#AmWriting ~ Motivating Mondays

Welcome to the weekly dwarf roundup. We’re tracking our progress toward predefined goals. See our other “Motivating Mondays” posts for the whole story

Remember, If you want to join in, Place your goal & how you’ll be tracking in the comments. Then, on Mondays, come back and let us know if you achieved it each day.

***I’ll be updating through the day as the dwarves check in.

Snarky – Daily Goal: 1500 words  - Week 1: Give me a woot for 7/7. Of course, it’s all backstory and worldbuilding for a new series, but hey, it’s still for the new book, LOL.

Sunny – Goal: 1 hour   - Week 1: 3/7 and goin’ good

Quirky – Goal: 1/2 hour or 3 pages - Week 1: Pending…

Wicked – Goal: 1 hour    - Week 1: 3/7 and picking up speed. You go girlie

Eerie – Goal: 1 hour    - Week 1: Over 1,000 new words down this week along and 4 character sketches so far.  I’m going with two thumbs up, and over ten hours at the keyboard. Dun, dun, dun – You go Eerie

Smokey – Goal: 1 hour    - Week 1: Pending…

Hippy – 1 1/2 hours    - Week 1:  1/7, but it’s awesome since he got the sequel done

Free Books For a Year

So guess what I just found out?

You want to win Free books for a year?

This year, Changeling is giving away Free Books For A Year — Times Four!

* Twelve First Round winners – three winners every week in December ’til Christmas — will receive one free Changeling book of their choice.

* Six Finalists will receive two free Changeling books of their choice every week for the month of January.

Four Changeling winners will receive Free Books For A Year!

* Two First Prize winners will receive two free Changeling books of their choice every month for a year.

* Two Grand Prize winners will receive two free Changeling books of their choice every week for a year!

The best part — there are no codes and no entry forms — every $2.99 Sugarplum E-book purchased counts as a chance to win.

This year’s Sugarplum lineup:

            Sugarplum: Canine Christmas by B.J. McCall

Birthday gifts come in all sorts of packages and Joy Kingston’s is a major surprise.

            Sugarplum: Bitsy’s Christmas Demon by Cynthia Sax

Sex with a Christmas fairy tops this powerful demon’s wish list.

            Sugarplum: Christmas Magic by Anne Kane

Tali hopes the Christmas Magic of the Sugarplum Ball is strong enough to get Jax into her bed.

            Sugarplum: Mutts by Sarah Black

When puppies appear outside his door, everything Matt believed about Christmas changes…

            Sugarplum: Just Wink by Bryl R. Tyne

“What haven’t I made clear? Desire. Ecstasy. Satisfaction. In that order!”

            Sugarplum: Christmas in the Zone by Isabella Jordan

Two guys, two gals, and an aphrodisiac under the tree…

            Sugarplum: Kitchen Witch by Dawn Montgomery

Sex, magic, and cookies… what a treat!

            Sugarplum: Make the Yuletide Gay by Lena Austin

Beware the cowboy bearing gifts, who may make Dr. Gary Lord’s Yuletide much gayer than he’d planned.

            Sugarplum: Mistletoe by Amber Kallyn

What’s a great way to spend a night with your mate? Indulge and make his body your very own buffet.

            Sugarplum: Blitzened by Elizabeth Jewell

Can a carton of eggnog and a bottle of rum kindle a dose of Christmas spirit between Nick and Ian?

            Sugarplum: The Demon’s Christmas Present by Leona Grey

Even demons deserve a Christmas present…

            Sugarplum: Yuletide Spirit by Jessica Coulter Smith

The last gift Jenna expected on Christmas was two lovers who make her explore her sexuality.

            Sugarplum: Bound for Christmas by S. Michael

Jenny’s got the perfect present for her husband: a pretty boy toy, wrapped up with Christmas ribbon.

And now the fine print — only we made it bigger.

* First Round winners and Finalists are eligible to win more than one prize

* Winners will be chosen from purchasers of books in the Changeling Press Sugarplum Series; each Sugarplum e-book purchase made in the month of December 2010 before the final prizes are announced counts as an entry.

* Prizes are available as Changeling Press E-books, to be downloaded from ChangelingPress.com only.

* Free book download links do not accumulate, and will expire if not used.

* Winners will be announced December 31st at the Changeling New Year’s Eve Party, held on our Changeling Press Readers’ Loop.

Happy Christmas!

Guest Blogging today and sneak preview

 I’m Blogging today at The Romance Studio Blue 

  Stop by and say Hi

Comment to enter to win a prize.

Time

I recently had a couple interviews from other blogs and review sites. One question everyone likes to ask is how long it took to get published.

Now, I’ve been doing this long enough to know the snail the publishing industry is. The first book I seriously started submitting, I went to agents. Sure, there were a few close calls, but nothing panned out.

So, four years into the trek, I started trying E-Publishers with my paranormal romance/erotic romance. I belong to not a few online writers groups. From those, I was able to pitch to different editors. And most times I got a request.

I pitched Dragos: Burned through one of these groups to Changeling Press, got a full request, sent it in, and a month later had my very first contract.

At the time, it seemed like everything big was happening overnight. (Sometimes, it still feels like that).

But, truth is, I’ve been writing my whole life. I decided I wanted to share my stories with the world (which means published) about four years ago.

During that time, I’ve learned a lot, honed the craft, and found this wonderful group that has taught me more than all the online classes I could take in my lifetime.

So, it can happen.

The key, I think, is to always improve, and always persevere. Sure, rejections suck. They can get depressing.

Just before I got my contract from Changeling, I received two full requests from agents who sounded really excited. I thought, maybe, just maybe, here’s my chance.

Then, in the space of 24 hours, they both sent me rejections. One didn’t like my ‘voice’, which I totally get. Bummer. The other, luck let me down. She was a newer agent, actively acquiring authors. Then, one of her fellow agents quick, and she received a desk full of authors. I truly think this played a large part in the rejection, because she really liked my story.

So the saying one needs time, skill, talent AND luck, is completely true.

But look at me now.

One book is out, three more are scheduled. I have two short stories coming out soon.

I’m on my way — because I never gave up.

And you can be too

Changing Seasons

Hope ya’ll had a great and wonderful Halloween. We went over to my mother-in-law’s for our traditional dinner of company and homemade chili. Then we headed home and spent a few hours trick-or-treating. The air was a bit nippy, but seeing our neighbors and friends was fun.

Of course, with four kids treating, we now have enough candy to last us through this next year

Now, attention turns to the Christmas Season. A time of sharing and giving.

Hopefully, this year, the crowds in the stores will remember that

I know people who already have all their Christmas gifts bought and stored. Personally, I pick up a few things here and there, but I love Black Fridays. Wicked gave me a great tip to try this year about buying on Amazon.com on Black Friday. No crowds? No staying up all night? I’m so there. So that’s my plan this year.

You tell me, how do you shop for Christmas?

The end… and the beginning

And then we came to the end.

I love Halloween. It’s my favorite holiday. Yet this year, the ‘spirit’ never came. I don’t know if it’s the weather — we’ve still been hitting the high 90′s with a few days slipping up into the 100′s.

But now it is over, the costumes and decorations put back up until next year. And a year’s worth of candy in my kitchen.

Now, we turn our gazes ahead to the winter holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

So do the stores, as I saw first hand this morning.

This year has been great for me, as a person and an author. It’s been terrific for others in the 7ED, but I’ll let them share when they feel the time is right.

So, I know what I’m thankful for.

What are you thankful for this year?

But you’re published now

I’ve heard from a few writers and a few non-writers recently the above phrase. I’ll be talking about my writer’s group, the 7ED and how I have such and such project in for their critique.

I get a look of wide-eyed disbelief, then the comment, “But you’re published now. Why do you still need a critique group?”

And all I can do is laugh. Yes. I’m published now (with my very own editor, now 2

But that doesn’t mean all of a sudden I transformed into the most awesome, perfect writer ever born. HA!

I need them now more than ever. Talk to most published authors, and they’ll tell you how badly they still need their critique and writers groups. Because even published writers make mistakes. Huge glaring ones. And sometimes, we even forget to write a plot into a short story

I wouldn’t be here without my great, wonderful and totally awesome group.

And I wouldn’t last long in the publishing world without going to the 7ED first with everything I write so they can rip it to shreds. And I love that. Because it makes me a better storyteller and a better writer.

Love to all of them.

~ Amber aka Snarky

To be or not to be

I’m not big on inspirational quotes or pictures. I heard writers were supposed to be, so I tried. It didn’t work very well.

But there are some that have stuck in my brain since the first time I heard them.

“First drafts are steamy piles of alien puppy poo.” (Paraphrased) Stephen King

Seriously? If a master of the written word can say his first drafts are shit, then mine being steamy and stinky can’t be a bad thing. Right?

And that ties in to my second all time favorite quote.

“You can’t edit a blank page.” The all wise, all knowing, Anonymous.

Even if what I write is shitty, I can always fix it later. If I don’t write it, either from fear or disgust, then it will never be anything I can turn into a slightly better third draft. And an even better fourth draft. And so on…

I think the quotes people find inspirational change as their life changes. But, those are the ones that really stuck to me.

What do you find inspirational?

Writing? Having a Life?

Writing and having a life? What exactly is that?

See, here’s my deal. I have four kids in age from 13 to 5. After school activities, sports, scouts (3 groups, 2 of which I’m a leader). Oh, and my darling husband. He’d very supportive, otherwise I’d have given up a long time ago.

Then, my jobs: Chauffeur, cook, housecleaner, laundress, homework helper & checker, bedtime story reader, blanket tucker in…

If I actually had a full time job outside the house I’d go crazy. Because I’m also a full time student at an online college.

Let me tell you about online colleges. THEY ROCK. (***IF you have the motivation and discipline to actually do the work without a teacher looking over your shoulder every day).

So, when do I find the time to write?

Now that all the kids are in school, I’ve found I have every weekday for myself. Mostly.

I don’t have a set schedule, but my mornings are devoted to writing and homework. I try to do some of both each day.

I have a schedule of due dates with school. Each lesson takes me a few hours. If I do 1 a day, that should give me a few hours for writing. Theoretically.

I’m a fast writer, and according to my group, very prolific.

But here’s my personal key: I don’t watch TV. I don’t surf the internet unless it’s necessary. (Mostly). I read, but not as much as I used to. In fact, I need to read more.

I think everyone has time to write. It’s not a matter of “When I find the time”, otherwise, most never will.

It’s a matter of priorities. When I wrote for myself, for pleasure, it didn’t happen very often because I never had the time.

When I decided to write to the goal of publication, I sat down and decided my writing was going to be a priority. Never before my family, but a close second, tied with school work.

At first, I could only find 10-15 minutes here or there. Man, you can get a lot of words down each day if you find even a few small bites of time. I carried a notepad everywhere and hand wrote.

Now I have my lovely Neo Alphasmart, and can type when I have the time, then upload to my computer. No more double the work J

So, you tell me. How do you find the time to write while having a life?

The name of the game is creativity

How do you get your creativity working?

Here’s how I see my job. I’m an author. It’s my job to constantly improve my craft, but also to improve my creativity.

People always say there’s fodder for stories in everything we see and hear around us.

I agree. Admittedly, though, there was a time I heard that and laughed. No there’s not, I replied.

The key, I think, is to train you mind to see them.

My novella coming out October 8th, Dragos: Burned, essentially came about because of two things– my love of all things dragon, and the spark of an idea I had.

What would happen if a dragon shape shifter and a fireman fell in love?

Well, right there told me it was going to be a paranormal romance.

I had been pushing my personal boundaries and trying to write (and be comfortable with writing) sex scenes. So, I decided to include some of those.

Then it became a paranormal erotic romance.

***See how my brain progresses J

It’s all a matter of finding what sparks your muse. It’s not write what you know. I’ve personally never met a dragon, though I have met some pretty hot firemen.

The saying should be, Write What You Love.

Because if you love something, the ideas will show themselves and help yu train your brain to see them.

How do you find your spark of creativity? How do you find your ideas?