.

Anyway, I have some more writing to do before homework (yipee o.O) so it will be a nice busy evening for me. I say that as if every evening isn't busy! Stay tuned on Wednesday for another guest author as the blog tour continues. After the tour is over (9/30), I'll be posting an extra special blog (or two) with some pretty big announcements and some goodies. Tune in to Facebook and Twitter for updates and sneak peeks. I promise you won't be disappointed!!

Ta-ta for now!!

P.S~ Check out my new Flickr photostream!

Alright, so I lied

Each time I write a post, I always promise to post again soon. Obviously that doesn't happen and I can't figure out why it's so hard for me! It's true, I'm rather busy, but I am also not a very interesting person. I have regular every day problems and irritations (which I don't think any of you care about) and nothing really stands out. Really, the only interesting thing I do is write. But how do you write about writing?

That's where my problem lies. I strive for deadlines, marketing, editing, meetings and such and for some reason I don't feel like any of those things interest you guys. I mean, do you really want to know how many words I write a night? Or that one of my sons had a bad day in school? Or how about what type of paper I have to write for my current class? Lol...I didn't think so.

Needless to say, I'm pretty boring. Well, I guess I should say I'm boring to read about, but my life is pretty crazy. There's always something going on, on any given day, at any given time. That's just my life and how I'm used to living it. 

So as a means of trying to bring you all something other than my nonsensical ramblings, I'll be hosting some authors on here as part of a blog tour. We'll be posting some information about them, their books and where to buy them. Feel free to comment and share. At the end of the tour, I'll have my own announcement and some awesome new stuff to show you guys.

Keep checking back! I'll be posting tour dates shortly...

Much love
~Lisa <3