An Amazing Year

Here we are again at the end of another year and the start of a new one. I dug up my 2013 writing goals to see how I fared. I only had two this past year:

1) Revise my Nano book

2) Draft one book

I'm happy to say I did great on both counts. That Nano book I revised is my most favorite story I've ever written. My agent loved it, but there are still a couple details I need to fine tune so it's not submission ready yet...but almost. And I drafted TWO other books. Yay! One is a YA sci-fi that involves herbs (ooh-lala) and the other is REMAKE 2. Writing a sequel was a new experience for me--tough but satisfying. I've yet to revise that first draft, but I'm very excited for the world to read that story. Of course 2013 was also amazing because I got a book deal!

2014 is going to be quite the year for me. I'm attending All The Conferences: LTUE, Storymakers, WIFYR (where I'm talking on a panel as well), and most likely BEA. I'm not too worried about my writing; I've got a large stack of novel starts and ideas waiting patiently to be written. And I'm sure to continue reading every spare minute I have. Of course, the BIG NEWS is the debut of my very first book with a launch and signings and everything that goes with it. Yipee! This year is going to be amazing, so my one and only writing goal for 2014 is this:

Enjoy every moment.

I tend to get caught up in the busyness of moving from one thing to the next, so this year I want to remember to enjoy the journey and be grateful for every part of it. After all, I've worked really hard to get this far, might as well milk it for all the happy, right?

How did you do on your 2013 goals? What's ahead for you in 2014? I hope you all have a wonderful new year!

Merry Christmas

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas holiday!

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Today

Guess what today is?

Why, yes. Yes it is.

I think I'm going to do a little of this:

Maybe some of this:

Who am I kidding? You know I'm mostly gonna do this:

And this:

And oh, yeah. This:

 

Looks like a perfect day to me. :)

If you had a free day to do whatever you wanted, what would it be?

IWSG: Writing for me

Join the IWSG!

I used to roll my eyes at those writers...you know the ones. They'd complain about deadlines and bad reviews and how much they wished they could go back in time to before they were published. I'd hear them ramble about how they just want to write for themselves again, when it was enjoyable and fun. I thought it was all a bunch of BS. Be grateful you have a book deal, I thought. I'd trade my cozy write-for-me status for theirs in a heartbeat.

Yeah...well.

Today all I want to do is crawl into bed and write something for me, for fun, and who cares if no one else ever reads it. But I can't. Because I'm doing the revision dance and trying to please everyone and their mother with this dang book when sometimes I just want to go back to when I first wrote it and relish the magic it held for me. Oh, the magic's still there, and the story and characters still make me happy. I'm not even complaining about the work, because I know these revisions have to be done, but I assure you, the eye-rolling is no more. Because to you afore-mentioned writers...I get it now.

Something else I never thought I'd say: I actually like a One Direction song (at least until next week when it's all I've heard on the radio for hours on end). I know, what kind of sell-out have I become? :)

Out of Tune

OUT OF TUNE by my friend and fab writer Michelle D. Argyle releases tomorrow! Congrats, Michelle!

Twenty-year-old Maggie Roads’ parents are legendary in the country music world. She wants nothing more than to follow in their footsteps, but the limelight isn’t reserved for singers who can’t carry a tune, let alone keep a rhythm.

When her parents tell her they’re getting divorced, Maggie decides it’s time to leave home and take her future into her own hands. Moving in with Cole, her best friend and sometimes boyfriend, might not be the best of ideas, but she’s got to start somewhere. Their off-and-on romance gets even more complicated when Maggie crushes on her new voice teacher, Nathan, who unlocks her stunning potential. A sensational music career of her own is finally within reach, but Maggie might need more than perfect pitch to find what she’s really looking for.

Available in eBook and print everywhere online books are sold, as well as ordering from bookstores. See the official book page for more information.

And check out her cool trailer:

Run for the Roses

I'm so excited to have Rachel Schieffelbein on the blog today. Her novella, RUN FOR THE ROSES, released a week ago. Here's a little about the book:

Abigail Conrad has spent her whole life training for one goal: to win the roses at the Arabian Youth Nationals. She’s given up friends, a social life, and doesn’t have time to even think about guys -- much less date!

Now that she’s headed off to college in the fall, it’s her last chance to be a Youth National Champion, and she won’t let anything distract her from that dream.

Except maybe Chase, the older brother of Abigail's biggest rival. He’s charming, funny, and possibly Abigail's biggest problem. How can she focus on riding when her mind keeps wandering to Chase’s green eyes and confident smile?

With her dream on the line, Abigail had better learn to fight her growing attraction to Chase, or she might end up losing the roses and the guy.


Take it away, Rachel...

Thank you so much for having me here today, Ilima! :)

Since Run for the Roses is mostly takes place at the Arabian Youth Nationals, I thought I'd share some of my Youth Nationals memories.

My first year showing at Youth was in 1994, (yes, I'm old.) I was showing a sweet little western mare named Showshill Merit. At Nationals you usually have cuts to make before you get to the finals, (and of course you have to qualify to be there in the first place.) I had two classes I was showing Merit in, so two cuts to make. Both of my first cuts were on the very first day of the show. I got a wrong lead in the first one and got the gate. A few hours later, I got the gate again.

(Got the gate, is the horse term for I got sent through the gate with diddley squat.)

So that was it, I got to just hang out the rest of the week with nothing to do. Lol. But, years later I saw a hat at Youth that said, "I got the gate at Youth Nationals." I loved it. I may not have gotten a ribbon, but I'd made it there. I was competing at a level I'd never dreamed of before and that was pretty cool.
And I use the expression with my speech kids all the time when they are competing at State. Anything from here on out is just gravy, you made it here and that's awesome.

It's true for writing, too. Be proud of yourself each step of the way. You got a personalized rejection? Awesome. You got a request? Way freaking cool. Even if they turn it down you know you are making progress. You are heading in the right direction.

And here's a cute picture of a foal, just for fun. ;)

I love that! And it's so true. Thanks for stopping by, Rachel. You can find her book on Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. Congrats!