My Writing Plan: Week of April 9, 2022

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Last Week:

I spent the first part of this week doing taxes. This is the first time I’ve had to file in over 10 years, and besides the income from royalties from book sales, I also had income from driving for Uber. So I spent a lot of time doing two separate Schedule 1’s and Schedule C’s and… ugh. But! I got it done!!!  When I IM’d my daughter to tell her I got my taxes done, she sent this IM response “Aw, look at you adulting!”  LOL. That’s my baby! Anyway, Thursday I slept in late, then got up and hit the keyboard!!! I’ve been alternating going over what’s already written and filling in gaps and transitioning scenes, as well as writing new scenes. Then last night, in the middle of the night (naturally), I had an idea for the scenes I’ve been working on, so as soon as I get this posted, I’m heading over to Scrivener and getting on that 🙂

This Week:

I’ve got 46,274 words already written on Reluctant Rogue. What I plan to do first is go through and clean up that very rough draft, and let that momentum carry forward. I have no plans for anything this week except to write!

You’re Invited!

I’ve created a private FB group for fans of my books! You’re invited to join Allie McCormack Book Fans group… in the membership question, just put that you were referred from my blog! 🙂

Last Week’s Word Count

3,968 words… which isn’t at all bad, considering I only started writing again on Thursday!

Pre-Orders

  • Reluctant Rogue (Wishes & Dreams #5) is also available for pre-order on Amazon.
  • Foxy Lady (Wishes & Dreams #6) is available for pre-order on Amazon. Once I get the book cover, I’ll get it up for pre-order at the other retailers. The release date is set for October 2022.

 

Monthly Newsletter

Also, last but not least, please subscribe to my monthly newsletter and keep up on important news, previews, cover reveals, and so forth, as well as a monthly excerpt from either published books or works in progress, and a Recipe of the Month!

In Other, Non-Writing-Related News……

  • TikTok. Eh. I don’t feel like I’ll be a major presence there. It was fun, don’t get me wrong! But to successfully market there, you have to spend a LOT of time making videos and so forth, and that’s time I could spend writing. So I’ll make the occasional video, because really, it IS great fun! But I’m not going to make it my life’s work to be a significant presence there. Still, feel free to follow me over there!
  • Uber. I drive for Uber fun, to get out of the house and honestly? Most of my passengers are tourists here in wine country, and they’ve got great energy, and I enjoy driving them to/from the vineyards, wine tasting rooms, restaurants, and the casino. Plus, it gets me out of the house and I get to enjoy the scenery and so forth. I generally have a blast when I’m out driving, and I come home all happy and hopped up on the excitement and fun I’ve had. That being said, the price of gas makes it too much of a loss. I’ve drawn a line in the sand; when the gas comes down to under $4.75/gallon, I’ll go back to driving.

 

The Books

  1. Truck Stop
  2. Wishes in a Bottle (Wishes & Dreams #1)
  3. A Gift of Jacinth (Wishes & Dreams #2)
  4. SwanSong (Sons of the Desert #1)
  5. Castles in the Sand (Sons of the Desert #2)
  6. A Cat for Troy (Wishes & Dreams #3)
  7. Wishes & Dreams Boxed Ebook Set (Books 1-3)
  8. When Darkness Falls: Book I: The Palace
  9. When Darkness Falls: Book II: The Dark Lord
  10. When Darkness Falls: Book III: The Prophecy
  11. When Darkness Falls: The Trilogy (Boxed eBook set)
  12. An Almost Marriage: A Short Story
  13. Coveted Mate (Wishes & Dreams #4)

 

The Manuscripts

  1. In-Progress Manuscripts:
    1. RELUCTANT ROGUE, Wishes & Dreams #5
  2. To Be Written Partial Manuscripts:
    1. FOXY LADY, Wishes & Dreams #6
    2. MICHAEL’S QUEST, Sons of the Desert #3
    3. BEHIND THE CLOUDS, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
    4. INTO THE STORM, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
  3. Planned Manuscripts:
    1. Short Story: Amanda & Julian, spin-off of Wishes in a Bottle

 

THIS WEEK’S WRITING PLAN

(Not in any particular order, except if indicated)

  1. Write!
  2. Write!
  3. Write!
  4. Actually send in the taxes I’ve spent so much time doing!

 

My Writing Plan: Week of March 5, 2022

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Last Week:

I’d hoped to dive straight-away into Reluctant Rogue, once Coveted Mate came out but… uh, yeah. That didn’t happen. I was absolutely exhausted from the Release Day tasks! However, Friday I got started, and now I’m back at work.

This Week:

I’ve got 38,624 words already written on Reluctant Rogue. What I plan to do first is go through and clean up that very rough draft, and let that momentum carry forward. I have no plans for anything this week except to write!

You’re Invited!

I’ve created a private FB group for fans of my books! You’re invited to join Allie McCormack Book Fans group… in the membership question, just put that you were referred from my blog! 🙂

Last Week’s Word Count

n/a

Pre-Orders

  • Reluctant Rogue (Wishes & Dreams #5) is also available for pre-order on Amazon. As soon as I get the book cover, I’ll get it up for pre-order at the other retailers. The release date is set for July, but I hope to move that date up, once I get Coveted Mate released.
  • Foxy Lady (Wishes & Dreams #6) is available for pre-order on Amazon. Again, once I get the book cover, I’ll get it up for pre-order at the other retailers. The release date is set for October, but I hope to move that date up, once I get Coveted Mate released.

 

Monthly Newsletter

Also, last but not least, please subscribe to my monthly newsletter and keep up on important news, previews, cover reveals, and so forth, as well as a monthly excerpt from either published books or works in progress, and a Recipe of the Month!

In Other, Non-Writing-Related News……

  • TikTok. I’m still going absolutely nuts over on TikTok! I’m doing book reviews, and all kinds of random stuff, like Darling Daughter quotes, pics of my cat, pics of my fireplace (on Youtube, LOL) at night late, memes, just anything that strikes me to do in the moment. I’m having a total blast! Feel free to follow me over there!
  • Uber. Omnicron has finally significantly died down in my county, so I’m back to driving on the weekends (when I feel like it). I don’t need the money, I drive for fun, to get out of the house and honestly? Most of my passengers are tourists here in wine country, and they’ve got great energy, and I enjoy driving them to/from the vineyards, wine tasting rooms, restaurants, and the casino. Plus, it gets me out of the house and I get to enjoy the scenery and so forth. I generally have a blast when I’m out driving, and I come home all happy and hopped up on the excitement and fun I’ve had.

 

The Books

  1. Truck Stop
  2. Wishes in a Bottle (Wishes & Dreams #1)
  3. A Gift of Jacinth (Wishes & Dreams #2)
  4. SwanSong (Sons of the Desert #1)
  5. Castles in the Sand (Sons of the Desert #2)
  6. A Cat for Troy (Wishes & Dreams #3)
  7. Wishes & Dreams Boxed Ebook Set (Books 1-3)
  8. When Darkness Falls: Book I: The Palace
  9. When Darkness Falls: Book II: The Dark Lord
  10. When Darkness Falls: Book III: The Prophecy
  11. When Darkness Falls: The Trilogy (Boxed eBook set)
  12. An Almost Marriage: A Short Story
  13. Coveted Mate (Wishes & Dreams #4)

 

The Manuscripts

  1. In-Progress Manuscripts:
    1. RELUCTANT ROGUE, Wishes & Dreams #5
  2. To Be Written Partial Manuscripts:
    1. FOXY LADY, Wishes & Dreams #6
    2. MICHAEL’S QUEST, Sons of the Desert #3
    3. BEHIND THE CLOUDS, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
    4. INTO THE STORM, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
  3. Planned Manuscripts:
    1. Short Story: Amanda & Julian, spin-off of Wishes in a Bottle

 

THIS WEEK’S WRITING PLAN

(Not in any particular order, except if indicated)

  1. Write!
  2. Write!
  3. Write!

 

Release Day! Coveted Mate is available NOW!

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Finally the day is here, Coveted Mate goes live! It’s available on Amazon, B&N, Apple, Kobo, Google Play, & more!

Orphaned at a young age, Tamera Austen knows nothing about her family. Certainly nothing about the strange impulses she can’t control, and make her fear for her sanity. Moving to the Hudson Valley to make a fresh start, she is quickly assimilated into the close community there. But her new friends have their own secrets.

Kester Kazakis recognizes the newcomer as a fellow shapeshifter, but strangely, she doesn’t seem to be aware of shapeshifters. As he struggles to find a way to introduce her to their world, he is increasingly aware that she is the only one for him.

When Tamera’s long-lost uncle appears on the scene, his sinister air has the community rallying around Tamera. But he’s not so easily dissuaded from his mission: To keep the caracal shifter line pure.

Coveted Mate is the exciting fourth book in the Wishes & Dreams paranormal romance series. If you like compassionate characters, unexpected twists, and a dash of passion, then you’ll enjoy Allie McCormack’s breath-taking paranormal romance novel with a happy ever after and lots of cats! This is the fourth book in the Wishes & Dreams series, featuring Djinn and Shapeshifters! While each book can be read as a stand-alone, it’s recommended to read them in order for continuity. Plunge into the magic and enchantment of a world where supernatural beings hide amongst us in plain sight.

Heat Level: Mild (some sexual tension, no explicit sex)

My Writing Plan: Week of February 26, 2022

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Last Week:

We’re at the finish line! I got the final manuscripts uploaded and the ebooks are all set to release on March 1st!  I’ve got the print editions ready to go… at midnight on March 1st, all I have to do is hit that Publish button, and we’re good!

This Week:

I’m diving into the next manuscript, Reluctant Rogue, right away. I’ve already got 38k written in very rough draft form, and it’s uploaded to my Kindle. I’m going to go through that and edit it and get it cleaned up and polished, which I’m thinking right there should bring us up to 50k, well over the half-way point for my word count target of 90k for the finished book. That’s this week’s project, plus obsessively checking the sales and (hopefully) reviews of Coveted Mate as they come in!!

You’re Invited!

I’ve created a private FB group for fans of my books! You’re invited to join Allie McCormack Book Fans group… in the membership question, just put that you were referred from my blog! 🙂

Last Week’s Word Count

n/a

Pre-Orders

  • Coveted Mate (Wishes & Dreams #4) is finished and scheduled for release on March 1, 2022, and is available for pre-order now!
  • Reluctant Rogue (Wishes & Dreams #5) is also available for pre-order on Amazon. As soon as I get the book cover, I’ll get it up for pre-order at the other retailers. The release date is set for July, but I hope to move that date up, once I get Coveted Mate released.
  • Foxy Lady (Wishes & Dreams #6) is available for pre-order on Amazon. Again, once I get the book cover, I’ll get it up for pre-order at the other retailers. The release date is set for October, but I hope to move that date up, once I get Coveted Mate released.

 

Monthly Newsletter

Also, last but not least, please subscribe to my monthly newsletter and keep up on important news, previews, cover reveals, and so forth, as well as a monthly excerpt from either published books or works in progress, and a Recipe of the Month!

In Other, Non-Writing-Related News……

  • TikTok. I’m still going absolutely nuts over on TikTok! I’m doing book reviews, and all kinds of random stuff, like Darling Daughter quotes, pics of my cat, pics of my fireplace (on Youtube, LOL) at night late, memes, just anything that strikes me to do in the moment. I’m having a total blast! Feel free to follow me over there!
  • Uber. Omnicron has finally significantly died down in my county, so I’m back to driving on the weekends (when I feel like it). I don’t need the money, I drive for fun, to get out of the house and honestly? Most of my passengers are tourists here in wine country, and they’ve got great energy, and I enjoy driving them to/from the vineyards, wine tasting rooms, restaurants, and the casino. Plus, it gets me out of the house and I get to enjoy the scenery and so forth. I generally have a blast when I’m out driving, and I come home all happy and hopped up on the excitement and fun I’ve had.

 

The Books

  1. Truck Stop
  2. Wishes in a Bottle (Wishes & Dreams #1)
  3. A Gift of Jacinth (Wishes & Dreams #2)
  4. SwanSong (Sons of the Desert #1)
  5. Castles in the Sand (Sons of the Desert #2)
  6. A Cat for Troy (Wishes & Dreams #3)
  7. Wishes & Dreams Boxed Ebook Set (Books 1-3)
  8. When Darkness Falls: Book I: The Palace
  9. When Darkness Falls: Book II: The Dark Lord
  10. When Darkness Falls: Book III: The Prophecy
  11. When Darkness Falls: The Trilogy (Boxed eBook set)
  12. An Almost Marriage: A Short Story

 

The Manuscripts

  1. Finished Manuscripts, DONE!:
    1. COVETED MATE, Wishes & Dreams #4
  2. In-Progress Manuscripts:
    1. RELUCTANT ROGUE, Wishes & Dreams #5
  3. To Be Written Partial Manuscripts:
    1. FOXY LADY, Wishes & Dreams #6
    2. MICHAEL’S QUEST, Sons of the Desert #3
    3. BEHIND THE CLOUDS, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
    4. INTO THE STORM, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
  4. Planned Manuscripts:
    1. Short Story: Amanda & Julian, spin-off of Wishes in a Bottle

 

THIS WEEK’S WRITING PLAN

(Not in any particular order, except if indicated)

  1. Continue edits of Coveted Mate
  2. Make more TikTok videos!

 

My Writing Plan: Week of February 19, 2022

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Last Week:

So I’m a little late getting this week’s writing plan posted. On Saturday, my usual day for this, my family was having an all-day Lord of the Rings (extended edition DVD) marathon, that ran from 9:30 am until something like 11 pm. Then I spent most of Sunday having the day after the day before, LOL! So here we are at Monday.

I’m awaiting the final proofreading results on Coveted Mate; it goes for uploading on February 25th, for March 1st release… OMG I really did it! I’m so excited!

This Week:

After I get the final proofreading copy for Coveted Mate and get that edited, then I’ll do one final read-through, then send it over to my Mac and format it in Vellum.

Once that’s done, I’ll be diving immediately into the next book, Reluctant Rogue. I have 38k already written from NaNoWriMo 2021, and I just read all through it last night and it’s GOOD! I’m dying to dive into it! Just the edits to what already is written will probably bring the story up to 50k, and since my lowest word count target is 90k, that puts me well over the halfway point!

You’re Invited!

I’ve created a private FB group for fans of my books! You’re invited to join Allie McCormack Book Fans group… in the membership question, just put that you were referred from my blog! 🙂

Last Week’s Word Count

n/a

Pre-Orders

  • Coveted Mate (Wishes & Dreams #4) is scheduled for release on March 1, 2022, and is available for pre-order now!
  • Reluctant Rogue (Wishes & Dreams #5) is also available for pre-order on Amazon. As soon as I get the book cover, I’ll get it up for pre-order at the other retailers. The release date is set for July, but I hope to move that date up, once I get Coveted Mate released.
  • Foxy Lady (Wishes & Dreams #6) is available for pre-order on Amazon. Again, once I get the book cover, I’ll get it up for pre-order at the other retailers. The release date is set for October, but I hope to move that date up, once I get Coveted Mate released.

 

Monthly Newsletter

Also, last but not least, please subscribe to my monthly newsletter and keep up on important news, previews, cover reveals, and so forth, as well as a monthly excerpt from either published books or works in progress, and a Recipe of the Month!

In Other, Non-Writing-Related News……

  • TikTok. I’m still going absolutely nuts over on TikTok! I’m doing book reviews, and all kinds of random stuff, like Darling Daughter quotes, pics of my cat, pics of my fireplace (on Youtube, LOL) at night late, memes, just anything that strikes me to do in the moment. I’m having a total blast! Feel free to follow me over there!
  • Uber. Omnicron has finally significantly died down in my county, so I’m back to driving on the weekends (when I feel like it). I don’t need the money, I drive for fun, to get out of the house and honestly? Most of my passengers are tourists here in wine country, and they’ve got great energy, and I enjoy driving them to/from the vineyards, wine tasting rooms, restaurants, and the casino. Plus, it gets me out of the house and I get to enjoy the scenery and so forth. I generally have a blast when I’m out driving, and I come home all happy and hopped up on the excitement and fun I’ve had.

 

The Books

  1. Truck Stop
  2. Wishes in a Bottle (Wishes & Dreams #1)
  3. A Gift of Jacinth (Wishes & Dreams #2)
  4. SwanSong (Sons of the Desert #1)
  5. Castles in the Sand (Sons of the Desert #2)
  6. A Cat for Troy (Wishes & Dreams #3)
  7. Wishes & Dreams Boxed Ebook Set (Books 1-3)
  8. When Darkness Falls: Book I: The Palace
  9. When Darkness Falls: Book II: The Dark Lord
  10. When Darkness Falls: Book III: The Prophecy
  11. When Darkness Falls: The Trilogy (Boxed eBook set)
  12. An Almost Marriage: A Short Story

 

The Manuscripts

  1. Finished Manuscripts, with the Final Proofreaders:
    1. COVETED MATE, Wishes & Dreams #4
  2. In-Progress Manuscripts:
    1. RELUCTANT ROGUE, Wishes & Dreams #5
  3. To Be Written Partial Manuscripts:
    1. FOXY LADY, Wishes & Dreams #6
    2. MICHAEL’S QUEST, Sons of the Desert #3
    3. BEHIND THE CLOUDS, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
    4. INTO THE STORM, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
  4. Planned Manuscripts:
    1. Short Story: Amanda & Julian, spin-off of Wishes in a Bottle

 

THIS WEEK’S WRITING PLAN

(Not in any particular order, except if indicated)

  1. Continue edits of Coveted Mate
  2. Make more TikTok videos!

 

My Writing Plan: Week of February 12, 2022

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You’re Invited!

I’ve created a private FB group for fans of my books! You’re invited to join Allie McCormack Book Fans group… in the membership question, just put that you were referred from my blog! 🙂

Last Week:

I’ve gotten over half of the final read-through of Coveted Mate finished. We had a bit of a set-back when I had a sudden flash of inspiration to add Remi, the young, mischievous Djinn from When Darkness Falls, to the longer-term plot line, so I had to go back to chapters 8 and 9 and work him in. That took most of a day, as I had to do some re-arranging of the scenes, the scene flow, etc.

This Week:

I plan to finish up the read-through this weekend and get it off to the proofreaders.

Last Week’s Word Count

n/a

Pre-Orders

  • Coveted Mate (Wishes & Dreams #4) is scheduled for release on March 1, 2022, and is available for pre-order now!
  • Reluctant Rogue (Wishes & Dreams #5) is also available for pre-order on Amazon. As soon as I get the book cover, I’ll get it up for pre-order at the other retailers. The release date is set for July, but I hope to move that date up, once I get Coveted Mate released.
  • Foxy Lady (Wishes & Dreams #6) is available for pre-order on Amazon. Again, once I get the book cover, I’ll get it up for pre-order at the other retailers. The release date is set for October, but I hope to move that date up, once I get Coveted Mate released.

 

Monthly Newsletter

Also, last but not least, please subscribe to my monthly newsletter and keep up on important news, previews, cover reveals, and so forth, as well as a monthly excerpt from either published books or works in progress, and a Recipe of the Month!

In Other, Non-Writing-Related News……

  • TikTok. I’m still going absolutely nuts over on TikTok! I’m doing book reviews, and all kinds of random stuff, like Darling Daughter quotes, pics of my cat, pics of my fireplace (on Youtube, LOL) at night late, memes, just anything that strikes me to do in the moment. I’m having a total blast! Feel free to follow me over there!
  • Uber. I’m back to NOT driving, because of the Omnicron surge. I don’t need the money, I drive for fun, to get out of the house and honestly? Most of my passengers are tourists here in wine country, and they’ve got great energy, and I enjoy driving them to/from the vineyards, wine tasting rooms, restaurants, and the casino. Plus, it gets me out of the house and I get to enjoy the scenery and so forth. But for now, I’ll wait til the risk factor subsides.

 

The Books

  1. Truck Stop
  2. Wishes in a Bottle (Wishes & Dreams #1)
  3. A Gift of Jacinth (Wishes & Dreams #2)
  4. SwanSong (Sons of the Desert #1)
  5. Castles in the Sand (Sons of the Desert #2)
  6. A Cat for Troy (Wishes & Dreams #3)
  7. Wishes & Dreams Boxed Ebook Set (Books 1-3)
  8. When Darkness Falls: Book I: The Palace
  9. When Darkness Falls: Book II: The Dark Lord
  10. When Darkness Falls: Book III: The Prophecy
  11. When Darkness Falls: The Trilogy (Boxed eBook set)
  12. An Almost Marriage: A Short Story

 

The Manuscripts

  1. Finished Manuscripts, in Final Read-Through:
    1. COVETED MATE, Wishes & Dreams #4
  2. In-Progress Manuscripts:
    1. RELUCTANT ROGUE, Wishes & Dreams #5
  3. To Be Written Partial Manuscripts:
    1. FOXY LADY, Wishes & Dreams #6
    2. MICHAEL’S QUEST, Sons of the Desert #3
    3. BEHIND THE CLOUDS, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
    4. INTO THE STORM, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
  4. Planned Manuscripts:
    1. Short Story: Amanda & Julian, spin-off of Wishes in a Bottle

 

THIS WEEK’S WRITING PLAN

(Not in any particular order, except if indicated)

  1. Continue edits of Coveted Mate
  2. Make more TikTok videos!

 

Writing in a small niche market

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𝑺𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒕 (𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈: 𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒏𝒐𝒕-𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒆-𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒕)
So I’ve got my FB Ads tested and stable, and they’re running, and in fact not doing badly (relatively speaking); yesterday I had my first significant ROI (I would have had one last week, but unfortunately deleted my campaign by accident just when it was starting to climb). We’re not talking large numbers here; 5-6 sales a day (instead of 0-1) for the book I’m advertising, and 2-3 read-through (instead of 0). So, I’ve doubled down on my modest $4/day budget for each of the two campaigns, and I’ve started the Amazon Ads modules.
 
Unfortunately, this has depressed me more than doing the FB modules, as they go very deep into targeting and comps. I write in a very small niche; I’ve searched and searched and searched, in many categories and using many different relevant keywords, but there are few books similar to the first two in my series, and a good chunk of those are Reverse Harem, and none of them are anywhere even reasonably high in rankings, some are a LOT lower than mine, so … I mean, it doesn’t make sense to use those titles or authors as keywords? Or should I go ahead anyway because you never know?
 
My first two books in the series have Djinn/genie as one of the main characters (I write paranormal romance). But even with the next 5 books, which are shapeshifter MCs, I’m not doing wolves, or bears, or any apex predators, or packs/pack dynamics, or alphas of any kind. No fae courts or academies. Oh, AND there’s no graphic sex. And all the above make up the huge majority of the PNR shapeshifter books, certainly the top ranking ones. And there’s lots of cross-over now between PNR and urban fantasy, even though UF is not, technically speaking, romance genre, although they may have romance in them, and UF gets all jumbled up with PNR in the Amazon lists. So in searching for comp authors and titles… I just want to bang my head on my desk and cry, because I feel like I’m going to wallow in obscurity because I don’t write what the masses are reading. Which is probably a fair call. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.
 
On the other hand, I’m getting sales from the FB ads (the Amazon ads have only been up about 12 hours, so it’s far too early to even guess what’s going to happen there).
 
Also… before anyone mentions it… I won’t WANT to write to the market! I love my characters, and my stories, and this is what I want to be writing. So, yes, well, if I have to wallow in obscurity, then you could say it’s my own fault, and I accept that. I can’t help wishing, though, that I could build a readership, even a modest one, of people who think my books are amazing! To do that, though, I have to get my titles in front of them, so … here we are.

My Writing Plan: Week of February 5, 2022

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Last Week:

Last week was split between two projects: Working on beta reader feedback for Coveted Mate, and studying Facebook ads metric, in tandem with taking Mark Dawson’s Ads for Authors. Which is a good thing, because if I spend too much time focused intensely on one project I get burn-out, so splitting my time and energy actually works. But I do have to shout here:

I DID IT!!! I FINISHED ALL THE EDITS FOR COVETED MATE!!!!!

Okay, now I’ve got that out of my system <grins> I also got my FB ads up and running, to the point that I can walk away from them now and let them run and do their thing. I just need to check on them and tweak as necessary, but for now, they’re good.

This Week:

In a few minutes, I’m going to compile and upload the manuscript for Coveted Mate from Scrivener to my Mac Mini and format it in Vellum, then download it to my Kindle for a full read-through. I’ve found that by reading it in this fashion, on the Kindle rather than on my PC, I’m more likely to catch things that I want to change. Somehow the different reading experience helps me to not skim over text that I’m already over-familiar with. Once the read-through is done, it’s going off to my two final proofreaders. Hopefully I’ll be able to get that to them tomorrow or Monday.

Last Week’s Word Count

n/a

Pre-Orders

  • Coveted Mate (Wishes & Dreams #4) is scheduled for release in March 2022, and is available for pre-order now!
  • Reluctant Rogue (Wishes & Dreams #5) is also available for pre-order on Amazon. As soon as I get the book cover, I’ll get it up for pre-order at the other retailers. The release date is set for July, but I hope to move that date up, once I get Coveted Mate released.
  • Foxy Lady (Wishes & Dreams #6) is available for pre-order on Amazon. Again, once I get the book cover, I’ll get it up for pre-order at the other retailers. The release date is set for October, but I hope to move that date up, once I get Coveted Mate released.

 

Monthly Newsletter

Also, last but not least, please subscribe to my monthly newsletter and keep up on important news, previews, cover reveals, and so forth, as well as a monthly excerpt from either published books or works in progress, and a Recipe of the Month!

In Other, Non-Writing-Related News……

  • TikTok. I’m still going absolutely nuts over on TikTok! I’m doing book reviews, and all kinds of random stuff, like Darling Daughter quotes, pics of my cat, pics of my fireplace (on Youtube, LOL) at night late, memes, just anything that strikes me to do in the moment. I’m having a total blast! Feel free to follow me over there!
  • Uber. I’m back to NOT driving, because of the Omnicron surge. I don’t need the money, I drive for fun, to get out of the house and honestly? Most of my passengers are tourists here in wine country, and they’ve got great energy, and I enjoy driving them to/from the vineyards, wine tasting rooms, restaurants, and the casino. Plus, it gets me out of the house and I get to enjoy the scenery and so forth. But for now, I’ll wait til the risk factor subsides.

 

The Books

  1. Truck Stop
  2. Wishes in a Bottle (Wishes & Dreams #1)
  3. A Gift of Jacinth (Wishes & Dreams #2)
  4. SwanSong (Sons of the Desert #1)
  5. Castles in the Sand (Sons of the Desert #2)
  6. A Cat for Troy (Wishes & Dreams #3)
  7. Wishes & Dreams Boxed Ebook Set (Books 1-3)
  8. When Darkness Falls: Book I: The Palace
  9. When Darkness Falls: Book II: The Dark Lord
  10. When Darkness Falls: Book III: The Prophecy
  11. When Darkness Falls: The Trilogy (Boxed eBook set)
  12. An Almost Marriage: A Short Story

 

The Manuscripts

  1. Finished Manuscripts, in Final Read-Through:
    1. COVETED MATE, Wishes & Dreams #4
  2. In-Progress Manuscripts:
    1. RELUCTANT ROGUE, Wishes & Dreams #5
  3. To Be Written Partial Manuscripts:
    1. FOXY LADY, Wishes & Dreams #6
    2. MICHAEL’S QUEST, Sons of the Desert #3
    3. BEHIND THE CLOUDS, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
    4. INTO THE STORM, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
  4. Planned Manuscripts:
    1. Short Story: Amanda & Julian, spin-off of Wishes in a Bottle

 

THIS WEEK’S WRITING PLAN

(Not in any particular order, except if indicated)

  1. Continue edits of Coveted Mate
  2. Make more TikTok videos!

 

My Writing Plan: Week of January 29, 2022

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Last Week:

Last week I started Mark Dawson’s Ads for Authors. I’ve gone through about half of the modules on Facebook Ads, and  have my first set of ads up and running (as of yesterday). I have to say, about now my brain is exploding, and I’m exhausted from information overload! Which isn’t to say there’s anything wrong with the course, it’s wonderful, in fact. But my to-do list is growing exponentially, no matter how I plod away at checking items off, more get added just as fast, until I just want to cry. I’ve been persevering, however, until yesterday when I got my first ads up.

As of this morning, I’m moving my focus 100% to the beta reader feedback, and bringing the final touches to getting Coveted Mate ready to go. I’ve been making minor edits & corrections, and putting larger issues (though fortunately, no major issues have come up) on hold until I had a more complete picture. Now I’ve got most of the feedback in, so it’s time to really dig in. Here’s a screenshot of what that looks like (just for your entertainment). The green-highlighted chapters are “Good to Go,” meaning nothing in that feedback needs work. Light orange means I need to figure something out, while the deeper orange means I really think about something and figure it out. Mind you, there’s some overlap; when the same chapter is highlighted with more than once, likely the same issue is noted by more than one beta reader. In the feedback itself, I highlight the issues the beta reader has reported. Then once I’ve made the changes in the manuscript, I mark the chapter as Good to Go and move it down to the Finished folder at the bottom.

 

This Week:

This coming week it’s going to be all about deep-diving into edits and getting Coveted Mate ready for the final read-through.

Last Week’s Word Count

n/a

Pre-Orders

  • Coveted Mate (Wishes & Dreams #4) is scheduled for release in March 2022, and is available for pre-order now!
  • Reluctant Rogue (Wishes & Dreams #5) is also available for pre-order on Amazon. As soon as I get the book cover, I’ll get it up for pre-order at the other retailers. The release date is set for July, but I hope to move that date up, once I get Coveted Mate released.
  • Foxy Lady (Wishes & Dreams #6) is available for pre-order on Amazon. Again, once I get the book cover, I’ll get it up for pre-order at the other retailers. The release date is set for October, but I hope to move that date up, once I get Coveted Mate released.

 

Monthly Newsletter

Also, last but not least, please subscribe to my monthly newsletter and keep up on important news, previews, cover reveals, and so forth, as well as a monthly excerpt from either published books or works in progress, and a Recipe of the Month!

In Other, Non-Writing-Related News……

  • TikTok. I’m still going absolutely nuts over on TikTok! I’m doing book reviews, and all kinds of random stuff, like Darling Daughter quotes, pics of my cat, pics of my fireplace (on Youtube, LOL) at night late, memes, just anything that strikes me to do in the moment. I’m having a total blast! Feel free to follow me over there!
  • Uber. I’m back to NOT driving, because of the Omnicron surge. I don’t need the money, I drive for fun, to get out of the house and honestly? Most of my passengers are tourists here in wine country, and they’ve got great energy, and I enjoy driving them to/from the vineyards, wine tasting rooms, restaurants, and the casino. Plus, it gets me out of the house and I get to enjoy the scenery and so forth. But for now, I’ll wait til the risk factor subsides.

 

The Books

  1. Truck Stop
  2. Wishes in a Bottle (Wishes & Dreams #1)
  3. A Gift of Jacinth (Wishes & Dreams #2)
  4. SwanSong (Sons of the Desert #1)
  5. Castles in the Sand (Sons of the Desert #2)
  6. A Cat for Troy (Wishes & Dreams #3)
  7. Wishes & Dreams Boxed Ebook Set (Books 1-3)
  8. When Darkness Falls: Book I: The Palace
  9. When Darkness Falls: Book II: The Dark Lord
  10. When Darkness Falls: Book III: The Prophecy
  11. When Darkness Falls: The Trilogy (Boxed eBook set)
  12. An Almost Marriage: A Short Story

 

The Manuscripts

  1. Finished Manuscripts, in Editing:
    1. COVETED MATE, Wishes & Dreams #4
  2. In-Progress Manuscripts:
    1. RELUCTANT ROGUE, Wishes & Dreams #5
  3. To Be Written Partial Manuscripts:
    1. FOXY LADY, Wishes & Dreams #6
    2. MICHAEL’S QUEST, Sons of the Desert #3
    3. BEHIND THE CLOUDS, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
    4. INTO THE STORM, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
  4. Planned Manuscripts:
    1. Short Story: Amanda & Julian, spin-off of Wishes in a Bottle

 

THIS WEEK’S WRITING PLAN

(Not in any particular order, except if indicated)

  1. Continue edits of Coveted Mate
  2. Make more TikTok videos!

 

My Writing Plan: Week of January 16, 2022

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Last Week:

I’m still working on feedback for Coveted Mate from my beta readers. Still no major issues!

I’ve taken a course on TikTok for Authors, and it’s amaaaaaaaaaaazing!!!! I went from 76 followers to 822, and more following me every few minutes! I’ve gone live on camera, something I NEVER thought I would EVER do. I mean, I’m no spring chicken. But I thought, you know, this is who I am. Just stand up and own it. So, I did and I’m having the most TERRIFIC time! Feel free to follow me over there! I’m doing book reviews, some “story behind the story” videos, and some just fun stuff!

This Week:

This coming week it’s going to be all about the feedback and making edits on Coveted Mate as necessary. And, more TikTok videos!

Last Week’s Word Count

Coveted Mate: 456 (total for WIP: 106,718)

Pre-Orders

  • Coveted Mate (Wishes & Dreams #4) is scheduled for release in March 2022, and is available for pre-order now!
  • Reluctant Rogue (Wishes & Dreams #5) is also available for pre-order on Amazon. As soon as I get the book cover, I’ll get it up for pre-order at the other retailers. The release date is set for July, but I hope to move that date up, once I get Coveted Mate released.
  • Foxy Lady (Wishes & Dreams #6) is available for pre-order on Amazon. Again, once I get the book cover, I’ll get it up for pre-order at the other retailers. The release date is set for October, but I hope to move that date up, once I get Coveted Mate released.

 

Monthly Newsletter

Also, last but not least, please subscribe to my monthly newsletter and keep up on important news, previews, cover reveals, and so forth, as well as a monthly excerpt from either published books or works in progress, and a Recipe of the Month!

In Other, Non-Writing-Related News……

  • Uber! I’m back to NOT driving, because of the Omnicron surge. I don’t need the money, I drive for fun, to get out of the house and honestly? Most of my passengers are tourists here in wine country, and they’ve got great energy, and I enjoy driving them to/from the vineyards, wine tasting rooms, restaurants, and the casino. Plus, it gets me out of the house and I get to enjoy the scenery and so forth. But for now, I’ll wait til the risk factor subsides.

 

The Books

  1. Truck Stop
  2. Wishes in a Bottle (Wishes & Dreams #1)
  3. A Gift of Jacinth (Wishes & Dreams #2)
  4. SwanSong (Sons of the Desert #1)
  5. Castles in the Sand (Sons of the Desert #2)
  6. A Cat for Troy (Wishes & Dreams #3)
  7. Wishes & Dreams Boxed Ebook Set (Books 1-3)
  8. When Darkness Falls: Book I: The Palace
  9. When Darkness Falls: Book II: The Dark Lord
  10. When Darkness Falls: Book III: The Prophecy
  11. When Darkness Falls: The Trilogy (Boxed eBook set)
  12. An Almost Marriage: A Short Story

 

The Manuscripts

  1. Finished Manuscripts, in Editing:
    1. COVETED MATE, Wishes & Dreams #4
  2. In-Progress Manuscripts:
    1. RELUCTANT ROGUE, Wishes & Dreams #5
  3. To Be Written Partial Manuscripts:
    1. FOXY LADY, Wishes & Dreams #6
    2. MICHAEL’S QUEST, Sons of the Desert #3
    3. BEHIND THE CLOUDS, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
    4. INTO THE STORM, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
  4. Planned Manuscripts:
    1. Short Story: Amanda & Julian, spin-off of Wishes in a Bottle

 

THIS WEEK’S WRITING PLAN

(Not in any particular order, except if indicated)

  1. Continue edits of Coveted Mate
  2. Make more TikTok videos!

 

My Writing Plan: Week of January 8, 2022

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Last Week:

You may (or may not) have noticed I didn’t publish a writing plan last Saturday, Jan 1st. This isn’t because it was a holiday and I was taking off. This is because on the 30th I got my covid booster, and that night at midnight I had a reaction, and spent the next 36 hours in bed with shaking chills and fatigue (no other symptoms, luckily, but the shakes were bad!). It wasn’t until Monday that I really got back to my computer desk, but I did then dive right into editing!

I got a lot of work done editing Coveted Mate, as feedback trickles in from the beta readers (or pours in, in some cases!). So far there are few major issues, but some that are going to require some thought. I’ve gotten all the smaller fixes/edits/changes done; this week I’ll be diving into the deeper stuff.

If the feedback continues to be this good (i.e., not finding a lot of major issues), I’ll be moving the release date up into February. We’ll see!

This Week:

This coming week it’s going to be all about the feedback and making edits as necessary. Which is just as well, since we’re coming up to Christmas and I need to wrap presents!

Last Week’s Word Count

Coveted Mate: 4,153 words (for a WIP total of 106,262 words)

Pre-Orders

  • Coveted Mate (Wishes & Dreams #4) is scheduled for release in March 2022, and is available for pre-order now!
  • Reluctant Rogue (Wishes & Dreams #5) is also available for pre-order on Amazon. As soon as I get the book cover, I’ll get it up for pre-order at the other retailers. The release date is set for July, but I hope to move that date up, once I get Coveted Mate released.
  • Foxy Lady (Wishes & Dreams #6) is available for pre-order on Amazon. Again, once I get the book cover, I’ll get it up for pre-order at the other retailers. The release date is set for October, but I hope to move that date up, once I get Coveted Mate released.

 

Monthly Newsletter

Also, last but not least, please subscribe to my monthly newsletter and keep up on important news, previews, cover reveals, and so forth, as well as a monthly excerpt from either published books or works in progress, and a Recipe of the Month!

In Other, Non-Writing-Related News……

  • Coronavirus, of course. I’ve been vaccinated, and got my booster shot!
  • Uber! I’m back to driving, mostly on weekends, to take the tourists about, ferrying them back and forth to and from the hotels, restaurants, vineyards, and the casino. I love the tourists as passengers, because they’re always happy because they’re on vacation, and there’s lots of good energy flowing!

 

The Books

  1. Truck Stop
  2. Wishes in a Bottle (Wishes & Dreams #1)
  3. A Gift of Jacinth (Wishes & Dreams #2)
  4. SwanSong (Sons of the Desert #1)
  5. Castles in the Sand (Sons of the Desert #2)
  6. A Cat for Troy (Wishes & Dreams #3)
  7. Wishes & Dreams Boxed Ebook Set (Books 1-3)
  8. When Darkness Falls: Book I: The Palace
  9. When Darkness Falls: Book II: The Dark Lord
  10. When Darkness Falls: Book III: The Prophecy
  11. When Darkness Falls: The Trilogy (Boxed eBook set)
  12. An Almost Marriage: A Short Story

 

The Manuscripts

  1. Finished Manuscripts, in Editing:
    1. COVETED MATE, Wishes & Dreams #4
  2. In-Progress Manuscripts:
    1. RELUCTANT ROGUE, Wishes & Dreams #5
  3. To Be Written Partial Manuscripts:
    1. FOXY LADY, Wishes & Dreams #6
    2. MICHAEL’S QUEST, Sons of the Desert #3
    3. BEHIND THE CLOUDS, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
    4. INTO THE STORM, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
  4. Planned Manuscripts:
    1. Short Story: Amanda & Julian, spin-off of Wishes in a Bottle

 

THIS WEEK’S WRITING PLAN

(Not in any particular order, except if indicated)

  1. Continue edits of Coveted Mate

 

I’m now on Radish Reading App!

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I’ve gotten accepted to publish my books in serial form on Radish app! I’m absolutely thrilled! I’m starting off with the Sons of the Desert series. I spent all day yesterday dividing the first book, SwanSong into episodes of 1,500 to 2,500 words each, which came out to a total of 54 episodes. They’re being released three episodes a week, on a Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule at noon PST. Check out my Radish Author page here!

This is a really interesting experiment! I’m also going to upload When Darkness Falls, Book I: The Palace to start releasing next week. Dividing it up took much less time and went smoother than yesterday, since I’d gotten the hang of it. Of course, I still have to upload the episodes to Radish. But the separating and creating titles for each episode takes the most time.

Whether I go on to start publishing the Wishes & Dreams series there, will depend on how the first two do. Since it’ll take a few months for all the episodes of the above to come out, there’s plenty of time to make up my mind; especially as I still have the 2nd book in Sons of the Desert and books 2 & 3 of When Darkness Falls to divide and upload!

Radish requires different covers, with no text or logos, so my wonderful cover artist, Dar Albert, got right on it:

     

My Writing Plan: December 18, 2021

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Last Week:

I did get Coveted Mate finished! …followed by a final read-through and edits, and then got it out to my beta readers. Feedback has been trickling in… so far just minor stuff, with two “issues” that take a little more thought, but nothing major yet… here’s hoping nothing major comes up!

If the feedback continues to be this good (i.e., not finding a lot of major issues), I’ll be moving the release date up into February. We’ll see!

This Week:

This coming week it’s going to be all about the feedback and making edits as necessary. Which is just as well, since we’re coming up to Christmas and I need to wrap presents!

Last Week’s Word Count

Coveted Mate: 3,249 words (for a WIP total of 102,109 words )

Pre-Orders

  • Coveted Mate (Wishes & Dreams #4) is scheduled for release in March 2022, and is available for pre-order now!
  • Reluctant Rogue (Wishes & Dreams #5) is also available for pre-order on Amazon. As soon as I get the book cover, I’ll get it up for pre-order at the other retailers. The release date is set for July, but I hope to move that date up, once I get Coveted Mate released.
  • Foxy Lady (Wishes & Dreams #6) is available for pre-order on Amazon. Again, once I get the book cover, I’ll get it up for pre-order at the other retailers. The release date is set for October, but I hope to move that date up, once I get Coveted Mate released.

 

Monthly Newsletter

Also, last but not least, please subscribe to my monthly newsletter and keep up on important news, previews, cover reveals, and so forth, as well as a monthly excerpt from either published books or works in progress, and a Recipe of the Month!

In Other, Non-Writing-Related News……

  • Coronavirus, of course. I’ve been vaccinated, and scheduled to have my booster shot in December.
  • Uber! I’m back to driving, mostly on weekends, to take the tourists about, ferrying them back and forth to and from the hotels, restaurants, vineyards, and the casino. I love the tourists as passengers, because they’re always happy because they’re on vacation, and there’s lots of good energy flowing!

 

The Books

  1. Truck Stop
  2. Wishes in a Bottle (Wishes & Dreams #1)
  3. A Gift of Jacinth (Wishes & Dreams #2)
  4. SwanSong (Sons of the Desert #1)
  5. Castles in the Sand (Sons of the Desert #2)
  6. A Cat for Troy (Wishes & Dreams #3)
  7. Wishes & Dreams Boxed Ebook Set (Books 1-3)
  8. When Darkness Falls: Book I: The Palace
  9. When Darkness Falls: Book II: The Dark Lord
  10. When Darkness Falls: Book III: The Prophecy
  11. When Darkness Falls: The Trilogy (Boxed eBook set)
  12. An Almost Marriage: A Short Story

 

The Manuscripts

  1. Finished Manuscripts, in Editing:
    1. COVETED MATE, Wishes & Dreams #4
  2. In-Progress Manuscripts:
    1. RELUCTANT ROGUE, Wishes & Dreams #5
  3. To Be Written Partial Manuscripts:
    1. FOXY LADY, Wishes & Dreams #6
    2. MICHAEL’S QUEST, Sons of the Desert #3
    3. BEHIND THE CLOUDS, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
    4. INTO THE STORM, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
  4. Planned Manuscripts:
    1. Short Story: Amanda & Julian, spin-off of Wishes in a Bottle

 

THIS WEEK’S WRITING PLAN

(Not in any particular order, except if indicated)

  1. Work on finishing the first draft of Coveted Mate
  2. Begin sending out the first round of Coveted Mate for beta reading

 

 

The first draft of Coveted Mate is finished!

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I DID IT!! I finished the first draft of Coveted Mate! I’m doing a full-read-through and edits, before sending it off for the first round of beta reading!!! YAY n stuff!!!

Of course, the REAL work comes when the feedback starts rolling in. Writing the manuscript is nothing to the editing, but finishing the manuscript had to happen before we could get on to that part,  so YAY!!!!

Here’s the BookBrush Creative I made for it:

 

My Writing Plan: December 11, 2021

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I’m now heavily focused on finishing Coveted Mate. I expect to have the first draft ready to go to my beta reading team in the next day or two… yes, Really! As you probably know by now, I’m a pantser, so what I’m doing now is taking all those disconnected scenes (which are already in order, btw), and putting them together, creating and/or smoothing transitions, etc. So it’s not so much about adding content, as editing. I’m halfway through, and in the second half of the book a HUGE chunk of like 8 chapters are already done and transitioned, so I just have to work up to the first of those, and then from at the end of that section to the end of the book.  And yes, I do have the ending written! 🙂

This Past Week’s Word Count

Coveted Mate: 6,083 words (for a WIP total of 98,860 words)

Pre-Orders

  • Coveted Mate (Wishes & Dreams #4) is scheduled for release in March 2022, and is available for pre-order now!
  • Reluctant Rogue (Wishes & Dreams #5) is also available for pre-order on Amazon. As soon as I get the book cover, I’ll get it up for pre-order at the other retailers. The release date is set for July, but I hope to move that date up, once I get Coveted Mate released.
  • Foxy Lady (Wishes & Dreams #6) is available for pre-order on Amazon. Again, once I get the book cover, I’ll get it up for pre-order at the other retailers. The release date is set for October, but I hope to move that date up, once I get Coveted Mate released.

 

Monthly Newsletter

Also, last but not least, please subscribe to my monthly newsletter and keep up on important news, previews, cover reveals, and so forth, as well as a monthly excerpt from either published books or works in progress, and a Recipe of the Month!

 

In Other, Non-Writing-Related News……

  • Coronavirus, of course. I’ve been vaccinated, and scheduled to have my booster shot in December.
  • Uber! I didn’t do any driving during November, because… NaNo! But I’ll be back to driving, mostly on weekends, to take the tourists about, ferrying them back and forth to and from the hotels, restaurants, vineyards, and the casino. I love the tourists as passengers, because they’re always happy because they’re on vacation, and there’s lots of good energy flowing!

 

The Books

  1. Truck Stop
  2. Wishes in a Bottle (Wishes & Dreams #1)
  3. A Gift of Jacinth (Wishes & Dreams #2)
  4. SwanSong (Sons of the Desert #1)
  5. Castles in the Sand (Sons of the Desert #2)
  6. A Cat for Troy (Wishes & Dreams #3)
  7. Wishes & Dreams Boxed Ebook Set (Books 1-3)
  8. When Darkness Falls: Book I: The Palace
  9. When Darkness Falls: Book II: The Dark Lord
  10. When Darkness Falls: Book III: The Prophecy
  11. When Darkness Falls: The Trilogy (Boxed eBook set)
  12. An Almost Marriage: A Short Story

 

The Manuscripts

  1. In-Progress Manuscripts:
    1. COVETED MATE, Wishes & Dreams #4
    2. RELUCTANT ROGUE, Wishes & Dreams #5
    3. FOXY LADY, Wishes & Dreams #6
  2. To Be Written Partial Manuscripts:
    1. MICHAEL’S QUEST, Sons of the Desert #3
    2. BEHIND THE CLOUDS, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
    3. INTO THE STORM, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
  3. Planned Manuscripts:
    1. HATED MATE, Wishes & Dreams #6
    2. Short Story: Amanda & Julian, spin-off of Wishes in a Bottle

 

THIS WEEK’S WRITING PLAN

(Not in any particular order, except if indicated)

  1. Work on finishing the first draft of Coveted Mate
  2. Begin sending out the first round of Coveted Mate for beta reading

 

 

My Writing Plan: Week of December 4, 2021

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National Novel Writing Month: Recap!

National Novel Writing Month is over, and I won! I hit 50,236 words on the 27th of November, and spent the rest of the month curled up in my recliner whimpering. Not exaggerating (much). It took a lot out of me, that last week’s push to the end, but I am totally, ecstatically happy with the results. I brought Coveted Mate from 67k to 93k… well within my target goal of 100k +/- 10k. So now mostly I have to do transitioning work between scenes, and some added characterization work, and make sure there are no plot holes, and it’ll be ready to go out for the first round of beta reading.

The next book in the series is Reluctant Rogue, and during NaNo I brought that along from 12k to 38k. I’m pleased with what I’ve got written so far, and excited to get started on  finishing it, just as soon as I get Coveted Mate off to the proofreader (the step after beta reading edits)!

As an additional benefit of all that creative flow, I woke up on the morning of November 30th with the idea for yet the next book in Wishes & Dreams! I spent 48 hours in my recliner staring into the distance with unfocused gaze as I worked on the scene that had come to me, and at 4:30 a.m. on the 2nd, I crawled out of bed and attacked my keyboard. By the end of the day I had the first chapter written, with 3,500 words. Now I’ve got a wrap on that, the story idea has receded enough for me to be able to put my focus on finishing Coveted Mate. I do have a title for it, though! This one will be Foxy Lady, as the heroine is… yep, you guessed it… a red fox shapeshifter!

Final Official NaNo Word Count

Coveted Mate: 24,955 words for a total of 92,750 words
Reluctant Rogue: 26,363 words, for a total of 38,624 words
Week Total: 15,757 words
NaNoWriMo Total: 51,318 words

Coveted Mate & Reluctant Rogue

Coveted Mate is scheduled for release in March 2022, and is available for pre-order now!!!

Reluctant Rogue is also available for pre-order on Amazon. As soon as I get the book cover, I’ll get it up for pre-order at the other retailers. The release date is set for July, but I hope to move that date up, once I get Coveted Mate released.

BookBrush

I was turned on to BookBrush.com by authors in the Wide for the Win group. I signed up, then participated in a zoom conference call showing the various ways to use it, and I proceeded to sign up for the ultimate plan! It is FABULOUS, and I’ve been making animated creatives (marketing ads for social media, etc.) like crazy! I made a YouTube playlist just for the creatives (as opposed to the book trailers, which have their own playlist), and I’m uploading the creatives as I get them done.

Here is one of them, as a sample:

Monthly Newsletter

Also, last but not least, please subscribe to my monthly newsletter and keep up on important news, previews, cover reveals, and so forth, as well as a monthly excerpt from either published books or works in progress, and a Recipe of the Month!

Speaking of BookBrush, yes, I made an animated creative for this, too! 😉

In Other, Non-Writing-Related News……

  • Coronavirus, of course. I’ve been vaccinated, and scheduled to have my booster shot in December.
  • Uber! I didn’t do any driving during November, because… NaNo! But I’ll be back to driving, mostly on weekends, to take the tourists about, ferrying them back and forth to and from the hotels, restaurants, vineyards, and the casino. I love the tourists as passengers, because they’re always happy because they’re on vacation, and there’s lots of good energy flowing!

 

The Books

  1. Truck Stop
  2. Wishes in a Bottle (Wishes & Dreams #1)
  3. A Gift of Jacinth (Wishes & Dreams #2)
  4. SwanSong (Sons of the Desert #1)
  5. Castles in the Sand (Sons of the Desert #2)
  6. A Cat for Troy (Wishes & Dreams #3)
  7. Wishes & Dreams Boxed Ebook Set (Books 1-3)
  8. When Darkness Falls: Book I: The Palace
  9. When Darkness Falls: Book II: The Dark Lord
  10. When Darkness Falls: Book III: The Prophecy
  11. When Darkness Falls: The Trilogy (Boxed eBook set)
  12. An Almost Marriage: A Short Story
  13. Coveted Mate (Wishes & Dreams #4) (on pre-order)
  14. Reluctant Rogue (Wishes & Dreams #5) (on pre-order)

 

The Manuscripts

  1. In-Progress Manuscripts:
    1. COVETED MATE, Wishes & Dreams #4
    2. RELUCTANT ROGUE, Wishes & Dreams #5
  2. To Be Written Partial Manuscripts:
    1. MICHAEL’S QUEST, Sons of the Desert #3
    2. BEHIND THE CLOUDS, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
    3. INTO THE STORM, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
  3. Planned Manuscripts:
    1. HATED MATE, Wishes & Dreams #6
    2. Short Story: Amanda & Julian, spin-off of Wishes in a Bottle

 

THIS WEEK’S WRITING PLAN

(Not in any particular order, except if indicated)

  1. Work on finishing the first draft of Coveted Mate

 

 

Featured Books: December 2021

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I’m going to be doing newsletter swaps in my monthly newsletter, for primarily paranormal romance. Some urban fantasy will find its way in, but all titles are ones I think you might find interesting! So I thought I’d also put these featured and mentioned books here in my blog, for anyone to find!

Allie’s Picks of the Month: December 2021

Featured #1

Featured #2

In Paranormal Romance, try The Dryad’s Footprint. This is the first book of Laura Greenwood’s Paranormal Council series. It’s available for FREE on all platforms.

He’ll give up his happiness to help his people – but can he give up his soulmate?

When Kem is called before the Shifter Council, he’s told he needs to marry to secure an alliance for them. There’s only one problem; a year ago he met a woman he can’t forget.

After meeting a mystery man a year ago, Lia has a secret. One that she can’t even tell her sister, Aella. When fate brings the two of them back together, even the most carefully laid plans get disrupted.


For something different, Ishtar’s Blade is the first book of the Ishtar’s Legacy series, an Ancient Worlds Historical Fantasy by Lisa Blackwood. It’s available on Amazon.

As the childhood companion of King Ditanu, Iltani never doubted her place in either his kingdom or his heart. Then duty called her away to complete her training.

Now, a woman grown and a sword-maiden to the goddess Ishtar, Iltani returns and takes up her sacred destiny to protect the royal line. But so much has changed. Ditanu most of all. The youth she knew is gone. A stoic, untouchable king now sits the throne. Does anything of their once deep bond survive?

Iltani must swiftly find her place in a court where cunning governors plot treason, trusted advisors orchestrate deceptions, and noblewomen seek to beguile King Ditanu using methods both fair and foul.

But the greatest threat of all is no mortal adversary. Ereshkigal, the Queen of the Underworld, desires to make Ditanu her consort and seize his kingdom for her own. If Iltani wishes to protect her king, she must fulfil her destiny…

And become… Queen of the Gryphons.

I’d also like to bring these great books to your attention:

 


All Roads Lead to Christmas
by Lydia Guleva
This is a fun Christmas fantasy romance! It’s available on all platforms.
Star Fallen
by Melissa Riddell
This is a SciFi/Colonization romance, book 4 in the Baltin series. It’s available on Amazon, and is free to read with KindleUnlimited.
Midnight Magic
This is an anthology of paranormal romance and urban fantasy stories,
It’s available on on all platforms.
Totally Spooked
by Zoey Indiana
This really fun paranormal romance in a Halloween setting is FREE on all platforms! It’s the first book in the Shifter Speed Dating series, so grab it now.

I did it!! I won NaNoWriMo 2021!!!!!

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I did it!!! I did it!!! I’m a NaNoWriMo WINNER!!!!  On November 27th at 3:32 p.m, I hit 50,236 words!!!!

NaNo word count for Coveted Mate: 23,873
NaNo word count for Reluctant Rogue: 26,363

Whew!!!!!!! Now… I”m going to spend the rest of the weekend PLAYING!!!!!! BookBrush, here I come!!!! Woot!

Oh, speaking of BookBrush, since I put Reluctant Rogue up on pre-order, I made these two cool creatives over in BookBrush:

 

My Writing Plan: Week of November 27, 2021

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National Novel Writing Month: The Final Push!

I wrote a LOT this week! Well, except Thanksgiving Day, which was abysmal at only 403 words, but I had lots of turkey and potatoes and stuffing and gravy!

This week I started out working on Reluctant Rogue, but on the 24th I switched to Coveted Mate for the final push to the end of NaNoWriMo. That’s been going really well, I’m up to 89,110 words on Coveted Mate. Since my word count target for the finished novel is 100,000 words, give or take 10k, that puts me in a really good place!

I am very, very pleased with the writing I’ve gotten done on both novels. I may not write fast, but what I’ve got is in great shape!

Last Week’s Official NaNo Word Count

Coveted Mate: 7,278
Reluctant Rogue:  8,479 words
Week Total: 15,757 words
November Total: 47,759 words

Coveted Mate & Reluctant Rogue

Reminder! Coveted Mate is scheduled for release in March 2022, and is available for pre-order now!!!

Reluctant Rogue is also available for pre-order on Amazon. As soon as I get the book cover, I’ll get it up for pre-order at the other retailers. The release date is set for July, but I hope to move that date up, once I get Coveted Mate released.

Last Week’s Official NaNo Word Count

Reluctant Rogue:  8,856 words
Week Total: 8,856 words
November Total: 31,992 words

Monthly Newsletter

Also, last but not least, please subscribe to my monthly newsletter and keep up on important news, previews, cover reveals, and so forth, as well as a monthly excerpt from either published books or works in progress, and a Recipe of the Month!

 

In Other, Non-Writing-Related News……

  • Coronavirus, of course. I’ve been vaccinated, and scheduled to have my booster shot in December.
  • Uber! In between writing and sleeping and reading, I go out and ferry tourists back and forth to and from the hotels, restaurants, vineyards, and the casino. It’s mostly tourists, who are always happy because they’re on vacation, and there’s lots of good energy flowing!

 

The Books

  1. Truck Stop
  2. Wishes in a Bottle (Wishes & Dreams #1)
  3. A Gift of Jacinth (Wishes & Dreams #2)
  4. SwanSong (Sons of the Desert #1)
  5. Castles in the Sand (Sons of the Desert #2)
  6. A Cat for Troy (Wishes & Dreams #3)
  7. Wishes & Dreams Boxed Ebook Set (Books 1-3)
  8. When Darkness Falls: Book I: The Palace
  9. When Darkness Falls: Book II: The Dark Lord
  10. When Darkness Falls: Book III: The Prophecy
  11. When Darkness Falls: The Trilogy (Boxed eBook set)
  12. An Almost Marriage: A Short Story

 

The Manuscripts

  1. In-Progress Manuscripts:
    1. MICHAEL’S QUEST, Sons of the Desert #3
    2. COVETED MATE, Wishes & Dreams #4
    3. RELUCTANT ROGUE, Wishes & Dreams #5
  2. To Be Written Partial Manuscripts:
    1. BEHIND THE CLOUDS, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
    2. INTO THE STORM, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
  3. Planned Manuscripts:
    1. HATED MATE, Wishes & Dreams #6
    2. Short Story: Amanda & Julian, spin-off of Wishes in a Bottle

 

THIS WEEK’S WRITING PLAN

(Not in any particular order, except if indicated)

  1. NANO!!!!
    1. Write.
    2. Write.
    3. Write more.
  2. December
    1. Work on completing the first draft of Coveted Mate

 

My Writing Plan: Week of November 20, 2021

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I tried… I really did… to move my Weekly Writing Plan to Sundays, since my week starts on Monday, so it makes sense to do the recap on Sunday. But maybe I’ve just done it for too long on Saturday, because I can’t seem to wrap my head around doing it on Sunday. I get up on Saturday, and want to do my blog update. Putting it off til the next day feels wrong, plus my mind keeps nagging at me all day to do the damned blog update. So… I yield to force majeure, and I’m just going to stick with updating this on Saturdays!

It’s still National Novel Writing Month, a self-challenge with the ultimate goal being 50,000 words written in the 30 days of November

I got tons of writing done this week; not as much as I would have liked, but the bright side is, I’m not behind! I’ve just gotten up after getting a good 7 hours of solid sleep, I’ve got a fresh pot of tea brewing, I have my writing snacks on-hand, and I’m settled in to write!

 

 

Last Week’s Official NaNo Word Count

Reluctant Rogue:  8,856 words
Week Total: 8,856 words
November Total: 31,992 words

Coveted Mate & Reluctant Rogue

Since I’ve come so far on Reluctant Rogue, I’ve put in a request to Dar Albert, my wonderful cover designer, for a cover for it!!!

Reminder! Coveted Mate is scheduled for release in March 2022, and is available for pre-order now!!!

Last Week’s Official NaNo Word Count

Reluctant Rogue:  8,856 words
Week Total: 8,856 words
November Total: 31,992 words

Monthly Newsletter

Also, last but not least, please subscribe to my monthly newsletter and keep up on important news, previews, cover reveals, and so forth, as well as a monthly excerpt from either published books or works in progress, and a Recipe of the Month!

 

In Other, Non-Writing-Related News……

  • Coronavirus, of course. I’ve been vaccinated, and scheduled to have my booster shot in December.
  • Uber! In between writing and sleeping and reading, I go out and ferry tourists back and forth to and from the hotels, restaurants, vineyards, and the casino. It’s mostly tourists, who are always happy because they’re on vacation, and there’s lots of good energy flowing!

 

The Books

  1. Truck Stop
  2. Wishes in a Bottle (Wishes & Dreams #1)
  3. A Gift of Jacinth (Wishes & Dreams #2)
  4. SwanSong (Sons of the Desert #1)
  5. Castles in the Sand (Sons of the Desert #2)
  6. A Cat for Troy (Wishes & Dreams #3)
  7. Wishes & Dreams Boxed Ebook Set (Books 1-3)
  8. When Darkness Falls: Book I: The Palace
  9. When Darkness Falls: Book II: The Dark Lord
  10. When Darkness Falls: Book III: The Prophecy
  11. When Darkness Falls: The Trilogy (Boxed eBook set)
  12. An Almost Marriage: A Short Story

 

The Manuscripts

  1. In-Progress Manuscripts:
    1. MICHAEL’S QUEST, Sons of the Desert #3
    2. COVETED MATE, Wishes & Dreams #4
    3. RELUCTANT ROGUE, Wishes & Dreams #5
  2. To Be Written Partial Manuscripts:
    1. BEHIND THE CLOUDS, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
    2. INTO THE STORM, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
  3. Planned Manuscripts:
    1. HATED MATE, Wishes & Dreams #6
    2. Short Story: Amanda & Julian, spin-off of Wishes in a Bottle

 

THIS WEEK’S WRITING PLAN

(Not in any particular order, except if indicated)

  1. NANO!!!!
    1. Write.
    2. Write.
    3. Write more.

 

My Writing Plan: Week of November 14, 2021

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It’s NANO TIME!!! November is National Novel Writing Month, a self-challenge with the ultimate goal being 50,000 words written in the 30 days of November

This year’s project is primarily Runaway Rogue, the 5th book in the Wishes & Dreams series. The first week my Muse had me working on the 4th book, Coveted Mate. This week, however, I’ve been working hard on Runaway Rogue (working title)… which as of two nights ago has been officially re-titled Reluctant Rogue. I have a book cover request in to my cover designer!

I did actually take yesterday officially off from writing. I slept in, and putzed about, and went out driving for Uber in the early afternoon, came home and slept for 3 hours straight, then went out Ubering again for a couple hours. I came home and had veal piccata and pasta for dinner, then retired to my room to read for a few hours. I finally came to the computer and pounded out a whole 137 words of Reluctant Rogue, just because! Then I got up early this morning and went to McD’s for some hot cocoa at 5:30 a.m., and got a good start on the next scene I’ll be working on today 🙂 🙂

Coveted Mate

I’ve ordered marketing banners from Eeva at The Book Khaleesi, who does all my book trailers and banners! I was going to order a book trailer, but it turns out she’s closed to new orders until after the new year, but she said she’d go ahead and do the banner, since it’s pretty simple.

I’ve been trying my own hand at banners in BookBrush, to which I’ve purchased a subscription… see above! I may, one day when I’ve finished my NaNo word count for the day, play around with making a trailer for it in BookBrush, but it still wouldn’t be as good as what Eeva can come up with!

Reminder! Coveted Mate is available for pre-order now!!!

Last Week’s Official NaNo Word Count

Coveted Mate: 1,559 words
Reluctant Rogue: 9,028 words
Week Total: 10,587 words
November Total: 23,136 words

Monthly Newsletter

Also, last but not least, please subscribe to my monthly newsletter and keep up on important news, previews, cover reveals, and so forth, as well as a monthly excerpt from either published books or works in progress, and a Recipe of the Month!

 

In Other, Non-Writing-Related News……

  • Coronavirus, of course. I’ve been vaccinated, and scheduled to have my booster shot in December.
  • Uber! In between writing and sleeping and reading, I go out and ferry tourists back and forth to and from the hotels, restaurants, vineyards, and the casino. It’s mostly tourists, who are always happy because they’re on vacation, and there’s lots of good energy flowing!

 

The Books

  1. Truck Stop
  2. Wishes in a Bottle (Wishes & Dreams #1)
  3. A Gift of Jacinth (Wishes & Dreams #2)
  4. SwanSong (Sons of the Desert #1)
  5. Castles in the Sand (Sons of the Desert #2)
  6. A Cat for Troy (Wishes & Dreams #3)
  7. Wishes & Dreams Boxed Ebook Set (Books 1-3)
  8. When Darkness Falls: Book I: The Palace
  9. When Darkness Falls: Book II: The Dark Lord
  10. When Darkness Falls: Book III: The Prophecy
  11. When Darkness Falls: The Trilogy (Boxed eBook set)
  12. An Almost Marriage: A Short Story

 

The Manuscripts

  1. In-Progress Manuscripts:
    1. MICHAEL’S QUEST, Sons of the Desert #3
    2. COVETED MATE, Wishes & Dreams #4
    3. RELUCTANT ROGUE, Wishes & Dreams #5
  2. To Be Written Partial Manuscripts:
    1. BEHIND THE CLOUDS, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
    2. INTO THE STORM, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
  3. Planned Manuscripts:
    1. HATED MATE, Wishes & Dreams #6
    2. Short Story: Amanda & Julian, spin-off of Wishes in a Bottle

 

THIS WEEK’S WRITING PLAN

(Not in any particular order except if indicated)

  1. NANO!!!!
  2. Write.
  3. Write.
  4. Write more.

 

My Writing Plan: Week of November 6, 2021

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It’s NANO TIME!!! National Novel Writing Month started last Monday, November 1st.

This year’s project is primarily Runaway Rogue, the 5th book in the Wishes & Dreams series. However, so far my Muse has me working on the 4th book, Coveted Mate. Most of the scenes are chapters revolving around getting the rescued refugees from the Morocco compound settled in. I’ve also introduced a unicorn and a dragon. The dragon is actually part of the storyline of book #4; the unicorn doesn’t come into play until book #5, but I wanted to get her introduced. We also have a kitten that’s a Familiar, that showed up at Whimsies, Julian’s antique shop. She’ll be taking up residence in the Country Veterinarian Clinic for the time being. I have NO idea what I’m going to do with her, but she showed up in my head wanting to be a part of all this, so I wrote her in! LOL!

I’m about to the point in Coveted Mate that I’m starting to think about commissioning a book trailer from Eeva at The Book Khaleesi, who does all my book trailers and banners!

Reminder! Coveted Mate is available for pre-order now!!!

 

 

Last Week’s Official NaNo Word Count:

Coveted Mate: 12,478 words

Also, last but not least, please subscribe to my monthly newsletter and keep up on important news, previews, cover reveals, and so forth, as well as a monthly excerpt from either published books or works in progress, and a Recipe of the Month!

 

In Other, Non-Writing-Related News……

  • Coronavirus, of course. I’ve been vaccinated, and am back to driving part-time (as the whim strikes me) for Uber, and having a blast!

 

The Books

  1. Truck Stop
  2. Wishes in a Bottle (Wishes & Dreams #1)
  3. A Gift of Jacinth (Wishes & Dreams #2)
  4. SwanSong (Sons of the Desert #1)
  5. Castles in the Sand (Sons of the Desert #2)
  6. A Cat for Troy (Wishes & Dreams #3)
  7. Wishes & Dreams Boxed Ebook Set (Books 1-3)
  8. When Darkness Falls: Book I: The Palace
  9. When Darkness Falls: Book II: The Dark Lord
  10. When Darkness Falls: Book III: The Prophecy
  11. When Darkness Falls: The Trilogy (Boxed eBook set)
  12. An Almost Marriage: A Short Story

 

The Manuscripts

  1. In-Progress Manuscripts:
    1. MICHAEL’S QUEST, Sons of the Desert #3
    2. COVETED MATE, Wishes & Dreams #4
    3. RUNAWAY ROGUE, Wishes & Dreams #5
  2. To Be Written Partial Manuscripts:
    1. BEHIND THE CLOUDS, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
    2. INTO THE STORM, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
  3. Planned Manuscripts:
    1. HATED MATE, Wishes & Dreams #6
    2. Short Story: Amanda & Julian, spin-off of Wishes in a Bottle

 

THIS WEEK’S WRITING PLAN

(Not in any particular order except if indicated)

  1. NANO!!!!
  2. Write.
  3. Write.
  4. Write more.

 

It’s National Novel Writing Month!

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Yayyy, NaNoWriMo is HERE at last! I live for Novembers 🙂

This year I’ll be working mostly on book #5 of my Wishes & Dreams series. The working title is Runaway Rogue.

Synopsis:

The hero, Liam, is a Great Pyrenees shapeshifter, his archetype is The Chief, secondary is The Best Friend.He’s the new shifter physician/vet at the country veterinary clinic.

Tessa, is a Clouded Leopard, her archetype is The Waif, secondary is The Nurturer. She’s the niece of Beatrice… remember Beatrice? The rogue shifter who stalked Katerina and her sister across the first three books of the series. Tessa’s mother, aunt and sisters were all vicious rogues… and she’s afraid she may be one too!

I may also be adding to book #4, Coveted Mate, as my Muse commands!

I was up at midnight and got started writing right at 12:01 a.m. It was a bit slow getting started, but then I gained momentum, and wrote 1,520 words by 2 a.m., when I crawled into bed 🙂