Writer Wednesday - Take Care Of Yourself #WednesdayWisdomForWriters #amwriting #wellness

Recently, I was discussing con crud with a writer friend. What’s con crud, you ask? I assure you, it’s just as gross as it sounds.

 This ailment got its vivid name because it tends to pop up among conference and convention goers a few days after the event in question has ended. Typical symptoms include congestion, cough, and a general feeling of malaise. I know, makes you want to sign up for even more conferences, amiright? 

For years I thought that con crud was the inevitable result of being packed into a hotel or other public facility, breathing in the same recycled air as hundreds if not thousands of others, subsisting on stale coffee and cookies, and sleeping less than usual. Many anecdotal cures promise to cure the crud, ranging from taking high doses of vitamin C to eating raw garlic. They never worked, at least not for me.

 But what if con crud wasn’t inevitable? What if by making a few small changes to my pre-con routine, I could avoid con crud altogether?

 This called for science, and its buddy, research. In true mad scientist fashion, I used myself as a test subject.

 I put my plan in motion shortly before I attended Necon this past July. During the week leading up to the event, I slept a full eight hours every night, and took at least one nap per day. I doubled my water intake, eliminated alcohol, and made sure to consume vegetables and protein at every meal. Basically, for a week I behaved like a normal healthy person, not my usual overstressed, pretzel-munching, coffee-guzzling self. And guess what?

 I didn’t get con crud!

 By resting, keeping myself hydrated, and eating as well as I could manage, I got my body into the best condition it could possibly be in BEFORE the con. While at the con I still drank the stale coffee, and I didn’t sleep nearly enough, but I didn’t get con crud. In fact, after four days at Necon I didn’t even have my usual post-con fatigue. In short, I felt great.

 So, what does this have to do with writing? Quite a bit, actually. First of all, your creative impulses are a higher level function than talking or moving around or breathing, so when you’re not feeling 100% your body naturally diverts resources and energy to where it’s needed most.  If you imagine your creative process as the top 10% of your energy, you can (probably) visualize what I mean. And have you ever tried writing when you’re sick or tired? It’s not easy.

 Therefore, the better shape we keep ourselves in, the better our creative output will be. I’m not saying you should live like a monk, and ingest nothing  but spinach and water and sunlight. Just take the time to take care of yourself, and know your limits. If you have a big event, a deadline looming on the horizon, or are taking part in a writing challenge (ya’ll didn’t think I’d forget to mention NaNoWriMo, did you?) be cognizant of your habits. You’ll never make your word count if you’re too tired to type.

 Do you have any tip on avoiding con crud? Tell us in the comments!

 I'll be at Whipowill Stables for their open house on September 18, selling books and playing with horses. Learn more about the event here

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Writer Wednesday: It’s Time To Talk About NaNoWriMo #writerwednesday #amwriting #NaNoWriMo

Here we are on the last day of August, with summer winding down and the kids returning to school. Right now I'm looking ahead to November, specifically NaNoWriMo. I've written about NaNo before, but here's a description in a nutshell: You write a first draft of a novel (50,000 words, which breaks down to 1,667 words per day) in 30 days, during the month of November. Hence, National Novel Writing Month = NaNoWriMo. Sounds daunting, right? Actually, it's totally doable, and I should know. I've been participating in NaNo for years, and I always make my word count. My personal best is 66k in 19 days, but there were a few extenuating circumstances there: I didn't pay my cable bill, and I had no internet for half the month. It was a wonder Facebook survived without me. Lesson the first: reducing/eliminating distractions has a positive effect on word count. The other tip I can't stress enough is getting all of your pre-work out of the way before November 1. What is pre-work? Well, your outline, for one. Also, if your story concept needs any sort of research--be it places, dates, obscure languages--do it now. when November 1 hits you want to hit the ground running, not get bogged down reading semi-factual Wikipedia pages. Lesson the second: research now, write like the dickens later. Something else I do to keep me on track is engage a NaNo buddy. Your buddy can help you by critiquing plot points, helping you out when the story hits a rough patch, or just by commiserating and sheering you on. My NaNo buddy this year is Barry *waves* and we've already had a few chat sessions to talk about our projects. He's working on a horror novel with a fricken' AWESOME concept, and I'm going to cobble together a retelling of Medusa and other Greek myths. Which means that our projects will never, ever be in competition for the same venue. Side benefit! Lesson the third: get a support group/person/houseplant. There's no need to go it alone! Writing 50,000 words in 30 days is tough, but any serious writer can make this goal. If you feel like you need a challenge to get yourself back on track, or just want to revel in writing something new, I say give NaNo a go. You might surprise yourself. Oh, and that 66k I wrote in 19 days? It's a real book - Changing Teams! Check it out here!   See that, if I can win NaNo, and get the resulting project published, you can too :)   Are you planning on participating in NaNoWriMo this year? Tell me in the comments!  

Writer Wednesday – Always Spring For The Good Shirts #AmWriting #Marketing #Promo #WednesdayWisdom

Today we’re going to talk about something that’s just as important to successful writers as proper grammar and strong characterization: making a good first impression. This can be done in many ways, and several of them have nothing to do with the actual quality of your writing. Now, don’t for a moment think that I’m suggesting your writing should be anything but top notch, and polished until it’s and perfect as you can get it. But let’s face it, the writing isn’t always the first impression someone has of an author. There are many other ways to make contact with new readers, either via a website, social media, personal appearances, or swag. Yes, swag matters. A lot. Let me tell you about my husband. He’s a rock star (locally, anyway) which means that we have an abundance of band t-shirts in our house. You know the shirts I’m talking about – they start out black with vibrant designs silk screened onto them. After a few washes, the fabric  fades and possibly pills, and the design cracks and flakes off. Whenever that happens, you know the band settled for the cheap shirts. What difference does this make? Well, out of sight out of mind, for one; the main purpose of swag is so people have a handy little reminder of who you are, and what you do. And if your swag disintegrates or looks sub-par after regular use or wear, that doesn’t leave the best impression. Sometimes we hit the nail on the head, and get swag that is both well designed and long-lasting.  I worked at a liquor store over ten years ago, and one of the sales representatives gave me a Magic Hat shirt. I’ve been wearing that shirt almost weekly since then, and while the design is faded it’s still legible. Even better, the fabric hasn’t shrunk or thinned out to nothing. In short, Magic Hat sprung for the good shirts. What does this mean for us authors? First and foremost, swag should be well designed. If you know your way around graphic design programs there’s nothing wrong with designing things yourself. There’s also nothing wrong with hiring someone who knows what they’re doing—remember, you can reuse the same designs again and again, so consider that in your cost benefit analysis. As for printing, if you don’t have a nearby print shop a quick internet search will reveal a plethora of online retailers. Don’t be the author with the home-printed bookmarks and crooked logo. Trust me on this. By being choosy about our swag—and making it as professional-looking as possible—you strengthen your brand and appeal to a wider audience. There are all sorts of articles out there advising authors how to strengthen their brand, and professional, well-designed swag is an easy way to stand out from the crowd. What do you think about swag? Love it, hate it, or collect it? Tell me in the comments below!

The Virgin Queen, book 2 of The Chronicles of Parthalan, on sale for 99 cents

That's right, the second Chronicle of Parthalan is on sale for 99 cents, but only for a limited time. This is s great opportunity to revisit Parthalan and Asherah - but you need to act fast, since the price goes back up on August 13. And stay tuned for updates on the next installment, Rise of the Deva'shi, will be available by year end. Click to purchase---> http://amzn.to/2aJqfoE   A broken queen. A friendship mired in deceit. Can one man from the desert help hold the realm together? Asherah, Queen of Parthalan and Lady of Tingu, has led her people through eight centuries of prosperity. That peace shatters when Mersgoth, the mordeth thought long dead, attacks Teg’urnan. In the aftermath a new warrior emerges: Aeolmar, a man as secretive as he is deadly. Asherah and Aeolmar race across Parthalan in pursuit of Mersgoth, and track the beast to the High Desert. While they're gone, Harek, now Prelate of Parthalan, conspires with the Dark Fae against the elves...Against Leran, the king of the elves and Asherah's son in all but blood. Will Asherah see the truth of Harek before it's too late, or will he bring down the fae once and for all? ***********************************************************************    

Live today - COPPER VEINS, book three of the Copper Legacy @SpencerHillP #urbanfantasy #fantasy #newrelease #coppergirl

Get it from Amazon or Barnes & Noble Sara’s pretty sure her life is perfect. Not only are she and Micah finally married, her father, who’d been missing since the Magic Wars, has been found. Actually, he just strode up to the manor’s front door, but whatever. Sara knows better than to look a gift horse in the mouth. But Baudoin Corbeau isn’t content to return to family life. He’s decided that he will be the force of change in the Mundane world, and lead the Elemental resistance to victory with his children at his side. What’s worse, Baudoin doesn’t approve of Sara’s marriage, and makes every attempt to separate her from Micah. After a visit to the Mundane realm leaves Sara, Max and Sadie imprisoned by the Peacekeepers, Sara’s doubts creep to the surface. Is her father right? Does she belong in the Mundane realm, not the Otherworld? Is Micah really the right man--make that elf--for her? Was marrying him a mistake? New to the series? Comment below for a chance to win the book that started it all, Copper Girl! Happy reading :)  

A Sale, A New Release, And TWO Events! @SpencerHillP @BodaciousIndie @pandybooks #CopperVeins #New #fantasy #romance #sale #Kindle

Hey all! There's a lot happening this month, so I'll just jump right into things. First off, Copper Girl is on sale for 99 cents across all platforms! That's right, the book that introduced us to Sara and Micah's world is available for 99 pennies. This sale won't last long, so grab your copy now! Here's an Amazon link, and one for Barnes & Noble.       Copper Veins, book 3 of the Copper Legacy, will be available everywhere July 26! This installment picks up right where Copper Ravens left off, with the unexpected return of Sara's quasi-legendary father, Baudoin Corbeau. His family is overjoyed to have him back, but then he starts acting a bit off...

 If you're a blogger or reviewer, Copper Veins is up on NetGalley now. Click here to request a copy.

I also have two in-person events happening this month. On July 9 I'll be at Bodacious Books and Baubles at 225 Shaker Road in East Longmeadow - rumor has it that there may be signed copies of Copper Veins up for grabs. On July 14 I'll be at Pandemonium Books in Cambridge, along with my fellow New England Horror Writers. The event is called Thursday Night Frights, and it's going to rock! I hope to see some familiar faces at one (or both) events.

 That's all for now. As always, if you have any questions or comments leave 'em below. Happy reading!

 

What People Are Saying About Changing Teams @LimitlessBooks #Romance #Contemporary #NYC

This week has inundated me with great reviews for Changing Teams! Here are a few of my favorites: From Cutting Muse Blog Review - Laura and Makayla Redmon: "I really enjoyed reading this story! I don't think I've ever had the pleasure of reading anything like it, which makes it unique in my book!" From Suzanne Talkington: "Overall, I found this book a lot of fun. I laughed, wanted to yell and almost cried at some points. Character build was great as well as the story’s flow. The side characters are amazing. Solid 4 ½ stars!!" From Bella's blog: "The characters were well developed and quite engaging .I really enjoyed the point of view the way it was split in two ,because it totally defined everything really clearly . And it was easier for us the reads to get the inside story of both of those characters ,specially their thoughts and motivations. The chemistry between these two was instant and it just continued to grow until it sealed them together" Have you gotten your copy? http://amzn.to/28SmFGO