Blog Archives

Happy Dance!

2/28/2015

I have completed the copy edits to Desert Rising and sent them back, two days early. It was intense, working with the timeline of the novel and the copy editor noticed every itty-bitty discrepancy. Copy editing must take a different sort of mind than I. A mind that is organized beyond comprehension of someone with complete imaginative chaos like my what's in my brain. I both admire and fear someone with that level of detail awareness.

My wonderful editor has sent the novel on to production. All changes are complete. The next time I see Desert Rising, it will be in book form. I've made it through every part of my first professional book edit. And what a difference it has made in the novel! Those of you who read it in the first form will still recognize it, but it has grown in richness and depth and I am proud of the work I've done with Rebecca's guidance. Happy Dance! My baby is ready to go out into the wider world!

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Cover is Revealed!

2/18/2015

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Very excited to show off my beautiful cover art! I feel very fortunate to have been asked to provide input on my cover. But I could not have created such a wonderful work of art!
Harper Voyager has posted the promo on their Blog and website with links to preorder the novel:
The Blog: http://harpervoyagerbooks.com/2015/02/18/desert-rising-cover-reveal/
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/HarperVoyagerBooksUS?ref=bookmarks
But here it is in full glory! Aren't Sulis and Djinn glorious?

You can purchase Desert Rising at any of the links below!

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A Very Inspiring Blogger

2/3/2015

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Ingrid Seymour nominated me as A Very Inspiring Blogger!

The rules are that I am to to list seven things about me. I'm also supposed to tag other bloggers to receive the award - but since all the bloggers I know have already been tagged, I will link to their posts instead.
So, without further ado, here are 7 things you may or may not have known about me:

1.     We are owned by five cats and a dog. All sizes, colors and crazy personalities Which isn’t all that unusual. But I’ve created voices and personalities for each of the critters so that they talk to us in a very sassy manner. Willow is a spaz, Zoot is a sweet, dense flower child, Phoebe the older, cynical cat who has seen it all, Ember would kill us all in our sleep if only she were a bit bigger, Bingley is a feral control freak. Sherlock the dog believes all strange humans are really aliens in disguise come to suck his brains out.

2.     I love to be outdoors. I can’t stand feeling confined to indoor spaces. I prefer to write outside, do yoga outside, read outside, eat outside and exercise outside. And I like my outdoors to be more natural than manicured- woods instead of a fake lawn. I require a hut in the woods with plenty of wild outdoor space. I don’t mind heat, but I hate the cold so winter is especially difficult because I am confined indoors. And that’s probably because…

3.     I grew up in the country (Amish country, in fact). And I mean, way out in the country. Our nearest village, about five miles from us, had just a cheesehouse, a church and a bar. Between June and September when school let out, I usually did not see another child besides my siblings. Books were my best friends. I had hundreds of acres of woods to explore, a huge pond to catch tadpoles in and went to sleep serenaded by owls, bullfrogs and cicadas. It was so quiet you could hear the lowing of cows miles away. Rarely did a car come down our road.

4.     Even though crowds fill me with dread and I am an extreme introvert, I teach yoga, in front of groups. I even own a Yoga Studio. I like helping people, and yoga people are just awesome. They’re generally just as quirky and nonconformist as I am.

5.     I like change, especially change that I control. I rearrange the furniture when life starts to feel stagnant. I get bored with routine, even as I recognize it is the best way to focus my restless brain and get things done. I want to see new things, gain new experiences and see things from a different perspective. I’m trying to learn to practice mindfulness to value every day things I’m too familiar with. I’m the same way with ideas and concepts. If I’ve worked too long on a project, I have to step away until it becomes fresh again. I often change my yoga classes too much, and students have to tell me to repeat poses so they can learn them.

6.     I punched a doctor when I was a kid. I was about four and my sister was showing me how to summersault. She summersaulted me right into a large cabinet and dislocated my shoulder. Mom took me to the ER, they took X-rays. A rude doctor came in and started messing with the arm and I slugged him hard, right in the nose. Popped my shoulder right back into place. Goes to show, sometimes a fist to the nose is just what the doctor ordered.

7.     I have Seasonal Affective Disorder. From about August – February I gradually sink into a deep, clinical depression. As days grow brighter, I become energetic, almost hyperactive. My husband jokes that in the winter he can’t drag me out of the house, and in the summer he can’t keep up with me. I manage it with light therapy, yoga and meditation. My creativity wanes with the depression. In winter months the well of imagination dries up; in summer it floods the world. It also affects when I am creative – in winter I become a night writer, summer is all about daytime.

And the other inspiring bloggers/writers you should check out -
http://christijwhitney.com/?p=224
http://www.andylivingstone.com/blog/its-all-about-me
http://www.afesmith.com/blog/inspired-a-second-time
http://www.dunnewriting.com/2015/01/im-winner.html
http://ingridseymour.com/2015/01/inspiring-blogger-award/
http://katherineharbour.blogspot.com/2015/01/inspiring-blogger-award.html

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Author

I am a writer, with a three book contract with HarperCollins Voyager Impulse for my Desert Rising Fantasy novel series. I also teach yoga and give yoga workshops and sing kirtan with my husband, Brian.

Links

Links to other great writers.
Bishop O'Connell - Harper Voyager Impulse Colleague

A.F.E. Smith - Harper Voyager Impulse Colleague

Andy Livingstone - Harper Voyager Impulse Colleague

Katherine Harbour - Harper Voyager Impulse Colleague

Nancy K Wallace - Harper Voyager Impulse Colleague

Lexie Dunne - Harper Voyager Impulse Colleague

Ingrid Seymour - Harper Voyager Impulse Colleague