The writing challenge that knows you have a life.

This time of year is always crazy. I’m not sure how I ever survive it. As a project manager, I really should write down some lessons learned and do things differently next year.

I did find my way back to the WIP this week though and made beautiful progress. Got to love it when you can end the year on a high note. This is fabulous because I have a lot planned for 2014. I’ll talk more about that at the start of next round.

For now, let’s talk cookies. I needed to make cookies for a party and I tried something new. The recipe is by Ina Garten. It’s yummy shortbread dunked in chocolate. So good. How can any cookie with THREE sticks of butter not be good? You can find the recipe here.

Happy Holidays everyone. I hope you year ends on a high note.

The Goals – week-11 results

• Spend at least 1-hour a day with my characters- done. 🙂
• Daily progress in writing craft, word count, editing, and/or plotting- done! I rocked it this week. Not only did I finish edits on a tiny little story, but I also did a crit too and revised my story after receiving my first crit. While I wait on a few more crits, I’m moving right back to another WIP, Love Projects 2. You’ll be hearing a lot about this one next round. It will require the majority of my focus and will hopefully be my next release.
• Take care of and be kind to myself- done. The stress was out of control this week and won’t let up until about Monday night. So far, I am surviving it all and that makes this goal a success.
  

What you might have missed here this week:

Spotlight: Taming a Gentleman Spy by Maggi Andersen

Inside Look with Nikka Michaels author of Christmas with Caden

Inside Look with Eileen Griffin author of Dinner For Two

UNTANGLE ME by S.J. Maylee Exclusive Excerpt

The writing challenge that knows you have a life.

Let the parties begin. Tis the season, right? By the end of this week, I’ll have attended four holiday parties already. I think we’re trying to set a new record for the number of parties we attend at the holidays, lol. My mom just informed me, we need to attend another party on the day after Christmas. It already seems like the holiday that won’t end. Now, I think it’s truth.

Well, The decorations are finally all up at our house and it all looks beautiful. The charm of the holiday sure does help put me in the spirit. Something has got to. It seems this year, I’d rather be editing then doing something festive. Editing. Yes, you read that right. 🙂

I tried a new recipe for the party we attended Friday night. You might have seen it on Pinterest. Click the image here to see the recipe at Eclectic Recipes.

I made a few changes. I made my pizza dough from my normal Betty Crocker recipe and that worked fine. I used Olive Oil, just basil, and garlic salt to finish them. So, good.

This recipe is definitely a keeper. Have you come across any  new recipes or tips this year?

The Goals – week-10 results

• Spend at least 1-hour a day with my characters- done. 🙂
• Daily progress in writing craft, word count, editing, and/or plotting- half done. I finally got back to editing this week, but not daily. I had wanted to finish editing two projects this month. Now, I’m just focusing on one. Something had to give.
• Take care of and be kind to myself- half done. The stress of the season is definitely draining me. I have so much to do this week that I’m kind of going numb. Ugh! I sure had fun on my blog this week though and that fills my bucket.
  

What you might have missed here this week:

Daily Picspiration – A Bench Out of Reach with Roxanne and Jonathon

This is the fifth installation in my flash fiction love story.

Spotlight: Fall Into Me by K.M. Scott <- includes a great giveaway

Flash Fiction #52 – and the Christmas Blog Hop <- includes a giveaway too

This is the last week to enter my Release Party Giveaway for UNTANGLE ME.

The writing challenge that knows you have a life.

Why do you do what you do? It sounds like a complicated question, but it’s simple. I write because I love it.

Every time I submit a manuscript and on both of my release days, I seem to ask why I keep putting myself through this, lol There were some things that were easier on this release day simply because I had a better idea of what to expect, but many others went just the same.

I still don’t really know what I’m doing and I seem to be moving forward one stumble at at time. But, with each step on this lonely writing journey, I solidify one fact.

I love to write.

At this point in my career, it’s the very thing I must posses to keep me going. I love my characters. I’m proud of my stories and I desperately want to put more of them out there.

So, that’s it. I’ve passed the latest test and it’s my good reason why I put myself through this crazy train.

The Goals – week-9 results

• Spend at least 1-hour a day with my characters- not done.
• Daily progress in writing craft, word count, editing, and/or plotting- half done. The only writing I did this week was guest post writing. I also did all kinds of marketing or attempted to for my release. These activities kind of sucked all the life out of me.
• Take care of and be kind to myself- half done. The week started out with a few workouts, but quickly deteriorated into release day haze. 
  

What you might have missed here this week:

Spotlight: Alex’s Destiny by Amy Gregory

Release Day Party for UNTANGLE ME

click here for the Thankfully Naughty Giveaway Hop!

The writing challenge that knows you have a life.

It’s been intense around here lately, compact emotions bursting at the seams. After one of the most profound weekends of my existence, I’m ready to look forward.

We have one month left in 2013 and only a few weeks left in this forth round of eighty days. I’m looking forward to 2014, but I have lots yet to do this year. I have two WIPs that need finishing and polishing and tons of marketing to do.

I need another cup of coffee, lol.

I haven’t started my Christmas shopping, nor have I ordered my Christmas cards.

Yikes!

This month is going to be crazy. I accept that. There’s a lot I’ve had to accept lately. It’s an important thing to do. Once you accept, you can move forward. This is where I want to be, moving forward. Eyes front, Maylee.

Oh! Segue Alert.

How about a look at my next release. I can share my new cover. This made me smile. I hope you like it too.

UNTANGLE ME releases Thursday. You can read more about it and add it to your Goodreads TBR list here.

The Goals – week-8 results

• Spend at least 1-hour a day with my characters- half done.
• Daily progress in writing craft, word count, editing, and/or plotting- half done. I finished final edits this week, sent in my dedication (can’t wait to share it), picked my teaser excerpt, and approved my awesome cover art. These final steps were definitely easier the second time around. Bonus, I’m not a newbie, lol. The rest of the week got swallowed by guest post writing, marketing, getting five days of evil day job done in three days, and lots of family time.
• Take care of and be kind to myself- done. This week was less about the physical care and more about the emotional care and I did hit the mark there. Now, I need to get my focus on the physical side too.
  

What you might have missed here this week:

Inside Look with Amy Gregory author of Mike’s Way Back

Daily Picspiration – Backwards and Forwards with Roxanne and Jonathon

click here for the Thankfully Naughty Giveaway Hop!

The writing challenge that knows you have a life.

It takes an effort to be happy. For some it comes easier and it certainly can be easier on happy occasions, but for the rest it takes an effort. To start, you need to want to be happy.

Really?

Yes, you need to want it. I can tell you, since I’m in the middle of grieving for my FIL, it’s hard to want it. Emotions are so strange.

This week I planned the flowers for the memorial service. As you know, I love flowers and so did my FIL. It was one of the things we talked about all the time.

It was an honor to do this for my family. The white vase is for my MIL and it will be filled with white oriental lilies and white calla lilies. White and red were the colors of their wedding and fiftieth wedding anniversary this summer. So, we decided to go with pure white.

Besides red, my FIL enjoyed all shades of purple. The vase from the brothers/myself and the vase from my two boys, I picked mostly purple. I think it will be beautiful. Happy. My FIL enjoyed life. He got a kick out of making people laugh. It’s okay to still be sad. It’s okay to celebrate his life. It’s okay to be happy.

If I’m going to be happy, I’m going to have to want it.

This light bulb moment arrived the same evening as the edits for my next release. Coincidence? I think not. I can not wait to release this story. I’m proud of it. I love the characters and their courage. They filled me up yesterday as I read their story once again. Thank you Ivy and Seth.

The Goals – week-7 results

• Spend at least 1-hour a day with my characters- half done.
• Daily progress in writing craft, word count, editing, and/or plotting- half done. Sunday and Monday I was still moving full steam ahead. Once Tuesday arrived, I fell apart. Planning for my FILs memorial kicked my grief into high gear and I lost my energy to write. Between Sunday and Monday I added just shy of 4k to the WIP and I ended the week editing my next release and sending it back to my publisher. It’s surreal to be excited and heart broken at the same time. Life moves forward and I will too. I probably won’t get back into Nano, but that’s okay. I had no idea I could write 29k in 18-days. I learned a lot this month. I also see lots of writing and editing in my future and that makes me happy. 🙂
• Take care of and be kind to myself- half done. This week I had a hard time with this goal, because taking care of myself makes me feel better and it’s hard to feel happy. UGH!! Grief sucks. Anger is only stage two. Grr. I’ll probably be bouncing around the stages this week. Just like writing, grief is a journey and not a sprint. I have to choose to be happy. This is definitely a Week 8 Priority.

What you might have missed here this week:

Spotlight: Inn for the Holidays by Ella Jade

Spotlight: RIVER RECKONING by Jenny Lyn

Mid Week Tease: Nadia’s Slip and Ethan’s Catch <– I shared from my NaNo project

Thankfully Naughty Giveaway Hop! <– stop by for a look at TAKING CHANCES and my soon to be new release UNTANGLE ME. Don’t forget to enter for your chance to win.

The writing challenge that knows you have a life.

I lost my father-in-law this week. He’s at peace and although this does help, I have a long road ahead before I’m through all the stages of loss and grief.

I moved through denial pretty quickly. I’ve actually been dealing with this one for weeks. I kept hoping he would get better, that cancer would let us win. I’ve been angry a lot. I’m pissed that he’s gone, that I only knew him for 18-years, but mostly I’m angry that my boys won’t have him around. Thank goodness for pictures and videos. I’m starting to deal with bargaining. Depression is most definitely here. I’m so very sad. I can’t, just can’t put that in words. Acceptance will come, I know, but today I’ll cry.

My FIL was an amazing man. He met his wife of over 50-years when he was 16. He knew then that she was the one. She’s one lucky lady. He was a proud Navy man who enjoyed talking about his years of service. He raised two incredible sons. Although he hated high school, he excelled at games like Trivial Pursuit and Jeopardy. He was one of the smartest men I’ve known. If you had a question, about anything, he was your man.

He was a techy guy too. With his thirst for knowledge, he kept up on all the changes, but he hated Facebook. We talked about it a few times, but he just never got on board which is why I didn’t mention him there this week. It didn’t feel right.

I can’t tell you how many times he and I would sit at the dinning room table. I would be typing away and he would be searching for something. Throughout the day we’d share things. These little talks will stay with me always.

He also had a love of music, from classical all the way to AC/DC. He loved to rock. Many times I entered their house to loud, very loud music. He is definitely behind my husbands love of music. One of his all time favorites was Bob Seger – Old Time Rock n Roll.

So, this one’s for you, Chuck. I love you.

The Goals – week-6 results

• Spend at least 1-hour a day with my characters- done.
• Daily progress in writing craft, word count, editing, and/or plotting- done. I thought about throwing in the towel on NaNoWriMo a few times this week and I still might, but for now the distraction is helping. I added just over 11k this week which beats my one week 9k total from last week.
• Take care of and be kind to myself- I could be doing a better job of this, but that’s okay. I’m trying and that’s all that matters right now. Week 7 Priority.

What you might have missed here this week:

Inside Look with Raven McAllan author of Livvy’s Devil Dom

Spotlight: Sweetest Splendor by Kacey Hammell

The writing challenge that knows you have a life.

Understatement of the year -> NaNoWriMo is an interesting experience. This challenge is revealing all sorts of things I didn’t know. This isn’t the first time I took my writing seriously, but until these last nine days, I didn’t really see what I was capable of and I can now also see my own personal limits.

I’ve often struggled with all of my distractions. As a stay at home mom who also works from home, distractions are my reality and social media compounds the issue. Having this word count goal hanging over my head has gotten me to see my day in a whole new light.

I had a productive week. Yes I did. For the girl who’d never written more than 3k in one week, I’d say writing over 9k was certainly productive. However, there were a few things around the house that didn’t get done and I’m not sure if they’ll get done until December, lol.

Thank goodness I’m not hosting Thanksgiving this year. 🙂

I’ve always said I’m a mix of plotter and panster. My plot lines change and grow as I go, but I struggled this week when I didn’t have things plotted. I averaged 1300 words a day and I’m now 1k behind my NaNoWriMo goal. My most productive hours were those that had been pre-plotted. Sure, things still changed while I went, but only those scenes that had a direction got the easy traction.

Hi. I’m S.J. Maylee and I’m a plotter. 🙂

NaNoWriMo is revealing. I’m still not sure if I’ll win, but I’m looking forward to what else this journey will reveal.

You can find me here: http://nanowrimo.org/participants/sjmaylee

The nominations are still open for the First Annual Evernight Publishing Readers’ Choice awards. I’d love your support. There are 36 exciting categories. You may skip categories, however nominations are limited to one per category per person. 

Enter your name and email address at the end of the nomination form for a chance to win a $25 Evernight Gift Certificate!

 I believe you have until November 15th to nominate your favorite Evernight books and the semi-finalists will be announced and voting begins on November 17^th. Click the pic to find enter.

The Goals – week-5 results

• Spend at least 1-hour a day with my characters- done.
• Daily progress in writing craft, word count, editing, and/or plotting- This goal is definitely done. I started the week ahead of my word count goal because I knew I was starting the week out of town. The rest of the week I kept going and pushed the word count. Plotting troubles sent me on a detour the last couple of days and I lost my footing a little bit, but I hope to catch up today. I wrote over 9k this week. 😀
• Take care of and be kind to myself- half done. My week started with spending time with my in-laws. My FIL is in hospice and it’s an incredibly hard time. Lots of tears were cried this week and it looks like it’s going to be another hard week ahead. It’s definitely a perfect time to be kind to myself and I’m doing the best I can. I’m letting the tears come, but I could be doing a better job taking care of my physical needs. Week 6 Priority.

What you might have missed here this week:

A visit from The Housewife and the Film Star by Doris O’Connor

Twice the Fun – TRR’s Year End Splash and Readers’ Choice Awards

The writing challenge that knows you have a life.

To NaNoWriMo or not? All month I said no. I have a book releasing this month. I need to finish polishing and submit my next story. My FIL is now in hospice and I’ll be seeing him as much as possible. It’s the first of the last two crazy months of the year. I said no. I kept saying no because internally I kept saying yes. I should have known.

The last day to plan came and guess what I was doing? Signing up for NaNoWriMo and prepping to write. OMG! Yes, I’m crazy, but I’m doing it.

You can find me here: http://nanowrimo.org/participants/sjmaylee

Evernight Publishing is holding their first annual Readers’ Choice awards. I’d love your support. There are 36 exciting categories. You may skip categories, however nominations are limited to one per category per person. 

Enter your name and email address at the end of the nomination form for a chance to win a $25 Evernight Gift Certificate!

 I believe you have until November 15th to nominate your favorite Evernight books and the semi-finalists will be announced and voting begins on November 17^th. Click the pic to find enter.

I’m taking part in The Romance Review’s Year End Splash. It’s a fabulous event with over 400 authors. There are more than 400 prizes up for grabs during the whole month of November and the Grand prize is a $100 Gift Certificate! You can find my game on Nov 8, from 12:00am EST to 11:59pm EST on the event page at their site. Hop on over then and enter for your chance to win a copy of my debut, TAKING CHANCES.

You’ll need to be registered on their site to enter, but it’s quick and free. Click the pic to start the party.

The Goals – week-4 results

• Spend at least 1-hour a day with my characters- done.
• Daily progress in writing craft, word count, editing, and/or plotting- half done. Again, the beginning of my week got swallowed by the evil day job and my volunteer responsibilities. I also attended a field trip for my youngest on Monday and worked his school party. By the time I got back on track, I made some decent progress on my WIP on Wednesday and Thursday I decided to NaNoWriMo. WHAT!! I had one day to prepare. Yes, I’m nuts. I pulled out one of three stories I’ve been wanting to write. I built out my structure in Scrivener, started my beat sheet, and named my characters and places. Friday came and went with only 966 words. Yesterday, I got back on track by adding 4,041 words. Yes, you read that right. 4k in one day. I’ve never done that.
• Take care of and be kind to myself- I had a couple of long chats with each of my two besties from High School and that did this girl a lot of good. We ranted and got out the uglies of our lives, then me moved on to happier things. They love to tell me how much they love my stories and how excited they are for my ROTG to release. They’re great cheerleaders. I hope you have cheerleaders in your lives. Give them a call this week. Tell them how much you appreciate them and let them put a smile on your face.

What you might have missed here this week:

Daily Picspiration – A Beautiful Day

Spotlight: Night of the Horse by Elodie Parkes

Flash Fiction #51 – The Exploration

The writing challenge that knows you have a life.

This week I’ve experienced the polar opposites in emotion. It was a struggle, but I found a takeaway.

Two years ago, I started this blog and started taking my publishing dream seriously. For me, that included trying to find consistency in my writing time, studying my craft, meeting like minded folks like all of you, and hitting send.

I’ve stumbled with each of these steps. It’s hard being out here with no one pushing you, but your own dreams. Thank goodness my muse doesn’t take no for an answer, lol. There is something that bothers me though. Why did I wait so long to take my dream seriously? If you have a dream that you’re not actively pursuing, I beg of you to wait no longer and take a firm step forward today.

Evernight Publishing published my debut in August. They took a chance on me and they’ve agreed to publish me again. Queue the silly happy dance. I’m thanking myself again and again for taking a leap two years ago, starting this blog. You can find more information on my Coming Soon page here.

Two years in and I have two contracts. I’m very curious where I’ll be two years from now.

The week wasn’t all sunshine however.

I lost my kitty to kidney failure this week. He was only 14. The loss keeps knocking me down too, like the first morning when I had no furry friend to feed or say goodbye to when I left the house, or that first night when no one curled into my lap. Yoda was a sweetie and he often sat between me and my keyboard. I called him my writing partner and I miss him terribly.

If you’ve been meaning to start something. If you have a friend you haven’t seen in a long time. If you have a dream you’ve been neglecting. Stop wasting time. Do something today. Don’t wait for the right day to arrive. Do something now. 

Since music has a magical power, similar to reading a book, that helps me through life events, I thought I’d share a group my hubs recently brought to my attention. They’re called Lucius and they’re a Brooklyn-based quintet. I hope they take you to a happy place.

The Goals – week-3 results

• Spend at least 1-hour a day with my characters- done.
• Daily progress in writing craft, word count, editing, and/or plotting- half done. Several days got swallowed up when I lost Yoda, but I’m working my way back. This week was also hard on progress because I’m attempting to weave things into the story I missed the first time around. I spent a lot of time rereading sections and checking and rechecking for story and flow.
• Take care of and be kind to myself- I might have made some unhealthy choices this week, but I allowed myself to feel. I’m trying to get back to a place that doesn’t sideswipe me so easily. Here’s to a fresh new week of good choices and moving forward.

What you might have missed here this week:

Don’t Miss The Writers Helping Writers AMAZING RACE!

Review: Everlasting by Tmonique Stephens

Inside Look with Erin Leaf author of Mr. Rockstar