by Sarah | Oct 7, 2015 | All About Me, All of Us, Blogging Life, I'm A Writer, Redefining Perfect, Wordy Wednesday
A month ago I was blindsided by the news of my publishers closing. Shock and confusion took over for a while. The stress of the situation was compounded by the fact that my day job blew up and I’ve been working full time instead of part time.
I knew I’d regather and reissue and move forward, but I was so overwhelmed by all the tasks ahead of me.
One month later and I’m definitely in a different place. I have put all of my books back on Amazon with lower prices and some on Kindle Unlimited.
I sat down with my editor and we worked out a schedule so that I will still be publishing my Halloween book. I have set dates for the editing process for my upcoming releases next year. It’s good to have deadlines, even if they are flexible.
I’ve put up for pre-order a box-set of my original Dominion Falls Trilogy, because I’ve been wanting to do it for a while anyway.
And, best of all, I’ve been writing again. Despite the entire world blowing up around here lately (seriously, it’s been insane. ‘Stop the world, I want to get off’ type of insane), despite me not being able to talk to my bestie as much (seriously, woman, get back on the damn computer), despite the pressure of getting things done and done well…I have returned.
It feels really good to be putting words on the page. New words. Lots of words. Not daily, but nearly daily and with good word counts.
I’m feeling good about the coming year. My first month completely Indie has been successful enough to have me hopeful for what’s coming in the future.
So nice to be back.
by Sarah | Sep 16, 2015 | All About Me, All of Us, Blogging Life, I'm A Writer, Redefining Perfect, Wordy Wednesday
This piece was written during a brief stint in a weekly meme where you had a word cap limit. It was multiples of threes, 33 or 300 if I remember correctly were the options. I don’t even remember the name of the challenge.
I called this one “A Love Story in 33 Words”.
I want him.
I love him.
How dare he!
I miss him.
I love him.
Yes I will!
I do forever.
No time alone –
Kids, home, life.
I miss him.
I’m joining him.
And that’s it for this week. Short and sweet. 🙂
by Sarah | Sep 15, 2015 | All About Me, All of Us, Blogging Life, Crap, Random, Redefining Perfect, Top Ten Tuesday
I am not a movie watcher. I will watch them, and enjoy them once or twice. There are a few movies (Galaxy Quest, Star Trek, 27 Dresses, Harry Potter) that I’ll watch over and over…but for the most part I watch it once, twice, I’m done. I don’t sit down and watch movies all day long, I leave that to my husband (gives me the perfect excuse to write).
TV shows, however, are a different story. I love watching TV, I have it on almost all the time in the background. I have shows that I watch repeatedly. Some of them are goofy, I know…likely sentimental, but I love them. If they’re in syndication I seek them out and watch whenever I can. If they’re not, I flat out miss them.
1. Friends – I laughed so much at this show. I still do several times a day. There are some episodes I skip over without remorse…but for the most part I will always watch this if it happens to be on.
2. Dr. Quinn – I actually own this on DVD. I rarely watch it (there’s something about it being on TV…I don’t skip episodes or stop watching when it’s on TV like I do on DVD). But when I was laid up after my surgery I watched a lot of it. Love it, cheesy as hell, but love it anyway.
3. Deadwood – I never knew about this show until it was off the air, so it’s seems silly to say I miss it, but holy cow do I hate HBO for ending this show. It was amazing. Vulgar, yes, but amazing. So much story there, so much intrigue and action and quite a bit of humor too. I will forever love my “cocksucker TV”. And yes, we DO own this on DVD and it’s one of the few shows hubby & I both enjoy watching together.
4. Star Trek: The Next Generation – I didn’t find this show until season 4 when I happened upon the episode “Remember Me” which featured Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton). I was instantly smitten. From that point on I sought out the show and watched it whenever I could, cried when it was over, watched reruns to catch up and was so happy the day I found it in syndication. I went to the opening nights of the movies at midnight (ah the days of youth). To this day I love it…I don’t watch it as much in recent years, but my son sure does.
5. Star Trek: Voyager – I know there were a lot of complaints about this show, but I liked it. After the first couple of seasons of whining about getting home they really started exploring and being scientists, I really fell in love.
6. Buffy – Spike. ‘Nuff said.
7. Diagnosis Murder – How badly am I aging myself between this and Dr. Quinn? This was another corny and cheesy show, but I just adored it. I loved Steve and the mysteries and the comedy thrown in. It made me happy, and anything that makes you happy is worth it. I have found it in syndication, but keep forgetting it’s there until it’s over for the day. I need to start remember this sort of thing. 🙂
8. Without a Trace – Missing persons cases brought about shortly after the advent of CSI. It didn’t last as long, but I really enjoyed it. I liked the way they told the story with a back and forth of what happened to the person telling it.
9. Cold Case – Another one that rode in on CSI’s coat tails. I absolutely loved this. My husband hated the flip between past/present actors and the cheesy ending showing the murder victim smiling, but I liked that touch a lot.
10. Will & Grace – Loved everything about this. I know a ton of people hated the finale, and I can’t blame them. I didn’t despise it, I saw where they were going…but I think it went off course some. Still, the show before it was wonderful.
And there we go. 10 shows I miss running fresh stories every week. What shows do you miss showing up fresh and new every week?
by Sarah | Aug 30, 2015 | All About Indiana, All About Me, All of Us, Blogging Life, Indianapolis Zoo, Photography, Redefining Perfect, Snapshot Sunday
One of my absolute favorite things to do is to head to the zoo with my camera. I love photographing animals (when they’re cooperative. My dog, for example, is not). Some of my favorite photographs of mine are of animals.
So when the family finally made a trip to the zoo recently, I was all too happy to take along my camera for the ride.
As always I took way too many pictures, so I’m splitting it up into a couple of weeks. I’ve got a lot of weeks of pictures to catch up on, actually as I’ve been way active with the camera, much like I’d planned. And trust me, I’m not complaining about that.
Now, onto the photos from the zoo!
Stag Beetle.
Hiss
Orangutan in the sky.
Timon.
Kiss-Crossing SeaHorse
Soaring.
And that’s it for this week! More to come next week…considering I get my camera back out 😀
by Sarah | Aug 26, 2015 | All About Me, All of Us, Blogging Life, I'm A Writer, Redefining Perfect, Wordy Wednesday
My Holidays in Lake Point series is set in the quaint small town of Lake Point, NY – located right outside of Rochester. The town is small, but not overly so. Everyone seems to know everyone, and the holidays are always filled with romance.
The series started as a standalone, one book written for a holiday submission call.
By the time I’d finished writing Alan and Ivy’s story I was hooked. At the end of this year the town will have 13 lovely little stories set in it. Tales of love lost, found, avoided and gained.
In Lake Point you’ll find such delights as a thoroughbred horse farm, a restaurant simply called “The Diner” run by the ever-wise and motherly Myrtle. An auto shop run by the genius cowboy, Clay Rylee; as well as a motorcycle shop run by the pink-haired Autumn Trask. A fun restaurant called “The Midway” that serves only fair-themed foods and candies – where you can play skee ball and balloon darts for prizes – run by Michaela O’Keefe and her sexy assistant manager and boyfriend, Tag. There’s a Witch House, a dance studio, and a beach on the lake.
There are so many other wonderful places to discover, but i want you to meet some of the people there and their stories. We’ll start at the beginning – and it may be a few posts before you meet them all.
| Amazon| SCP | BN | Smashwords | ARe |
Alan Richards returns to Lake Point for the holidays, counting the minutes until he can accomplish the dreaded goal of dealing with his aging parents and get back to the city. Finding his former soul mate living in the town they left together and swore they’d never return to tosses his ordered plans right on their head.
Ivy Nowell has never looked back since she left the city and her ballet career to raise her daughter in Lake Point. Alan’s homecoming dredges up old hurts and the love she never quite let go, but he hasn’t changed, with his relentless commitment to goals that differ completely from hers.
The attraction and instant understanding between them lingers, but neither are who they used to be. Alan wants to give it a chance, but Ivy is worried he’ll change his mind and won’t risk hurting her daughter.
It’ll take Santa and all his magic to keep them from walking away from each other again, maybe for forever this time.
| Amazon | SCP | BN | ARe | iTunes |
Michaela O’Keefe is in over her head with her restaurant, The Midway. Her ad for an assistant manager brings Owen “Tag” Montague to her doorstep. With an impeccable resume and dozens of letters of recommendation, she has little choice but to give him a chance. Ten years her junior, Tag sets her long-dead libido humming, but she gave up on love and her instincts on men years ago.
Tag has had a crush on his new boss since his youth, but he’s determined to prove he can do the job. Still, he can’t resist the urge to make her blush down to her toes as often as possible. He knows her rough past in life and love makes it hard to trust, and he’s wary of crossing the line he so desperately wants to.
Just when they manage to figure out how to work and play together, Michaela’s ex does all he can to destroy their budding love. When push comes to shove Michaela’s inability to give Tag the benefit of the doubt might destroy everything.
Learning to trust herself again is the hardest lesson Michaela will ever have to learn – and by the time she does, it may be too late for love.
| Amazon | SCP | BN | Smashwords | ARe | Kobo | iTunes |
Regan Croft is running as far away as she can get from her past when her car dies outside of Lake Point. While she’d said she’d stop wherever her car died and start a new life, she isn’t so prepared when it finally happens. Starting over isn’t so easy, especially with a sexy cowboy trying to learn all he can about her.
Clay Ryley doesn’t know what to think of the beautiful young woman he rescues from the side of the road, all he knows is she makes him interested in dating again after a painful break up years ago. Unfortunately, every bit of his effort to get close to her is thwarted by her fear of her own past. He wants to help her, and love her, but she makes it difficult for him.
When Regan’s past comes back to haunt her, she could lose everything. When the cards are on the table, Clay has to figure out if he’s willing to listen, or walk away. If he makes the wrong choice, Regan will lose not only her newfound independence, she’ll lose her last hope for love.
by Sarah | Aug 19, 2015 | All About Me, All of Us, Blogging Life, I'm A Reader, Redefining Perfect, Wordy Wednesday
Well, since the last time I’ve posted on what I’m reading, I surpassed my Goodread’s goal of 50 books. On top of what I’ve been writing (which makes my head spin)…that’s quite a bit. I’ve had a few memorable reads, and a few not so much. Despite my earlier claims of what I was reading next, I only read one of the two books. I haven’t managed to read The Glass Magician yet, but I really need to ASAP. It’s bugging me. Unfortunately I have a handful out from the library, too.
Anyway, onto what I’ve been reading, what I’ve read, and what I will be reading next.
What I’ve Read
Texts from Jane Eyre – This hilarious book had me rolling and reading aloud or showing it to my husband, who has found it as funny as me (that never happens). I’ve been ordered to “buy a copy” for us to have (I borrowed it from the library). So in my next Amazon order this book will be coming home for good. The Harry Potter one was funny, but the Jane Eyre, Gilgamesh and Achilles really had me going. Totally awesome.
Jane – by April Lindner. In a totally ironic turn, I read this right before the Jane Eyre book above. It was sold as a modern retelling of Jane Eyre, though the characters all had slightly different names, etc. I found I enjoyed it myself because I read it more as a book with a nod to the original instead of a strict retelling. It wasn’t my favorite read of the year, but I liked it enough to be looking forward to her other “retelling” Catherine (for Wuthering Heights, of course). I’d been wanting to read both of these books based on the covers alone for a long time and was thrilled to find them both at my Half Price on my birthday…so of course I snatched them up. 🙂
We Were Liars – OMG, if this book wasn’t a whole big lot of What-the-f*@kery, I don’t know what is. It was a quick read and I found myself REALLY wanting to get through it to find out what exactly was going on, and to get it out of my lfie. Worst part is I guessed at least part of the giant twist pretty much two chapters in…but then when the big twist came and I was proved right and then some I could only just sit there going “WTF did I just read? WTF did I just spend 3 hours doing? WTF?” I will never get that time back and I’ve already sold the book back to Half Price Books because I mean…WHAT?
What I’m Reading
Unsweetined – I am not a non-fiction reader, but I’ve taken two out from the library so far, with a third on its way. Sometimes bios interest me, and I’ve been curious about Jodie Sweetin’s for a while. I’m a few chapters in, and I really like her voice. It’s easy and conversational. I think this one I might actually finish. I was a big Full house fan and always liked Stephanie…so some of the little details are fun to read. I think this one’ll be a quick read.
Strange Highways – This is sooooo not my typical book. I’m not even that far in, honestly. Only reason I picked it up was because it’s a book club read. My biggest problem right now is that it’s not exactly pre-bedtime reading material, and that’s pretty much when I read. Period. So it’s tough for me to really get into it because I tend toward nightmares and last thing I want to do is encourage them 😉
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – Oh my some days it seems like we will never finish this one! It’ll only get worse as we get on because they get longer and longer, but I’m still so happy to be reading this with Kennedy when we can. Our biggest problem now is going to be finding time to read. Between schoolwork and chores and an earlier bedtime, our joint reading time is getting narrower. I think I know the perfect time, but it’s a matter of getting ourselves on a school year schedule before we can make it a thing.
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What I’m Reading Next
The Glass Magician – Oh my goodness I was supposed to have this read and the next book “borrowed” from Amazon already, but I’ve been reading more print than electronic lately. I really, really intend to read this very soon. I just need to sit down and do so. One of these days I’ll pick up my Kindle instead of a print book. I really do want to see what happens next in this series. I really loved the first book and I think I’m a little afraid the series won’t hold up (it’s happened so often). Fingers crossed I get to it soon.
I Don’t Know What You Know Me From – by Judy Greer. Another of the non-fictions and auto-biographies. I like Judy Greer. I think her book sounds fun. It’s a library borrow so I’ve got a time-frame in which I have to finish it. lol. Hopefully that motivates me to do just that.
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34 Pieces of You – This one’s been on my TBR for a while. I figured no time like the present to borrow it from the library (LOVE my library’s new system that lets you request books from other branches, about time Hickville Library, about time). Based on the description it seems reminiscent of a book I read a couple years back, Thirteen Reasons Why…although I’m sure it’s totally different. I guess we’ll see. Another library book with a time frame on it. Here’s hoping.
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And that’s where I’m at for now. More books coming in the near-future I’m sure. Here’s hoping I get through them all quick. 😀
One month later and I’m definitely in a different place. I have put all of my books back on Amazon with lower prices and some on Kindle Unlimited.
I’ve put up for pre-order a box-set of my original Dominion Falls Trilogy, because I’ve been wanting to do it for a while anyway.
