Weekly Goals 1-2-16

I've been lazy, I'll admit it.  I have not been working as hard as I should have been on my revision.  But that changes today.  School starts back today and I finished watching Making a Murderer over the weekend, so no more excuses not to work.

I need to get back into the routine that worked so well for me last year, and this week is all about that.  If I don't knuckle down, I'm not going to meet my March 1 deadline...

My oldest son starts middle school today.  I thought he would want me to come with him, but he doesn't.  And my younger son doesn't want or need me to come with him when he starts on Wednesday.  They grow up so fast...

What are your goals this week?

Celebrate the small things 28-1-2016

This post is part of Lexa Cain's bloghop, Celebrate the Small Things. Head on over there to join up!

So what am I celebrating this week?

It has been a busy week despite being shortened by Wellington's Anniversary Day. 

My blog was Blitzed on Tuesday which was awesome! Thank you to everyone who stopped by!  I'm sorry it has taken me so long to get around all your blogs to comment in return.  But I did it, so I'm feeling quite accomplished!

We had two films at Sundance, both having their world premieres and the reviews have been fantastic for both.  One of them already sold in a really good deal too, so everyone is very happy at work.

I managed to fix the things my CP pointed out weren't working in my WIP, so now I can move on.  I'm still aiming to have this revision done by the beginning of March, so hopefully there aren't any more huge issues that need fixing (although I know there are).

Kids go back to school next week, so everything will settle back into a routine.  Hopefully...

What are you celebrating this week?

Weekly Goals 25-1-2016

Sorry this is late readers...  I still seem unable to add content to the blog on my own computer.  Luckily I can at work, so sneaking a naughty five minutes to write this now...

This week is still about revising.  After having liked all the previous chapters, my CP found some major issues in the most recently revised ones, so I will be doing some serious rewriting this week to try and address those issues.

And that's about it for goals.  My kids have returned after a couple of weeks away, so I'm trying to settle back into a routine with them and work and getting ready for school to start again next week.

It's only the end of January and it already feels like it's going to be a busy, busy year!

Celebrate the Small Things 22-1-16

This post is part of Lexa Cain's bloghop, Celebrate the Small Things. Head on over there to join up!

So what am I celebrating this week?

First up, managing to get into my blog! For three days I haven't been able to get into the 'write new post' part of Blogger.  Not sure why, but it seems to work at the office, just not at home...

It's a long weekend!  I know we've only been back at work 2 weeks after the summer break, but it feels longer.  Those 2 weeks have been stupidly busy so the extra day off feels very deserved.

With the kids still away, I'm going up to spend the night with a friend up the coast.  I'm looking forward to an evening of twilight swimming, wine and Scrabble with my friend.  

The kids get back on Sunday afternoon, so I have time to sneak lunch with an old friend and colleague before picking them up.  The 2 weeks we've been without them have felt very long and I'm really looking forward to seeing them.  Probably until about Monday afternoon when they will be driving me crazy again...

What are you celebrating this week?

Weekly Goals 18-1-15

The first week back at work was a bit of a shock to the system.  Luckily I had a lot of fun stuff to do too because with no kids to take care of, there were no babysitting concerns.  So I had a lot of fun nights out last week to compensate for having to go back to work...

Unfortunately, all those nights out cut into my writing time somewhat, so I haven't done nearly as much work on My Murder Year as I has hoped to do.  This week my goal is to revise at least 5 more chapters.

My other goal is to still make the most of a week with no kids and go out and do all the things I don't get a chance to do when they are home.

What are your goals this week?

Celebrate the small things 15-1-16

This post is part of Lexa Cain's bloghop, Celebrate the Small Things. Head on over there to join up!

So what am I celebrating this week?

It's Friday!  I know it's only the first week back at work after the holidays, but it has felt like a long week.  I think that first week back always does....

My kids are still at the beach with their grandparents so it is delightfully quiet here.  My partner and I have been enjoying going out in the evenings without having to worry about who is going to look after the kids.  And even better, we have another whole week before they come home.  I have to admit, I do miss them a bit.

I am back into revising My Murder Year and it isn't going too badly.  Yet.  I haven't hit the snarly parts yet.  But I'll keep working, a chapter at a time, and hopefully in about a month or so I'll have something good enough to send my agent.

What are you celebrating this week?

Cover Reveal: Right of First Refusal

My lovely friend Dahlia has a new book coming out and I'm super excited to be able to share the cover with you today.  Isn't it pretty?  I wish I looked that good lying in bed...  

And it's not just a pretty cover either.  What's between the covers sounds great too.  I've pre-ordered my copy and so should you!

Blurb:
On the lacrosse field, Cait Johanssen gets what she wants. Off the field is another story. Because what she wants is the school's hot new basketball student-coach, Lawrence Mason, who also happens to be the guy who broke her heart in sports camp two years earlier.

But it's Cait's new roommate who's got him.

Cait and Mase agree it's best to keep their past a secret, but she doesn't expect him to completely ignore their history...or how much it'll hurt when he does. So when a friend on the basketball team asks her to pose as his girlfriend for a night, Cait can't turn down the opportunity for distraction. (Okay, and a little spite.) But what starts as an evening of fun turns into a fake relationship with more lies than the usually drama-free Cait can handle, and it's only keeping her from the one truth that's nagged at her for years: Why did Mase cut her out of his life to begin with?

And is it really too late to get him back?

Preorder links:

Amazon | B&N | Smashwords

Add it on Goodreads

Dahlia Adler is an Associate Editor of Mathematics by day, a blogger for B&N Teen Blog by night, and writes Contemporary YA and NA at every spare moment in between. She's the author of the Daylight Falls duology, Just Visiting, and the Radleigh University series, as well as over five billion tweets as @MissDahlELama. She lives in New York City with her husband and their overstuffed bookshelves.

Back!

You may not have noticed the absence of my usual posts, but if you have and wondered where they were, I've been away on holiday for a week at the beach house where we don't have internet.  I'm back now, and have less than 12 hours before I have to go back to work...  Somehow the holiday didn't feel nearly long enough!  But it never does.

On the upside, even though I had to leave this beautiful place...

...we did leave the kids there and now have 2 luxuriously child-free weeks.  Grandparents are a wonderful thing.  Especially grandparents with a gloriously located beach house.

Now I have to get my head back into work mode and back to my early morning writing schedule.  Wish me luck with the re-adjusting.  I think it may take some doing!

Cloaked release!

I'm so excited to share this book with all of you.  T. F. Walsh is one of my CPs and we've been working together for... God, is it 6 years?  Her first novel, Cloaked in Fur, came out a couple of years ago, and this is a prequel novella.  And it's really good!  Books 2 and 3 in the Cloaked series will release later in the year, but more about that later.  For now, check out Cloaked and join me in congratulating the author on its release!

CLOAKED by T.F. Walsh Is Now Out

Cloaked Blurb:

Raised by an overly protective wulfkin pack, Daciana leaps at the chance to venture into the human world for her one-year independence ritual. But after someone steals the endangered bear cubs she’s been assigned to protect, she must locate them or lose her job and return home in disgrace. The sexy inspector on the case isn’t making this any easier. He knows nothing of her kind, and wulfkin rules forbid relationships with humans.

Newly divorced Inspector Connell Lonescu trusts no one but himself. He’s convinced relationships are a waste of time and thinks burying himself in work will ease the pain. Yet he’s attracted to the gorgeous and mysterious Daciana, even if there’s something slightly odd about her. Can Connell learn to trust the sexy but secretive woman? 

Cloaked is the prequel to Cloaked in Fur, book 1 in The Wulfkin Legacy Series. Find out how Daciana and Connell fell in love and set in motion the paramount events that forever change their lives and those around them.

Cloaked is only 0.99c

Grab Your Copy: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Google Play | iTunes

Publisher: Crimson Romance

Coming Soon

Cloaked in Secrecy (Book #2) – March 2016

Cloaked in Blood (Book #3) – May 2016

Sign up here for T.F. Walsh’s newsletter to keep up to date with latest releases, special offers, and exclusive content.

About The Author

T.F. Walsh emigrated from Romania to Australia at the age of eight and now lives in a regional city south of Sydney with her husband. Growing up hearing dark fairytales, she's always had a passion for reading and writing horror, paranormal romance, urban fantasy and young adult stories. She balances all the dark with light fluffy stuff like baking and traveling.

Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads | Amazon

Dear Me 2016

Yes, it's that time again...  My annual letter to myself about what I hope to achieve in the year.  Let's hope 2016 is the year I actually DO everything on the list.

Dear Me,

I feel a lot like 2015 was spent in a holding pattern.  I did several revisions on old books and only managed to write one new one.  I didn’t even manage to finish revising my 2014 NaNo novel! 

So that’s my number one goal for 2016.  To finish revising My Murder Year, get it critiqued and Beta’d and sent off to my agents.  It’s definitely time for them to see something new from me.

My second goal is to write a new book.  I have an idea that’s been simmering for a while. I had planned to write it during NaNo 2015, but revisions came in at just the wrong time for me to be able to.  So I’ll get that written.  It’s another YA, but definitely for the older end of the spectrum.

During the June 2015 NaNo Camp, I wrote a new book which I haven’t even glanced at since I wrote ‘the end’.  In 2016 I will revise this book.  I don’t have a title for it yet, so it’s currently called Sam and Amy after the two main characters, a trans-gender kid from a traditional Chinese family and a girl who considers herself the town slut.  I’m kind of terrified about how bad it might be after not looking at it for so long, but I always am.

And that’s it for writing goals for now.  The rest are just hopes…  I hope I get a book deal this year.  I hope the new opportunity my agent thinks she may have found for An Unstill Life works out.  I’ve been very frustrated by the fact it’s not available for sale since Musa closed, yet is available on all kinds of pirate sites.  Especially since I get emails from readers all the time, wanting to know where to buy it.

On the work front, I’m feeling good about the new year.  I learned so much last year, I actually feel like I know my job reasonably well, and can go into 2016 much more confidently that I went into 2015.  There will be new challenges and new things to learn, of course, but I feel like I’m in a good starting place to take those new things on.

As usual I will promise to try to be more active with my critique group.  I’m going to try and schedule a night for doing this.  It may mean one less writing night, but at least I won’t be consumed with guilt about not doing the number of critiques I know I should be doing.

And as usual, I will pledge to lose weight (which I won’t) and to go to the gym more often (which I will try to do).

And that’s it from me…  We’ll check in toward the middle of the year to see how I’m getting on.

X Me!