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ROW80 Update 1/22/14

January 22, 2014 by Lauralynn Elliott

I’ve missed a couple of updates because there wasn’t much to report. I’ve been out of town, and if you want to see pictures, check out my previous post. Anyway….

I finished edits on Hearts of Evil. Here’s the publishing holdup. My two beta readers strongly disagree on a chapter I inserted close to the beginning after the book was written. One beta thinks I should take it out, the other thinks I should leave it. They both have VERY valid reasons for their opinion. And I just can’t decide. So I’m having a couple of other people take a look and see what they think. I know the ultimate decision is mine, but it’s hard when both beta readers could be right for different reasons. The good thing is, they both really liked the story. 🙂 Another thing that’s holding me up is I want to do a FB release party, but I have to get all the prizes together. Luckily, I have most of what I need since I can’t afford to buy anything else right now, but it’s the putting everything together that will take a little time. I want to thank Ruth Ann Nordin for giving me some good ideas about questions to ask for the release party.

Now on to my other project. I sat down and wrote the first chapter of Fire Wizard last night. I don’t know why I always have this fear when I start a book. I’ve done this a dozen or more times, but I’m always scared to death when I start. Well, I didn’t used to be, but I’ve felt that way for the last two or three projects. I need to get over this silliness!

I hope to get in about 5,000 words per week now that I’ve actually started on the book. I hope you all are doing this with less fear than I am!

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Fun Things I Did in Texas

January 18, 2014 by Lauralynn Elliott

Warning! Don’t click on the double underlined links. They are ads, and I can’t stop them since WordPress allows this.

I could do two or three posts on my Texas trip. I might share some more in detail later. but I thought I would start with this post and just show it in pictures. So here goes!

I saw the Alamo…

Alamo

Alamo


Alamo at Night

Alamo at Night

I walked on the River Walk…

River Walk

River Walk


More River Walk

More River Walk

I ate at Boudro’s and had guacamole made right at my table…

This might not be Boudro's but it's in this area.

This might not be Boudro’s but it’s in this area.

I took a ghost tour…

Sisters Grimm Ghost Tour

Sisters Grimm Ghost Tour

I took a boat tour…

Boat Tour

Boat Tour

I ate Texas Barbeque and listened to a good band (I don’t usually like country, but)…

Trey Wilson

Trey Wilson

I took a helicopter ride (this was awesome)…

Helicopter I Thought I Would Fall Out Of

Helicopter I Thought I Would Fall Out Of

I ate authentic Mexican food and watched a children’s dance group…

Balet Foklorico

Balet Foklorico

I had so many more pictures, but I had to stop somewhere.

Oh, and if you’re so inclined, Just Judy’s Jumbles has an interview with me on her blog. You can fill out the form on the right and be entered to win a paperback from me. I’m giving away five!

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Cover Reveal – Hearts of Evil

January 8, 2014 by Lauralynn Elliott

I’ve been so busy, I don’t know when I’m going to get all the edits done for Hearts of Evil. Especially since one of my betas suggested a whole new scene, which does make sense when I read it. The book would be okay without it, but I want it to be more than okay. My two main beta readers are both so great. Sometimes they disagree on something, and then I have to decide which way to go. But their input is so valuable to me! I don’t usually mention their names in case they don’t want people to know they beta read for me, but if they tell me it’s okay, I will start mentioning them. Because they deserve a lot of credit!

Also, I’m trying to figure out what all to do at my book release party on FB (whenever that happens). If any of you have any unique suggestions on questions, games, prizes, etc., let me know. I’ve already some input, but I need more. 🙂

Anyway, I’m just rambling on and not getting to the point. What was the point? Oh, yeah. Cover reveal. So without further ado (or with ado, who knows?), here is the cover for my upcoming release, Hearts of Evil. Thank you, Anya Kelleye.

Hearts of Evil (eBook)

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ROW80 Round 1 2014 Goals

January 6, 2014 by Lauralynn Elliott

I often list other goals besides writing goals on these ROW80 posts. This round, I’m going to focus on my writing goals. I might share some of my other successes from time to time, including weight loss, but my STATED goals are going to be writing related. I’ve been too lax on writing, which caused me not to publish anything but a short story for an anthology in 2013. If it’s in my power, I will publish this year. So….

1) Work on edits for Hearts of Evil based on beta readers’ suggestions. I have two beta readers who are VERY good editors AND proofreaders. I’ve heard you should never mix those and that you should have different people for these three jobs. However, this is working for me. Two of my beta readers are authors. One is an editor in her day job. The other is a well-known “seasoned” author. They kick my butt (in a kind way), so it works. My other two beta readers are, well, readers. One has the unedited version. The other will get the edited version. This last one catches typos that others sometimes don’t. Which is odd since she’s 79 years old and doesn’t see well. LOL

2) Work on plotting Fire Wizard starting today. I have a lot of questions already answered based on Susan Bischoff’s Story Toolkit. She’s a little more detailed than I want to be, but I use what works for me. I now just need to write out what will happen in every chapter.

3) Write 5,000 words per week. I’m not going to specify which days I’ll write like I did last time, I just need to make that 5,000 word goal.

4) Publish Fire Wizard by June 30, 2014. I downloaded a simple publishing worksheet set up by Ruth Ann Nordin. I’ve already filled it in with my projected timeline for this book, including word count goals and first draft. The 5,000 word per week goal won’t necessarily be all about First Wizard, although some weeks it might be. I have another project that I abandoned a while back that I might take back up. More on that later.

I hope your eyes haven’t glazed over yet. I tend to skim when people write blog posts that are really long (unless it’s really exciting!), and I try not to go overboard, but these are my goals, and I needed to talk about them. Now I’m going to pop over to some of the rest of my ROW80er’s blogs and see what they are doing this round. You know, in between doing what I’m supposed to be doing here at work. 🙂

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The End of 2013

December 31, 2013 by Lauralynn Elliott

Several of my friends have written a blog post recapping 2013. I almost didn’t, but I think I’m going to.

This year has been a pretty bad year for me. Hubby and I have both had health problems, his much worse than mine. The health problems contributed to financial problems, which would have been much worse if not for the generosity of others. I don’t think I can blame that for my lack of writing, though. I can’t really find a good excuse for not publishing anything (except a short story for an anthology) in all of 2013. I haven’t published since December 2012. That’s the longest I’ve ever gone without having a new novel or novella out there. I think I just wasn’t motivated enough. Book sales have been down, and that’s discouraging. But I’m SURE not going to sell anything if I DON’T get it out there. If I could have gotten my last book out this month, I could have said I published a book in 2013, but alas….

Anyway, I didn’t meet too many goals this year. I lost 25 lbs, so that was good, but I wanted to lose more. I’ve kept up with my exercise, so that’s a positive. My eating habits have slipped, so I need to fix that. My writing goals were NOT met. This is going to change in 2014, but that’s a post for tomorrow.

Now I want to count my blessings in 2013.

1) Hubby is still alive.
2) I’m still alive.
3) I have two wonderful, healthy sons, and I love them and their families SO much.
4) My mom is still around, and she’s the best mom in the world
5) I have awesome friends, both in real life and online.
6) I met even MORE awesome friends online this year.
7) I got to read a lot of books.
8) My church family is awesome, and I love them.
9) I have a job that I like, and I love my co-workers.
10)I may not have everything I want, but right now I have everything I need,

I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year’s Eve, and I’ll talk to you guys next year. I’m getting ready to go to a party/singing at church in a little while. Love you all!

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Hubby Update

December 30, 2013 by Lauralynn Elliott

I’ve been promising updates. I checked my previous posts and realized I had already told you guys more than I thought. I was actually sleep deprived when I wrote my last update, so that’s why I probably don’t remember much about it. LOL

Anyway, to recap. Hubby hurt his foot at work. Then he had a heart cath done, they found a blockage, and put in a stent. His heart function (the part where it pumps out the blood) is bad, so he’s on a bunch of different medications and is wearing a “Life Vest” which is an external defibrillator. He’s a pretty sick guy, and he’s stir crazy right now.

That brings me to the part I didn’t want to mention. Mostly, because I didn’t want people to worry about us or feel sorry for us. Of course, I DO want prayers and thoughts! Anyway, hubby will be out of work at LEAST a month. Maybe longer. The doctor would have let him go back to work with restrictions, but the company he works for won’t let him because he couldn’t do the job he has with those restrictions. Plus, he probably couldn’t work with his hurt foot anyway (I’m getting a sense of deja vu on that one). I just keep hoping one of my books will someday break out enough that it will give us an income cushion when stuff like this happens.

Here’s what I’m doing to try to make up for lost income. My salary alone won’t even pay our BILLS, but hubby is eligible for short term disability, and that’s about 60% of his pay. It just takes a couple of weeks for it to get started. We can make this work.

1. I’m not eating out except for a couple of times a week, and that’s only really cheap places. (sometimes that’s cheaper than buying groceries). Also, if I bring my lunch to work, I don’t have to use the gas to go somewhere to eat.

2. We’re cutting our church contribution in half. This is the hardest thing for me on the list. But the Bible says: “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by in store, as God has prospered him….” 1 Cor. 16:2. We are prospering about half of what we were, so I think we are doing the right thing.

3. I’m planning on calling Directv and cancelling our premium channels.

4. This one is hard. I’m not buying any books until this is over. I have LOTS already on my Kindle…enough to feed my addiction.

5. I’m going to stop taking the expensive natural vitamins I’ve been taking and start taking cheaper ones.

6. I’m canceling my gym membership. I have weights at home. I’ve just got to use them.

7. I’m going to pay only the minimum on my credit card bills for right now.

8. This one is bad, but we might have no choice…I’m going to use a credit card when I HAVE to.

That’s all I can think of right this minute. If any of you have suggestions on how to save money, I’m all ears. Even if you have suggestions that are just jokes rather than real suggestions, I could also use a laugh. LOL

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End of ROW80 Round 4

December 25, 2013 by Lauralynn Elliott

I FINALLY finished the first read through of Hearts of Evil. Yes, I have a title! I added a scene between the prologue and the current first chapter. If the beta readers think the scene adds to the story, it will become the first chapter. I found a few errors, but not as many as I thought. I sent the story to two of my beta readers today. I had already sent a non-edited copy to another one. I have one more to send it to. My two major beta readers are very thorough and always have a lot of suggestions for edits. I hope they will be gentle. LOL. I have a few concerns about this story, and I hope the betas can help me address those concerns. I have no cover art yet, but Anya is working on that.

There is a lot going on with my husband right now, and I’ve purposely withheld a lot of it for a couple of reasons. 1) It’s the holidays, and I just didn’t want to bring anyone down with all of this. I also tried to forget a lot of it, and I managed to enjoy Christmas with family and friends. 2) I don’t want anyone to think I’m whining or trying to get sympathy. When I’m ready to share, I’ll do it because I feel close to all of you and WANT to share. But after the holidays. We are going to enjoy these holidays all the way through the New Year.

Next year, I’m going to set deadlines for myself. I let myself get very lax with my writing this year, and because of that, it took me a whole year to get my latest book done. I’m used to publishing more than that, so this didn’t feel good to me. I’m going to be stricter with myself in 2014, but I’m going to make sure I allow for possible setbacks that might be beyond my control.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas (if you celebrate it) and let’s all have a fun New Year’s Eve.

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Genres, Pen Names, and Going in New Directions…or Not

December 19, 2013 by Lauralynn Elliott

Sometimes I feel like if I hear the word “genre” one more time, my head will explode. I know it’s a legitimate word about a legitimate thing, but it’s so frustrating sometimes to try to figure out where my book fits. I’ve worked on my latest book for many months. During that time, I’ve tried my best to figure out what genre to put it in. Because, you know, you HAVE to. It has to go somewhere. So, is it… Horror? Paranormal? Paranormal romance? Thriller? Murder mystery? Supernatural thriller? Ack! I really hope my beta readers will be able to help me with this, because this is the first time I’ve never had a clue.

So now we segue into pen names and new directions…which also involves genre. I can’t get away from this word! Anyway, almost two years ago, I started what I was going to call a Christian Romance. And I was going to write this book under my real name instead of my pen name. I wanted something I could actually let my church friends read. I abandoned that idea after only writing about 15% of it because I was afraid it would take time away from my Lauralynn Elliott books. Today, I was thinking about a couple of things. First, I wonder if I should abandon the idea of writing Christian Romance and write “Sweet Romance”. I think there might be a bigger readership if that’s how I market it. I could get the Christian romance readers because they know there won’t be graphic sex in it, but also maybe get readers that don’t necessarily want to read books with the word Christian in them. I would have to rework a little bit in this book so it won’t sound so “judgy” in places. The second issue is the fact that it could push back publication of my other books. I’ve never been able to write two books at the same time. But I know others that do it, so it CAN be done. If I set aside certain times or certain days for each of the books, maybe I could pull it off. And it might be helpful if I’m stuck on one to be able to work on the other.

So what do you all think? How do you feel about genres? Have you ever had problems figuring out where your books fit? Do you write in different genres? Do you use more than one pen name?

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Update on Hubby

December 17, 2013 by Lauralynn Elliott

So my husband limped (see previous post) into the hospital to have his heart cath done. It turns out he DID have a blockage and they had to put in a stent. Not only that, his heart function isn’t very good (it doesn’t pump well enough), and it looks like it might be due to a couple of heart attacks he’s had in the last 5-6 years…that we didn’t know about until recently. So they sent him home with a “Life Vest” which is basically an external defibrillator. The vest itself is bad enough, but it’s attached to a monitor which is kind of heavy, and he has to wear that part clipped to his belt or on a belt wrapped around his waist. Needless to say, hubby is NOT a happy camper. They will determine in a few months whether or not he will have to have a defibrillator implanted. The doc said his heart function could improve with all the medications he will be taking.

I’m not too happy right now, either, because I don’t function well without sleep. Sunday night I didn’t sleep much or well because I had to get up at 4:00 am to get us to the hospital on time. And I didn’t sleep well last night because there’s nothing comfortable about a chair that converts to a bed. There are SEAMS in it and they aren’t comfy. I kept waking up. So between the two nights, I might have gotten 5-6 hours of sleep. Maybe.

I know there are people who are worse off than we are. I KNOW this, but sometimes knowing doesn’t help ME feel better. But I’m trying to be thankful for all the good things in my life. And you all are part of that! 🙂

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ROW80 Check In 12/15/13 and an Injury

December 15, 2013 by Lauralynn Elliott

I’ve edited about half of my book. I wanted a Christmas release, but that’s not going to happen. So…sometime in January.

Now the bad news…I was so looking forward to a great Christmas. I’ve been so happy about the holidays, looking forward to time with family and friends. But hubby came home from work with an injured foot. It’s probably broken. It’s not the same one he broke earlier in the year. It was a scary thing for him. His foot got caught in machinery and it dragged him. There are reasons he’s not going to the doctor right now, but I’m not going to go into that. This is just all too much for me right now, and I’ve sat here and cried. He’s supposed to go in the morning to the hospital to have a heart cath done (a test where they check for blocked arteries, and they are also checking the valves), so now he’s going to go in there limping or on crutches. I keep thinking there are so many people in this world that are much worse off than we are. But it’s so hard to think that way when things are happening. We need prayers and/or good vibes sent our way.

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