Reading, Shaun Cassidy, and Steve #MFRW Authors #42

What was my 1st love?  Since I'm not sure which 1st love we're supposed to mention, either hobby-wise, Romantic Interest, or Celebrity Crush, I'll cover all three.

Reading:
Since you've been reading my posts for the past 42 weeks, you know by now I fell in love with the written word as soon as my mom read me Cinderella.  At the tender age of 11, I discovered how to write down these stories in my head.

"That's Rock-n-Roll"
Okay, to be fair, Shaun Cassidy and Donny Osmund occurred at about the same time.  I soooo wanted to be on the Donny and Marie Show as an ice skater, and maybe he'd 'discover' my *cough* singing ability and let me sing with him.

I rarily missed an episode of The Hardy Boys, and when Shaun Cassidy began singing....wow.  Just....wow.

*side note*  Both were actually replaced in my heart about the 4th time I saw Star Wars.  Harrison Ford (Han Solo if you've been living under a rock the past 40 years) swept me off my feet (I wish!!) when I realized he was MUCH better looking than Mark Hamill!  (Sorry Luke....)

First Kiss:
I met Steve when we were 10 and 11, through our parents.  When Steve's parents spent six months in Colorado on sabbatical, I began writing letters to him and his twin brother.  My family joined them for two weeks of camping and driving all over Colorado, so we were spent two solid weeks of togetherness, even sleeping in the same tent a few times!  By the 3rd day, we were 'officially going together', holding hands whenever no one was looking, and he held open doors, unfolded napkins, and in general, treated me like a queen (I was 12, he was 11).  At the end of our vacation,  I left for home counting down the weeks until Steve's family would return.

We held an 'unpacking party' for them a month later, and right before we were to leave, Steve called me to his room, and after we shooed his brother and my sister out, he came over and kissed me on the cheek.  I kissed him back, then was starry-eyed all the way home!

We only saw each other once a week, or twice if our parents got together, and this 'relationship' lasted four more years, until we realized our hormones were now 'raging' for other people, lol!  Still, we remained good friends, and I even attended his wedding in 1991.

What was YOUR first love, be it hobby, opposite sex, or otherwise?

To see others', go here.

Why Do I Blog? #MFRW Authors #41

Heartfelt apologies for being late with this post; it took me two days to 'recover' from my busy weekend, then children's illnesses have kept me busy.  We even forgot to set out our trash can this morning!  Now, I can feel my own body is trying to fight off something....ugh.

The short, simple answer is LIFE.  Somewhere, there is a news article, or a national uproar that I simply can't keep my fingers quiet about.  I've been inspired to blog about my outrage against parental warnings against Classic Sesame Street episodes ("May be harmful to your child"...give me a break!), Idiots In The News (aka Stupid Criminals or just stupidity in general), or even recent issues such as disrespecting our flag and my rage against finding affordable health care.

My Writer Life
I love drawing ideas from other blogs, and blog hops.  I used to long to become a member of Oh Get A Grip or The Writer's Evolution blog groups, and for a while was following their weekly topics.  I did manage to become a member of TWE, only to have everyone else get tired and stop posting.

Promotion:
Back in 2011-2013 I managed to hop on the 'submit-edit-release-promo-submit-edit-release-promo' merry-go-round (aka Book of the Month Club as I call it), where just about every month I was releasing a new title.  This was exhausting, and something I don't intend to ever do again.

Not to mention the 50 lbs I managed to pack on during that time, due to being chained to my laptop!  Note to self:  Next time I wind up with a publisher who wants to release books every other month, say NO!

Other Posts:
Some are witty, some are author interviews, some accidentally cause the Blog Mob to rise up against me.  Some are silly things my kids have done.

So you see, inspiration can be found EVERYWHERE.  If you're stumped for a topic, turn on the local news, read the paper, listen to the radio.  Or find your favorite author's blog and scroll through his/her posts until you find a head-scratching moment or think. 'Yeah!  That's a good idea!"

To see where other authors draw their inspirations from, go here.

Forgot to mention:  Found out Teacher's Pet should be releasing by either later today or by the end of next week!  So excited about this news!!!!  Next up is the reboot of The Anderson Chronicles, coming soon to Stardust/Erotes Press!

"Frankly Miss Scarlet, I Don't Give A Damn." #MFRW Authors #40

The title of today's post came to me the instant I saw this week's topic.  I won't be surprised if it pops up on everyone's post today!

Other memorable lines:

"I'm horny and pressed for time...." (Teacher's Pet, me-shameless self promo, lol!)

"Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring....what happens to Aaron?  Everything!"  (see last week's post)

"That's no moon..." (Star Wars)

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."  (Great Expectations *Correction:*  Tale of Two Cities  Thank you Ed!)

"I've got the key to my castle in the air, but whether I can unlock the door remains to be seen."  (Little Women)

“Every few weeks she would shut herself up in her room, put on her scribbling suit, and fall into a vortex, as she expressed it, writing away at her novel with all her heart and soul, for till that was finished she could find no peace.” (Little Women, the scene which resonated with me when I began putting pen to paper!)

"True friends are always together in spirit."  (Anne of Green Gables)

"Life is worth living as long as there's laughter in it."  (Anne of Green Gables)

"A person's a person, no matter how small."  (Horton Hears A Who)

“When you think things are bad, when you feel sour and blue, when you start to get mad...you should do what I do! Just tell yourself, Duckie, you're really quite lucky!  Some people are much more...oh, ever so much more...oh, muchly much-much moreunlucky than you!” (Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?)

"Papa, Papa, I went to town!  Inside, outside, upside down!"  (Inside Outside Upside Down)

"Marvin K Mooney, will you please go now!"  (Title of book)

"I like a swift breeze 'round my privates."  (Harry Potter and Goblet of Fire-this one always makes us laugh!)

Yes, I confess; I had to google some of these!  Sat down and aside from the 1st two, my mind was blank!

Gah....can you believe this week #40????  Only twelve more weeks in this year! I'm not reeeeaaddddeeeeeeeeee.....

Want to see what other bloggers came up with for this topic?  Click here. 


I'm off to Louisville, Ky to the Imaginarium Convention this weekend!  I will be taking the computer, and might check in Saturday night.  If not, then I'll be back either Monday or Tuesday.  Have a great weekend!

Mantra

I've got to admit, this week's topic stumped me.  Normally, as soon as I type the topic into a blank post on Thursday, an idea sparks and I write it down, then polish it before I add it to the linky list a week later.  But here it is already Thursday, and thankfully inspiration hit last night.

Duh, Kenzie.....it doesn't have to be something witty by another author!  Go to your Bible!

So here it is, the words I truly try to live by:

"Do Unto Others As You Would Have Others Do Unto You."
                                                                                     
                                                                                                         -The Golden Rule

Professionally, my favorite is this gem:

"Don't get it RIGHT, get it WRITTEN."
                                                                                   -Unknown

What about you?
To see what other pearls of wisdom other authors are sharing, click here.

A Year (or Day!) of Seasons

"Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring....what happens to Aaron?  EVERYTHING!"
This was one of my favorite books as a kid, about Aaron the Alligator and all the problems he had every season:)

I live in Indiana and sometimes we can get all four seasons in the same day, or at least maybe two per day!  What I like about each season is short and sweet.

Summer:
As a full-time Mom, I had a love/hate relationship with summer.  When the kids were little and we lived in an apartment, the kids and I spent a great deal of time at the pool, or taking them to the park.  As they grew older, though, my summers were spent shuttling them from activity to activity.

Boy was I happy when school began!

My spouse also worked in the summertime, so I was also in single-mom mode most of the time.

Autumn:
School was in session, and I had my 'me' time back.  When we moved to the country, this was the time of year I enjoyed getting outside and working in the back yard, picking up sticks and clearing the brush, since our back yard consisted of 6 acres of woods!

Now, my favorite part is attending the Fall Festivals.

Winter:
The only good part of winter is Christmas and my birthday.  As I've gotten older, I. HATE. Snow.  Last year, I loved it; we got a dusting.  My ideal winter?  A light snow Christmas Eve or day, then gone by the 26th.

Spring:
My favorite flowers are tulips, and I was thrilled to discover our new house had them in the flower boxes out in front!

When the spouse was working, I also loved the fact the phone would ring and he would return to work:)

What about you?  What's your favorite season?
Click here to see more.

Winning My Heart #MFRW Authors #37

What Five Things Can A Person Do To Win My Heart?

I'm going to cheat, and answer this two ways.

As An Author:
1)  "Feed Me, Seymore!".  A guy once told me on a date that I was the only girl who'd actually eaten her meal on the 1st date.  Uuuummmm, yeah, this gal likes her food.  I don't buy into the whole notion of not wanting the guy to see what I look like while eating; hell, I think taking a guy to a Greek restaurant is an excellent 1st date!  If he can't handle the way I eat a gyro, then there's no point in pursuing this any further.

2)  Respect My Need For Space.  Every once in a while, I get the urge to write non-stop.  If you're gonna nag me about my computer use, forget it.

3)  Share My Taste In Music or Humor, Or At Least Don't Ridicule Me:  I have quirky tastes, and if I'm in the mood to watch Rocky Horror Picture Show or Spinal Tap, either thrill me by getting the references if I tell you I like my speakers on 11, or ask 'is that an armadillo in your trousers?'  

"You know, dozens of people spontaneously combust every day; it's just not widely talked about."

"That'll do, pig."

"You gotta jump to your left...."

"You murdered my father; preepare to die!" (Yes, I purposefully misspelled 'prepare'.  If you get it, kudos to you!)

*clears throat*  Moving on......

4) Buy me books.  Or Amazon/B&N gift cards.  Build me shelves for my print books.

5)  Offer to clean the kitchen, or at least help with clean up, if I've cooked you a nice meal!  Or even better, cook for me:)  And have a sing-a-long to make the chore go faster.....

As A Mom:
1) Same As #1 Above.  You can never go wrong with food, lol!

2)  Take a GENUINE Interest In My Kids and In Me:   My kids and I come as a package deal.  If you don't like my kids, then take a hike.

3)  Same As #3 Above:   Case in point:  Last night, my husband handed me his cup and asked me to 'ice me, baby.'  My oldest son and I looked at each other and started rapping... "Alright stop.  Collaborate and listen...Ice is back with a brand new ambition..."  Needless to say, he was not exactly amused....

Nor was my dad back in 1983, when my sister and I decided to sing while coming home from somewhere with our parents.  My dad asked us to sing something quieter, like Rock of Ages.  My sis and I looked at each other and started in.  "Rise up, gather round, rock this place to the ground..."

Again, my father was not amused, but Mom laughed!

Have you picked up on my sense of humor yet?

4)  Same as #4 Above:  You can never go wrong with books!

5)  Same as #5 Above.  Or at least be willing to either take me out, order pizza, or bring home Arby's for lunch if I'm deep into my aliens' lives!  If I've been writing all day, the last thing I want to do is cook!

See?  I'm fairly easy to please.  Not high-maintenance at all.  Oh and as a bonus, go with me to a few events and actually act INTERESTED?  Or if you're not after the 1st one, still go with me and go off and do your own thing before picking me up?  We can talk about both events!

To see the way to other authors' hearts, click here.

Time Management, Kenzie-Style #MFRW Authors #36

First of all, what do you think of my shiny new cover?  When Freya's Bower folded last year, I received my rights back.  I was having trouble paying for Kira's edits, Kira's cover art, AND paying my FB cover artist to remove the FB logo, so something had to wait.  Then earlier this summer, I learned that Hydra Publications planned to create a romance spin-off, so I sent off my 2nd official 'baby', after updating it to present day.  I'd written it back in 2007, before Smart Phones and Social Media.  For anyone who's already read the old version, I hope you will consider checking out the minor changes I've made to this wonderful story.  (Old cover can still be seen to the right)

Now, back to the topic at hand:  How do I manage my writing time?

Short answer:  Not very well.

It used to be easy:  Send spouse off to work, wake children and take them to school, check email (took longer to boot up the computer and get online than it did to read my mail!), put on the music, and write.

But now....I've had days when all I've done is bounce back and forth between emails, chat loops, and Facebook!  Not to mention blogging.  That used to eat up a good hour, more if I felt the need to comment on all of them!

Plus, the spouse is now retired, and you're probably tired of hearing about the two abandoned houses we acquired along with our new house.  You get it; I need about six more hours in the day to get everything done.

So when do I write?  In the afternoon, after the chores and errands are complete.  I've actually made a schedule of what days to set aside for working on the houses, and what days I need to stay put.  Of course, the Muse can be fickle; last week I wrote 3K over the course of 2 days.

This may change, once NaNoWriMo gets here, and IF we get a hard winter.  Yup....shut me in the house with several inches of snow and ice outside, and Kenzie becomes a hermit, with her computer and Kindle for entertainment!

Unless the spouse 'insists' we brave the cold and go out to lunch, lol!

What's that?  You want the blurb to Teacher's Pet?  Enjoy:)

Blurb:

 What happens when you discover the man you had mind-blowing sex with three months ago is your son's teacher? Tammy Saunders is horrified when she realizes the man who set her heart racing is her son's favorite teacher. With one bad relationship behind her, will she trust her heart again, or will she continue to deny her feminine side?

And is this particular teacher popular only with his students? Kevin has made some bad choices in his life, but sleeping with not only one, but now two, of his students' mothers, has got to be the worst mistake he ever made. Especially when he realizes he's lost his heart to one of them...

Coming later this month from Erotes Press:)

For better tips on managing time, click here.