On my way to Reaching my Dreams and Visions

I am so excited to announce my first published fictional story! I have been so busy this month with my National Novel Writing Month challenge, that I haven't been paying much attention to anything else, but a few months back I had submitted a short story to this Anthology about Dreams and Visions and my story was accepted.  It is being released this week.  I can now 'officially' call myself a fiction writer.  

My story is called "A Bad Dream...or maybe not"  and it is in the Nightmares section of the book.  It is truly exciting to have my story accepted for this anthology, its a big step on the way toward writing historical fiction and other stories.

How incredibly appropriate that this anthology is entitled "Dreams and Visions" since it is the vehicle that is helping me to achieve my dreams of writing fiction.  
  

Here are the purchase links for "Dreams and Visions" 

https://www.createspace.com/5098822 to purchase a paperback copy

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/496954 to purchase "Where Dreams and Visions Live", a new anthology in e-book format

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QAXPLI2 Preorder "Where Dreams and Visions Live" in e-book format

Thankful

I love Thanksgiving – not just for the incredible food, but more importantly for the reminder to all of us to focus on what we are thankful for in our lives. 

I had to take a short break from my Nano efforts to share my latest blog post that appeared on Midlife Boulevard this week.  In this blog post I share my story and how Thankful I am for the wonderful family and friends that are a part of my life, I hope you will take a minute to check it out, and I want to wish all my readers a very Happy Thanksgiving.  
Midlife Boulevard

Book Review: The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Even though I thought I knew a lot about history, I had never heard about the University of Washington Rowing team and their amazing accomplishments. Like everyone I knew about Jessie Owens at the 1936 Olympics, but I didn't know that he was only one of the major upsets by Americans. This book was interesting and well researched. More than just a book about rowing, or a history book, this story captured the struggles of depression era american families and the resilience of the american spirit. There were so many interesting history tidbits throughout the book. I highly recommend this book for everyone who loves reading about history and for anyone who loves a true underdog sports story - The Boys in the Boat was heartwarming and inspiring

View all my reviews

My NaNo Adventure so far

As I hit my 20,000-word mark, coming close to the halfway point in my NaNo quest I am struggling with lots of self-doubt. Is this really a good story?  Will anyone really want to read it? Does it even make sense?  I have really struggled with doubt about my ability to write fiction.

I had a great conversation with my hubby about my Nano efforts so far and for me I think the most important part of this whole adventure is simply to prove to myself that I can actually write 50,ooo words, that I can finish a book.  Somehow having this knowledge will propel me to continue.  Knowing that I CAN write a full book will offer me the freedom to finish several of the book ideas that I have started, but haven’t really gone anywhere.  Whether this current Nano book is ever published doesn’t really matter – it is simply a catalyst for me to show me my true potential as a writer. 

The other thing that NaNo is teaching me is the power of consistency, getting in the habit of writing more than 1,000 words each day .  In order to be a successful writer I need to be writing each and every day.  So far I have done a really great job of staying on track, so I know I can do it. (Although I did skip one day for the ASU football game, but it was worth it)

At the end of November – not only will I be done with my current novel, but also I will be working on two more novels in the upcoming months.  I have great ideas, and with the confidence from my Nano adventure I know I can finish those as well as many more. 

Winner Takes All Giveaway

Hi everyone- While I am busy working hard to reach my NaNoWriMo goal of 50,000 words this month, I thought I would use this chance to help out some fellow authors, today's post is a fun chance for everyone to win great prizes and learn about some cool new books. (if you noticed - my new book is in there too)

Scroll to the bottom to enter to win all 28 ebooks! There's a little of everything, for a total of over $85 worth of ebooks. Winner takes all!

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Busy with NoNoWriMo - I'll be back in December

I have made a commitment to myself to participate in NaNoWriMo this year.  For anyone who’s unfamiliar with NaNoWriMo, the idea is to draft 50,000 words of a new novel within the month of November.  It is a voluntary program and individuals choose to participate for lots of reasons, but mostly they choose to participate for the added support and camaraderie in order to get a first draft completed.  Individuals ‘win’ at NaNoWriMo if they manage to write their 50,000 words during November. 

I will not be sharing very many blog posts in November, and I won’t be doing a great deal of reading either – I really want to commit to this writing goal.  Writing fiction is incredibly difficult and I really hope that I can be successful.  Even if I reach my goal of a first draft by the end of November, that is only the first step – next will come the editing and cover design and more editing…but getting that first draft written will be amazing – so wish me luck, and please don’t be mad if you don’t hear very much from me for the next 30 days.