There are exactly two things that will balance all of this. Are you ready for it?

No, I mean really, are you ready? This is magic I’m talking about, so you’d better prepare yourself.

The first secret to balance is the power of “No.” When things get too hard, or you’re looking at your schedule wondering how you will be able to fit everything in, just remember that you do not have to do EVERYTHING. But saying no is hard. I get that. Remember that if you find yourself in the land of maybe, you’ll only string yourself along, carrying the emotional weight of a commitment you can’t really make. Give yourself the gift of No. If you’re holding on to a maybe, give yourself a concrete set of rules for saying yes or no. This allows you to reduce the emotional weight the maybes have, and free you up to get on with everything.

The second, less well known secret is to be present. When you are doing something, do it with your whole heart. If it’s family time with the kids, it’s not marketing on the side time. When you set aside time for each of your activities, put all your attention into that activity. This, more than anything else, will bring balance to your life. And, believe it or not, this is the hardest thing for any of us to do. You have a second and you want to check your phone, see what’s going on in the world, but when you do that, you’re checking out of where you currently are. If you can give yourself the gift of being present, it will make the time you do spend on your various tasks a higher quality time. This makes a difference. The higher quality time, the more you will feel like you actually accomplished something.

Of course, it’s easy to put these words up on a blog when we all know that life is messier than that. Give these a chance and you’ll start to feel like you have more time, even when you don’t.

Agree? Disagree? I’d love to hear how you are balancing your crazy life in the comments (and just to be clear, I haven’t achieved it yet, but this is the best approach I’ve found so far).

Allyson fights acne, not trolls. As an inhaler-carrying member of the asthma society, she just wants to meet the father who turned her mother into a paranoid, move-across-the-nation freak. Now she’s trying to fit in at yet another school, but for the first time in her life, she has a best friend, Beth. When Allyson accidentally spits fire at kidnappers in the mall, she realizes why her father isn’t in the picture: she’s half dragon. Her acne? Emerging scales. Her asthma? The side effects of her dragon's fire breath. Instead of freaking out, unflappable Beth reveals her own troll heritage and explains how things work with the supernatural creatures hiding within the modern world of smartphones and skyscrapers.

When trolls kidnap a unicorn, Beth gets blamed. Allyson is determined to prove Beth’s innocence and keep her friend off the unicorn chopping block. When they start looking for the kidnappers, they get a call from the last person they expect: Allyson’s father. He tries to warn them off, but he's been put under a spell by the kidnappers to keep the victims from escaping. Nothing short of death can stop him. Now Allyson must choose between killing the father she’s always dreamed of, or letting her best friend die for a crime she didn’t commit.

 Amazon | Goodreads | IndieBound 

Like most mad scientists, Rena Rocford's early works were met with scorn and mockery, but she bided her time. After all, what did her fellow kindergarteners know about literature? Rena kept her writing on the mythical back burner as she pursued more logical goals. Today, crayons. Tomorrow, the world.

She spent years living as a normal, conducting experiments in shady laboratories, but always the stories returned. Admittedly, living as a muggle brought Rena some levels of success: a master's degree, a house and a family, but now the time is ripe for world domination, one book at a time. From her secret base in the wine country, Rena has enlisted the help of her cats, her loyal dogs, and her family―who can be relied upon to hide the launch codes at a moment's notice. You can find Rena at her blog, follow her on Twitter, or find her on Facebook.

Two question interview! Welcome C. Lee Mckenzie!!

What's a mistake writers make and how do they fix it?

What shivers my timbers are grammar errors writers make. This one really makes me search for my red pen. “Between you and I.” Arrrg! Please writers, at least get the last vestige of the case system right.

 Here’s one that’s not as bad as nails on a blackboard (blackboard’s very outdated, but descriptive): “That story is different than my last one.” No! Repeat after me. “It’s different from. . . .” Of course, I’ve probably made that mistake. It’s sneakier than some.

Here’s another eel of an error. Very slippery and so frequent. It’s about that language only a few speak anymore, and then in very special situations. Latin. i.e. (id est) means “that is” or “in other words.” It shouldn’t be used when you want “for example.” That’s e.g. Okay that’s enough. I don’t like myself much when I go on my prescriptive rants. 

                       (But I love how you rant!! They’re so educational.)

What should I cook for dinner and do you have a recipe for that?

If I’m not in the middle of writing a book—my New York Times bestseller— or a book launch—my soon-to-be starred Kirkus Review book— I love to make Spanikopita. Otherwise, like tonight, it’s pizza from the deli.

Spanikopita is easy and it waits patiently, so you can make it anytime. It’s good hot and at room temp. Take a whole bunch of green stuff: spinach, kale, chard. Chop that up. Let it dry on a towel. Chop up some green onions and let them dry, too. Take some fillo and line a 9X13” baking dish with about three layers and slather on olive oil. Toss all those green chopped things with some olive oil, lemon juice, a T. of rice, 1 or 2 beaten eggs, a dash of cinnamon, salt, pepper and tons of feta. Dump that mix onto the top of your fillo. Cover it with three or four more layers of fillo, slather more olive oil on top and stick it into the oven at 350 for about an hour.  Put on your ancient Zorba The Greek movie (Netflix will provide this entertainment) and kick back. 

Thanks Lee. Sounds healthy and delicious!