Moving (check), Launch tour (check), Blogfest (check)...OYVEY!

This is not my normal Monday blog post, but there’s good reason for that.  This Friday, I will be flying my son down from Seattle to Arizona State University near Phoenix, and on Sunday, we’ll move him into his residence hall.  Yes, after 2 years of researching schools, college fairs and tours, applications, and essays, it’s all come down to this.  

May I say how stressed out I am, especially since I have to do it alone,

without my husband’s help?

 

Yeah. Super-über mondo-stressed.

Mind you, ASU is the largest public university in the entire US.  That’s nearly 70,000 students, most of whom attend the beautiful one-square-mile Tempe campus, where my son will be living.  So far, we’ve UPS’d one huge box down to his hall, at great cost, too.  The rest will be packed and fly with us. Thank God Southwest Airlines doesn’t charge for checked bags!  Needless to say, I’ve been a busy mama.  So while I don’t have the time to dwell over a thoughtful blog post, I do have time for a few announcements.  

First, my dear friend, Jennifer Hillier, has just released her second novel, Freak.  Though it stands alone on its own merits, it’s also a sequel to her debut novel, Creep, which came out last summer.  (I loved that book, by the way!)  I ordered a hard copy of Freak so Jenny can sign it when I see her at BoucherCon 2012 in October.  I was excited enough just to get my copy, but then I opened it up and saw that she had mentioned me in her acknowledgements.  Yes, more than a few tears sprang to my eyes.  Thank you, Jenny!

Second, after receiving another update from Goodreads, where I noticed one more add to another reader’s TBR list (thank you Lynda R. Young,) I saw that Lisa Regan had updated her review of my book, The Mistaken.  This update has a lot of depth and detail and is not simply a rehashed synopsis.  She shares what she loved most about my story and what she feels makes it special.  My humble thanks, Ms.Regan!  

Next, with my book’s release a short 2 months away, I’m frantically getting ready for my blog tour.  Besides the one arranged by Sapphire Star Publishing, (who, by the way, has a shiny new website) I have my own tour looming ahead.  That’s 15 guest posts and interviews I have to compose.  I’ve already written 10 of them, but I have 5 new additions that came up last week.  (Thanks to those of you who asked me to guest post.)  So yeah, I’m a bit swamped at the moment. 

I did, however, want to mention a couple of other events coming up, like Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Genre Favorites Blogfest on September 17, 2012.  One blogfest, four favorites!  Simply list your favorite genre of:  movie, music, books, and a guilty pleasure genre from any of the three categories!  Alex hosts the best parties, so if you want to participate and meet new people, click here for the latest info.  

Also, on Tuesday, August 21^st, my friend, neighbor, and fellow writer, Angela Orlowski-Peart, will reveal the cover for her new YA paranormal novel, Forged By Greed, set for release in September.  Angela will be my guest that day while we celebrate this important event.

And lastly, I’d like to thank Karen Elizabeth Brown for nominating me for the Liebster Award.  Though I’ve done this award before, it could use some updating, so I’ll try to post about it sometime in the near future. 

Whew!  Can I take a breath now?

Oh yeah, right…I have to go finish packing.

*sigh*

So what have you all been up to this summer?

Happy New Year!

I'm not one who normally makes resolutions, but I do set goals, and the new year is always a good time to refocus back on those goals.  So here is what I hope to accomplish in 2012:

1. Finish my first novel already!  While I thought I was finished, since I haven't yet landed an agent, I figure I need to get a few more CPs and work out the last kinks before I start querying again in January.  Which brings me to my second goal…

2. Land an agent!  This is the most important goal for me in 2012, but it’s also the one least under my control.  There’s nothing more I can do except write a kickass query (check) and start emailing.  Which brings me to my third goal…

3. Complete the first draft of my second novel.  I’m so ready to get right on this one.  I have so much of the story worked out in my brain.  I’ll need to drum up an outline first then dive right in.  This time, I have several awesome CPs lined up from the word go, so hopefully, knowing what I know now, it’ll be a much smoother process the second time around.  If all goes well, or even if it doesn’t, I have one more goal…

4. Attend my first ever writer’s conference.  BoucherCon 2012, a convention for crime and thriller writers, is being held in Cleveland, Ohio October 4^th through the 7^th.  I can’t tell you how excited I am to attend this, for obvious reasons, of course, but also because I will finally get the chance to meet my BFF, Lisa Regan, in person.  And I’ll also get to reunite with another wonderful friend, Jennifer Hillier, author of Creep and the forthcoming Freak, who just days ago, moved away from the Seattle area, where I live, back to her native Toronto, Canada.  If I haven’t bagged an agent yet, I hope I get the opportunity to make a few pitches. 

So that’s it for me.  What about you?  Have you made any resolutions or goals for 2012?  

Whatever they are, I hope you reach them.

Have a happy and blessed New Year, my friends, and thank you for hanging out with  me in 2011!