Hail to the Grapes?

6:00 AM Elizabeth Seckman 47 Comments


My last goal for the year was to master marketing. Well, I've decided I hate marketing. It's a beast. And not a cute little beast with perky ears and soft, soulful puss-in-boots eyes. No, it's a snarling, blood-sucking, life draining monster with hideous breath.  
Truth is- nothing squashes the creative juices faster than the weight of selling a book. 

To counter balance the drain, I'm considering wine as a juice replenishing alternative. Just so you don't think I'm intending to become some sort of sloppy drunk drooling over my keyboard- I promise I'll stick to wines over $10 a bottle, and I'll always use a glass. And I'll pace myself- no more than a glass per chapter. It will be the carrot to my jack ass muse. 

Hey, it worked for Hemingway. For a while. 

Thanks to our hosts in this weekly check in: LexaL.G, and Tonja Drecker
1. I'm caught up on my laundry!!
2. I visited a few blogs this week. Getting my reading mojo back.
3. Melissa Maygrove's new book is on sale!! It was a great read. I read it in two days, which for me is like record speed.

On Sale for .99!



47 comments:

Well, I Am Good

6:00 AM Elizabeth Seckman 47 Comments

Moving them in!
Me, Cole (in the back), and Caleb
It's back to school time. For me- that means taking two of my babies back to college. When back to school includes carrying furniture and scrubbing down apartments, it makes me miss the days of snack boxes and back packs even more!

But- even though it's work; it's still time spent with my guys.

I have entertaining kids. They're funny. And a bit quirky. If you notice, Caleb and I are blocking Cole in the picture. He was wearing a white shirt that got sweaty, and he didn't want any "nipplage" showing in the picture.

When we were done, we hit Taco Bell for some food. While ordering at the drive-through window, the lady asked me how I was doing.

I said, "I'm good- and you?"

"I am well," she answered, with more than a little emphasis on well.

My guys got a kick out of that. Writer mom got English schooled by the Taco Bell gal.

But I wasn't ruffled. I have the perfect defense:

When I say, I'm good- I mean, I'm good. Well only takes into consideration my physical well-being. Saying I'm good encompasses my entire cosmic essence and spiritual being.

And you know, some days I'm only well. Other days I'm good. And on very special days- I'm *gooder than good.

*I only did that to make grammar Nazis click their heels. But, I know how it grates on the nerves, so I'll be nice.

How's this? I hope you're feeling better than good and all is well in your world!

It's Friday, and I am long overdue in my celebration of my small things!
Thanks to our hosts in this weekly check in: LexaL.G, and Katie!

1. It's still summer weather- even if the kids are back in school.

2. It's one week until the first game of our high school football season. My baby is a senior, so this counts as a bittersweet one.

3. The boys are coming home this weekend. With two gone and the other two in school practice- it's been awfully quiet this week.

47 comments:

Join the Circus!

6:00 AM Elizabeth Seckman 36 Comments

When I was a little girl, I hated school to the point of hanging onto door jams and car doors to stop people from making me go. I couldn't read, and I was so shy, talking to strangers honestly made me want to vomit. In kindergarten (my second year of it- I failed the first year and had to do a repeat), my teacher suggested I bring a comfort item from home. I brought my stuffed pink cat. She stayed with my coat, but I knew she was there, and it helped. But when I brought her to the first grade, she was spotted in my tote bag and quickly became grist for the bully grinder.

I was back to hating loathing school.

I became a pro at faking ill. I can only imagine how much it cost my poor parents in medical expenses. Belly aches. Head aches. Fevers induced by the thermometer being held against the heater...I had them all.

There was only one thing that reconciled school and me. I needed to go there to learn to read. And visit the library where there were racks and racks of books with gorgeous covers. School became a means to an end- the proverbial necessary evil.

By the fourth grade, I was one of the best readers in my class. One success begets another, and pretty soon I was getting sent to the corner for talking too much. My mother never minded. She'd smile when I brought notes home that said "Elizabeth talks too much in class". I suppose that beat, "Elizabeth hid in the coat room. Took teachers hours to find her."

I beat the fears.  All because beautiful covers enticed me.

Just like this one from the talented, and seriously wonderful, Stephanie Faris! She has a new book coming that young Elizabeth would have gone gaga over!!

Piper Morgan Joins the Circus

Stephanie Faris



Cover illustration by Lucy Fleming.

Blurb:

When Piper Morgan has to move to a new town, she is sad to leave behind her friends, but excited for a new adventure. She is determined to have fun, be brave and find new friends.
And after learning her mom’s new job will be with the Big Top Circus, Piper can’t wait to learn all about life under the big top, see all the cool animals, and meet the Little Explorers, the other kids who travel with the show. She’s even more excited to learn that she gets to be a part of the Little Explorers and help them end each show with a routine to get the audience on their feet and dancing along!

But during Piper’s grand debut, her high kicks and pointed toes don't go quite as planned. After causing a dance disaster, she has to prove to everyone--especially queen of the Little Explorers, Lexie--that she belongs in the spotlight.

Stephanie Faris:




Bio:

Stephanie Faris knew she wanted to be an author from a very young age. In fact, her mother often told her to stop reading so much and go outside and play with the other kids. After graduating from Middle Tennessee State University with a Bachelor of Science in broadcast journalism, she somehow found herself working in information technology. But she never stopped writing.


Stephanie is the Simon & Schuster author of 30 Days of No Gossip and 25 Roses, as well as the upcoming Piper Morgan series. When she isn’t crafting fiction, she writes for a variety of online websites on the topics of business, technology, and her favorite subject of all—fashion. She lives in Nashville with her husband, a sales executive.

Links:

Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

It's Friday, and I am long overdue in my celebration of my small things!
Thanks to our hosts in this weekly check in: LexaL.G, and Katie!

 I messed up my pretty blog and Carrie Butler came to my rescue and is fixing it. That's my good thing to the third power.

No matter how whiny, moody, and tinkeringly destructive I am...I have the best peeps.

36 comments:

Celebrating!!

9:53 AM Elizabeth Seckman 14 Comments

It's Friday, and I am long overdue in my celebration of my small things!
Thanks to our hosts in this weekly check in: LexaL.G, and Katie!

Did you notice my blog has a new look? Carrie Butler did it!! I love Carrie. She's talented. She's sweet. She can make sense of my screwed up, confused ramblings....

I also have new Facebook and Twitter headers to match- also thanks to Carrie. I feel so professional.

And yesterday was my birthday. I got so many happy birthdays and half-naked men in my inbox (please don't read that statement too quickly!!!), I felt like royalty. My husband's aunt even made me a crown. And my guys stepped up- there were no skulls (did I ever tell you about the time my son found an animal skull in the woods and wrapped it up for Mother's Day? good times) or car tires (did I tell you about the time I got four new snow tires for Christmas from Mr. Seckman? more good times)...

Nope. Not this year. This year I got an etymology dictionary, and bottle of wine, and a promise to help me redecorate the living room. Oh, be still my beating heart!!

And!! Did you know Beth Fred, Tara Tyler, and myself have started ourselves a chick blog? Yep, we're the Really Real Housewives. I know, there are so many blogs run by uber-crafty gals with tips on cooking and crafting that we couldn't duplicate in a lifetime. 

That's NOT us. This blog is for women like us- the sort who zoned out of home-ec because we were daydreaming about books...or the hot guy who sat in front of us. Come on over and visit!

The Really Real Housewives



14 comments:

I'm Whistling, Dixie!

3:01 AM Elizabeth Seckman 34 Comments


Thanks to Alex Cavanaugh and this month's co-hosts. Nancy Gideon, Bob R Milne, Doreen McGettigan, Chrys Fey, Bish Denham, and Pat Garcia for giving us a place to share the fear and find the support writers need to stay in the writing game. 
Join the IWSG Here! Check out the website Here!
                            ******

Many years ago, my mother came home from a beach trip. She brought me a book. A category romance from Silhouette. 

The gift from my mom
Well now, I wasn't one to read that stuff. I liked to think of myself as a bit of an advanced reader. A lover of the finer volumes. The classic tales- Dickens, Bronte, Steinbeck...even the verbose Hemingway- those were my books. 

My mother said, "Look ya book brat, just read the damned thing. I stood in line to get this for you."

Long story short? 

I loved it. 

Wonderful characters that were as quirky and real as any breathing human. Settings that made feel like I was on a stage created by a master of set design. And a touch of humor that made me grin as I happily turned one page after the other. 

I had a new favorite writer. 

Another long story shortened...I emailed the writer and found a lady as wonderful as her words. And this year, while vacationing on the Outer Banks, I finally (after years of online stalking!) got to meet her. 

Dixie Browning and me
(No, I didn't vomit and most of my sentences were coherent- I hope.) 
Now, I'll introduce you to her. 

Meet Dixie Browning. Dixie has written over 100 books under the name Dixie Browning, Zoe Dozier, and under the collaborative pen-name, Bronwyn Williams, with her sister, Mary Williams. 

Dixie doesn't understand the meaning of the word quit. She's an artist (for real- she can draw and paint as well as she writes) who knows- if you need to make a piece work and you think a bit of ketchup or mustard will do the trick- then off to the kitchen you go

She runs on instinct, not insecurity. 

And seriously, couldn't we all use a dose of that?

So, I asked Dixie to stop by today and share some wisdom with us. 

Here's the advice she had to share:


-- This worked for me.  It might work for you.  Visualize a linear plot--she's headed in a certain direction, what sidelines her?  Lost tickets?  Flat tire?  some emergency?  Where does the sideline take her?  Who's there? How does it complicate her mission?   You can block out a series of events, each one steering her, physically or emotionally, in a different direction.  

-- But first you have to lead the reader into your book.  My method was to give the reader something they could identify with.  Your heroine is waiting in a long line and gets the hiccups.  She just got fired or had her purse snatched or runs into an old flame with his new bride...whatever you choose, do NOT throw a complete cast of characters at your reader in the first few pages and expect her to keep up with them.  

-- If you have a favorite author, try analyzing their story line, chapter by chapter.  Get a feel for pacing, then transfer it to your own story..  

Good luck...I'll be watching the bestseller lists for your names.  
 
Dixie, exhibiting her art
Check out Dixie's books: 

Got a question for Dixie? She's always happy to help! 

34 comments:

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