May Day

So, did you enjoy the Sierra Fox Blog Book Tour? I hope you liked the guest blogs, fun interviews, and contests that took place during the last week. I had a blast.

 

I just want to say THANK YOU to every single blogger who helped get the word out about Sierra's fourth book. :)

 

Phew. It was busy, that's for sure.

 

Oh, and in case you were wondering. Not only did I celebrate the release of Sierra Fox, Book 4 last week, but I also completed the first round of edits for Sierra's fifth/final book. It was a bittersweet experience. On one hand I'm super excited about the upcoming release and can't wait to share the conclusion with everyone. But on the other hand, it's sad.

 

Strange, right?

 

This week my daughter went back to school and all the public holidays are done, so it's back to being alone at home and trying to write, revise, edit as much as possible. While hanging out with Loki, of course. But this week, I'm taking a mental break. I should get the next round of edits back soon, but I needed this week to get a bit of a breather. There are a few smaller tasks that I need to tackle, and I'm slowly crossing them off the to-do list. It feels good to catch up on bits & pieces after being so focused on one project.

 

I also got a chance to catch up on a bunch of The Walking Dead comic books. So I'm now up to date and can't wait to see if the series takes a new direction, or if it will keep circling around similar territory. Don't get me wrong, I love these comic books. They're violent, shocking and filled with characters that I keep praying will survive another issue. LOL. But it would be good to see the survivors actually get a chance to reboot civilization.

 

What else is new? Oh, yeah. See the picture I posted today? It's actually a peek into a diy journal that my daughter and I put together on Monday. That's my one. Basically, we grabbed a bunch of scrap/loose paper and made some cute journals. We even made our own very different covers. It was a LOT of fun, and I'm looking forward to tackling more craft ideas with my daughter. She's inherited my love for stationery. ;)

 

Well, that's about it. I'm hoping to do everything I have on my to-do list by tomorrow afternoon, so I can enjoy the weekend.

 

Don't forget, TORN FROM THE SHADOWS is now available. 

Busy Reading My Own Book

That's right! A few days after my Ch-ch-changes post last week, I received the FLEs for ON PINS AND NEEDLES. Looks like my subconscious suspected this would happen, lol.

 

So I spent the backend of last week working on them and then received the ARC on Monday morning. So guess what I've been doing this week? That's right! And I finished up yesterday afternoon.

 

Phew. It's d-o-n-e! Yay. So excited.

 

It was hard work, reading my own story once again with a critical eye, but well worth it. Not to mention that I fell in love with the book and its characters all over again. Gotta love it when that happens.

 

And the cover, wow! I had to post it with this entry. Looking forward to getting the final copies. Which reminds me, I'm going to have to start scheduling a few guest blog posts/interviews for the release week. In June! LOL. It's still a while away, but I better get booking soon. :)

 

Well, asides from losing myself in Sierra's world, I've been spending time with my lovely family, catching up on some TV, and trying to sneak in some reading, too. Did I mention that we introduced my daughter to SUPERNATURAL? Yeah, we're throwing her in the middle of things--the beginning of Season 7--but gave her plenty of background information. Y'know, important things like how adorable the Winchester Boys are, and how I still miss John Winchester... hold up. What? No, I didn't talk about that. ;)

 

She seems to be a Dean fan already. Who can blame her? We're really behind, so I'm looking forward to catching up.

 

Well. That's about it for now. Just thought I'd post another update, since I haven't had a chance to post steady daily updates lately.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Last day of Jan...

Yeah, can you believe it? I honestly can't believe the first month of 2013 is almost over. Yikes! Time sure goes fast nowadays. :/

 

Anyway.

 

My daughter started high school yesterday. I know! I can't believe I have a kid old enough to go to high school. LOL. But she's there. She started Year 7 and is actually very excited about it, which is awesome. Though I have to say, I shouldn't have expected anything different because she was the same with pre-school and Kindy.

 

She seems to adapt easily enough, and I hope that continues into the rest of her life.

 

So, what does this mean for me? Well, I can finally set some real personal goals and deadlines. The first thing I'd like to tackle is the second draft of Sierra Fox #4. I wrote the first draft in November, so it should be good to get back into it after a few months away.

 

Ideally, I would like to get started on Monday... but if edits for Book 3 come in, I'll have to push it aside. We've got two more things left to do for the third book: FLEs and ARC. That's it! Which is why I want to get a move on with Book 4.

A few weeks ago while catching up on my Blog Reading, I found a scary short film posted at Rhiannon Frater's blog. It's called Mama and I've been wanting to watch it since, but because my daughter was home and I heard it was scary, I didn't. Well, I finally got around to checking it out yesterday, and whoa. WTH? Want to know what I mean? See it for yourself:  

 

The only problem is that I now can't wait to watch the movie! LMAO. I really need a horror fix soon!

Man, my brain needs a mental holiday. See ya!

Loki's 6!

That's right. My baby kitty's growing up.

It was his birthday yesterday. :)

 

So, as you've probably noticed I've been a little slack with the ol' blog lately. :/ I have gone out of my way to post reviews as I finish reading books, though I haven't done much reading this week either.

 

My editor got Sierra Fox #3 back to me really fast, so I spent most of this week working on the second round of edits for On Pins and Needles. I'm so excited about this story, especially since during the editing process Holly has helped me make everything super shiny. She's an awesome editor! So glad we were matched up. :)

 

I finished up on Wednesday, and took yesterday off. All I did was read! It was so good, and the book I read was amazing! Today I got a bunch of smaller things out of the way--including the review for the book I read yesterday. As well as some other stuff on my to-do list.

 

Well, my daughter goes back to school next week. On Wednesday. I can't believe she's starting high school! It kinda hit me the other day... she's actually going to start Year 7 next Wednesday. Yikes. The years go by so darn fast. But you know what's strange about that? I can still remember my first day of high school, I can still remember what it was like during those strange years. Hopefully that'll help understand my daughter a little better as she starts the next stage of her life...

 

Anyway. Not much more to report. Just thought it was about time I posted some sort of update here, LOL.

 

Have a great weekend! We've got a long one because it's Australia Day.

Sunny days are finally here!

The other day I mentioned that I had a new shade in my hair, and here it is! What'd you think? I love it.

 

I took this pic--with my daughter's help--this morning and finally managed to capture the actual colour. I've taken a few other shots, but they came out looking a little too dark because my hair looks black indoors. It's not until the sun is shining on it that you can see the true shade. :)

 

So. This week's flying by. I'm slowly working my way through my to-do list, but for some reason it feels like I'm not getting anything done. I always feel that way after finishing a first draft, revision or edit. When I'm working on either one of those, there are always word and page counts achieved at the end of the day, but now there's nothing. lol.

 

I just need to adjust, that's all. Which isn't going to be easy if Sierra things keep popping into my head.

 

Yesterday, my daughter and I attended Orientation Day at the high school she'll be attending next year. It was one of those really tiring things that took a few hours and left me exhausted, even though I didn't do much but sit around and listen. The cool thing is that my daughter's actually excited about starting high school, not worried/scared. I shouldn't be surprised since she was the same way when she was about to start pre-school and kindy. She adapts well, so I hope things go very well for her next year. Sometimes, I can't believe she's actually going to start Year 7 in 2013.

Time sure flies!

 

As far as my to-do list, I've managed to cross off a bunch of things but still have a few things left to tackle--some nitty-gritty worldbuilding issues/character notes/inspirational pics for one of my upcoming projects, random Sierra research, and nitty-gritty behind the scenes stuff for the final Sierra book. Doesn't sound like much, but it kinda is, so I'm taking my time with it.

 

One thing I haven't done this week is read. I just haven't had the time because I get caught up in my own stories and/or end up playing Zookeeper for ages. :D

 

Well, better go and do something...

It's a wet Monday...

Yeah, it is. And I'm kinda over the shitty rainy weather already. Sure, it's only been going for a few days but it's summer now and I want me some sunny, lovely days with blue skies. Not this dark and dreary crap that belongs in winter. :/

 

Enough bitching about the weather.

 

We had an awesome weekend, though I wish it wasn't over. They're never long enough, are they? I did get some awesome (awesome) news that had me giddy all weekend. Okay, I'm still giddy about it. Hopefully I can share the news soon. :)

 

Hubby coloured my hair on Saturday, and it looks great! I was also happy about not suffering any sort of allergic reaction, like what happened in early October. I went back to using the brand that was working for me, just chose a different colour. This time I used Raspberry Black, and I really like it. 

 

So, what else did I do? Well, not much really. We had a nice relaxing weekend, though we did buy my daughter's high school uniform! I can't believe she's starting high school next year. Actually, this Wednesday, I'm going to attend Orientation Day. Yikes!

 

Okay. That's it for today. Haven't got much planned for this week, except for the to-do list I put together last week. 

BTW, if you're interested... I blogged over at Samhain last Friday.

Have a nice day!

Spring is in the air

Do you like my new laptop? I absolutely LOVE it. I actually bought it almost a month ago, after hubby found an awesome deal. He's the best!

 

Yesterday was my daughter's 12th birthday. (Happy Birthday Cass!) Yep. She's getting older.

Sometimes, I can't believe she's only got one term left in primary school. Next year, she starts Year 7. My gosh, that's high school!

 

Yeah, the years are sure moving along...

 

Anyway. I've been tackling a few things this week. I've had a to-do list ready to tackle every single day. And at the top of that list was writing/proofreading the synopsis for Sierra Fox #3. And guess what? It's now d-o-n-e! That's right, both the book and synopsis are finished and ready for submission. As soon as I have someone to send it to, lol.

 

I'm so done with the third book that the other day I took a bunch of notes about the next book. And since I'm actually planning to write the 4th book during this year's NaNoWriMo, that comes in pretty handy. Which reminds me, I really should get over to the NaNoWriMo website so I can register as participating this year... Yeah, I'll do that today or tomorrow.

 

So, what's new?

 

I love writing and revising a book, and finishing is one of the most rewarding things as a writer, but it takes a lot of time. And because I've been so caught up in my own characters, the world they live in, the problems they face and all that jazz, my reading habit has suffered. O_o I haven't read a full-length book in a few weeks now--not including short stories, novellas, and re-reads, lol--and have so many that I want to tackle that I kinda want to read them all at once.

Falling behind hasn't stopped me from buying. Last week I received a bunch of new books, and pre-ordered some more a few days ago.

 

Think it's time I get back on track and get stuck into one book at a time. Think I'll start with this one. ;) I've already read the first chapter and it's really good. Plus, I've heard great things about it!

 

Okay, that's it for now. Have a great day! 

Revision...

Yep. I've been working on the third draft of Sierra Fox #3 this week. That's why I haven't blogged. I just haven't had the time to do it. O_o

 

So, today I decided to squeeze in a blog post before getting stuck into the revision. Once I get started, I get lost in it and only take breaks to check on Twitter, eat, etc.

 

At the moment I've hit page 101/240, which means I'm a little behind on my personal daily goals. I seem to be doing that a lot lately, lol. This year has been a bit of a bitch, I tell ya. ;) Anyway, the goal today is to get as close as I can to page 200. Fingers crossed.

 

My daughter is actually away on a school camp at the moment, so that means I have a lot more time to devote to this revision. But I have to tell you, it's SO strange not having her home. It feels like something's missing. Even the kitty seems upset. I just hope she's having an awesome time in the snow. We don't get snow here in Sydney, so you gotta go out of your way to see it.

 

That's pretty much all that's been going on. Well, except for hubby and I going on a few dinner dates. Which is super cool. Spending time with him always is. 

 

Okay, I have to get to work now. 

 

Have a great day! 

 

Why so serious?

Yeah, that's the question I'd love to ask Loki. He looks so serious in this picture, doesn't he? Maybe it's because my daughter forced him to pose with a Care Bear. ;) LMAO.

 

Anyway, TGIF!

This has been one strange week. Now that I think about it, 2012 has been a very strange and kinda bittersweet year so far. There have been some good things, some awesome things, and some not-so-great stuff too. It's also been a mixed bag of something-something as far as my writing goes. O_o

 

Like I mentioned the other day, this week was all about taking it easy and catching up on some smaller jobs I had listed on my current to-do list. I did get most things done, but there's one pesky thing I haven't tackled yet and keep procrastinating on: my newsletter. I've been meaning to send one out for ages, but something always comes up. And even this week, when I had the time, I just couldn't go back there. Strange, huh?

 

I think I just need to overhaul it. Get excited about it again. Maybe it's just the lack of writing news and being in a state of limbo that keeps me from sending anything out. Not sure yet, but I'll get there. Someday soon. But it won't be next week. Next week, I'm going to tackle the third/final draft of Sierra Fox #3. The story's written, revised, and very close to done... but I need to add/tweak a few final things before I can really call it done. I would love to have it done & done by the end of this month, so I can concentrate on planning for the fourth (and penultimate) book in the series.

 

Can't remember if I mentioned it here yet, but I would love to write the first draft of SF#4 during NaNoWriMo. :D Fingers crossed.

 

Well, I'm really looking forward to another weekend with hubby, daughter & kitty. We've gotta buy a few last minute things for my daughter (she's going on a school camp next week, and the school keeps adding stuff to what they need) but I'm determined to have a great few days!

 

Have a great weekend...

Sunny Spring

I love this picture of Loki. I took it several weeks ago, and I love the look on his face. What a cutie! ;)

So. Another weekend is over. Boo! We had two awesome days. Got out for a little while on Saturday, went for some nice, long walks both days, hung out, ate some yummy meals, and even slept in yesterday. Yeah, it was a great weekend. Of course, not long enough because there were other things we wanted to do but didn't.

 

Maybe next weekend.

 

I originally planned to spend this week working on the third (and final) draft of Sierra Fox #3, but changed my mind. Last week was pretty packed with things to do, so I decided to take a break this week. I'll be working on a variety of smaller things I have on my to-do list, as well as catching up on some reading, and spending time getting to know my Galaxy Note better. LOL. Nothing too involved.

 

But next week, it's time to finish that book! :) And to be honest, it's probably a better time to do it. My daughter goes away on a school camp next week--from Wednesday to Friday--so I'll have some extra time to myself while hubby's at work. Time that I can easily use on Sierra & Co. It'll also help keep me focused on work, rather than how much I'll miss my daughter while she's gone. This is her first camp. Actually, her first time away (overnight) from home. :/

 

After that, she has two weeks off. Yeah, school holidays are once again around the corner. They sure come fast, don't they?

 

Well, that's about it for now. I'm hoping that this beautiful spring weather continues all week. It's been a lovely start to the new season, which makes me very happy. :D

 

Have a good one!

Hey, it's spring, right??

<---Isn't she cute? This is a Lego Girl that my daughter made not long ago. I love it. So darn cute.

 

OMG. Can you believe it's September already? Well, it is. And I have to admit that I'm excited because it means that we've officially left winter behind. Yay. Bring on spring, I say. ;)

 

As you can tell, I haven't blogged for a while because I spent every available moment I've had during the last week on the print galley for SatS. I actually finished reading it a few hours ago. Phew. And I'm not done yet. I'm going to put the corrections sheet aside until tomorrow morning. I like to have a little extra time to go through it, to make sure no other changes need to be added because once I send this off, there's no going back. LOL.

 

I was disappointed about some of the things I found during the proofread. Things I wish hadn't been missed, but at least I found them now. I'm still very excited about this story and the series, and can't wait to see these books in print. Awesome!

 

So, did you have a good weekend? We did. It was so much fun that I had trouble sleeping last night. Maybe--possibly--because I didn't want Monday to come just yet. Still, we started the week off pretty well, with a yoga workout.

 

That's it for today, I guess. Going to take it easy for the next hour, before it's time to pick my daughter up from school. See ya tomorrow!

Wow, it's SO early

So, why am I blogging this early? Hubby went into work super early this morning, so I've been up for almost two hours already. And I thought I'd squeeze in a blog entry now, before the day really starts and I lose track of time.

I seem to be doing that a lot lately.

The end of my daughter's first week of school holidays is here. It's been nice. We've been going for daily walks--except yesterday, because it was raining pretty hard when we were about to head out. She's also been working on some homework her teacher set for her, and we've both been reading on the couch together.

As you can see below, I've read three books this week. Which means I've cleared my review pile, yay! My daughter's reading her second book for the week. She's currently reading THE DEAD-TOSSED WAVES, so I better get the final book in the trilogy read real soon. I want to read it first, to make sure it's still okay for her to read. You know how it is.

I'm really excited about her being such an eager reader. Being a huge reader and a writer, picking up books is something I encouraged from a very young age. So it's awesome to see that she doesn't need to be pushed anymore, but actually enjoys it herself. She's also been taking part in the NSW Premier's Reading Challenge since she was in Kindy, and recently finished this year's challenge. I hope the interest she has in books continues into her teens. 

And speaking about my daughter... Remember how I mentioned we were going to be making an alternate cover? Well, here it is:

What do you think? We had a great time putting it together. I was mostly maneuvering my way around Photoshop, though she did help me figure out a few sticky points. But she pretty much picked the pics she wanted to use, designed where everything was going to go, picked the fonts and colours. It was great fun to put together, and she really likes it. I love the way it turned out, but loved the fact we did it together even more. :)

Well, this week has been great. I've gotten a chance to take a breather after all the work that I put in last month, and caught up on some smaller things that needed doing. Today, I'd like to grab my calendar and schedule when I'd like to work on the second and third drafts of Sierra Fox #3, plus scribble down a few notes about the series, and even think about what book I'd like to write during NaNoWriMo. I missed out last year because I had too much going on in the way of edits, but this year I'm determined to take part.

The edits I've been expecting haven't hit my Inbox this week, but I imagine they will next week. Well, I hope they do. LOL.

Okay, that's it for today. My daughter and I are going to watch TREASURE PLANET this afternoon. She watched this movie when she was really little and doesn't remember it, but I loved it and am looking forward to watching it again.

After tomorrow, I'll be a year older. :/

Have a great weekend!

Ready for the new week...

With only two weeks of school left, I have to be ready to seriously tackle what's left of my self-imposed deadlines for 2011. And what exactly is that?

Well, I want to finish the third draft of Sierra Fox #2 before my daughter's last school day for this year--which happens to be the 16th of this month. After that, she won't go back to school until late January. Of course, I'll still be working on other projects, but I want to have this one done by then.

Fingers crossed.

Oh, and by the way, see this awesome pic on the left? Well, my daughter made it for me on one of the doll maker apps on her iPad. It's actually Sierra Fox. Doesn't she look cool? She made a bunch of these awesome dolls for me, for characters in Sierra's world and those in Trina's. Very cool.

How was your weekend? We had another great one. Although I was terribly disappointed when I read the online results of The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale and found out that Mayhem Miller didn't win. :( I was hoping he would, because he rocked so much as a coach on the latest season. Oh well. He still rocks, and I can't wait to see him in action again.

Okay, you know how I mentioned my goal for this week? Well, I actually cheated and gave myself a head start on Friday. And even managed to squeeze in a little revision over the weekend. So instead of starting on page 1 this morning, I'm already sitting on page 68/236. Awesome, right? Now, instead of having 236 pages to revise by the end of next week, I have 168. Sneaky, huh? But cool, I reckon. ;)

Today's goal is to get as close to page 100 as I can. That'll bring me up to my Thursday goal. lol. I think this sneaking in revision whenever I can is a great thing. Even if it does cut into my reading time. But it doesn't matter, I'll be rewarding myself with plenty of reading after I reach this personal goal!

Speaking of reading. I've pretty much reached my 2011 reading challenge goals... except for the Stephen King Challenge. I have one book left to read on that one, and it's MISERY. :D

Oh, and remember how I mentioned that I've had a sore left heel for several months now? Well, I finally went to the doctor on Friday and had him check it out. Turns out I needed to take some anti-inflammatory pills to help with the swelling, and not walk for a while. At least, not the kind of walks I love doing. *cries* After taking the pills over the weekend, the pain has almost subsided. I also didn't go for any strenuous walks and will have to take it easy this week. Which means I'll probably miss out on most of the week's walks, but at least I can do yoga and weights.

If I don't do this, the injury won't heal completely. It's just that not going for my daily walks makes it feel like something is missing from my days. Sigh.

Okay, time to get on with the day...

'Twas a dark and dreary day...

But this gorgeous picture of my cat, Loki, should brighten things up. :)

Seriously, isn't it beautiful? My daughter took it. We surprised her last month and gave her a digital camera for her 11th birthday, and she loves it. She takes heaps of excellent photos, but most of them happen to be of Loki. Lol. She chases him around the house with the camera, waiting for a cute pose. And well, since he's pretty much always doing those... you can imagine. I call her the 'Loki Paparazzo'.

As you can probably tell from the title, we've been having a pretty dark and rainy start to the week. Boo! It pretty much rained most of yesterday, and I found myself walking in the rain when I dropped and picked my daughter up from school. I have to admit it was kinda nice during my walk in the morning--I like getting the river path all to myself--but in the afternoon it was a bit of a drag. Oh well.

I just hope it stops soon. I don't mind a few days of spotty rain, but nonstop rain for more than that starts to make me twitch. I need me some sunshine during spring. ;)

So, I actually had a great day yesterday. I didn't have any tight daily deadlines, but worked on research and updating my Sierra Fox Series Bible for most of the time. I even spent the morning listening to music while I read about some myths and legends. I've now (finally) cleared something up about one of the villains in the second book, which I'll have to fix during the final draft. And have found/figured out which calendar moon cycles I'm using. Never mind about that, though. It's mostly background stuff that I need to know in order to make sense of the timeline.

I'll be doing more of the same today. I've got an ominous name to choose, the interior of a house to figure out, and some werewolf/full moon research to do. I've also got to read a little more about crime scenes and might even need to eventually pop into the local police station to ask them a few precise questions about certain Australian procedures. I don't usually have cops in my books, but these two popped out of nowhere while I was writing--just like the unplanned scene they were in--and now I need to make proper sense of everything. Yeah.

OMGosh! I found out the other day that MCR is actually doing one sideshow in Sydney when they tour as part of The Big Day Out next year. They're going to perform at the same place as 30STM did, when we went to see them live last year. We're gonna try and get tickets. I expect this show to sell out real fast, but I'm certainly gonna try to get hubby, daughter and myself there. :D

Well, that's it for now. I'm going to get a few things done before my daughter wakes up and it's time to get on with the day... Take care!