A book signing!

 I will be joining other local writers in the area for the Spring Book Binge, hosted by Emeralddragun Studios on Saturday, March 29th, at the Avon Park Community and Cultural Center (310 West Main Street, Avon Park, Florida).  There will be books available for purchase and we'd be more than happy to sign your book for you.  Please come and support local artists!

Want to Hear What I Sound Like?

 I'm going to be on the radio show "D&D Live" Friday, October 14th, at 9:05 am Eastern.  I'll be talking about my latest collection and whatever else they ask me about.  If you live in Highlands County, Florida you can tune in at 730 AM or 95.3 FM.  Not local?  You can tune in the livestream at https://www.newstalk730am.com/

How are you doing?

The world has gone sideways since I last posted.  I hope you are doing well and surviving under these circumstances.

I'm in the process of updating the website (yes, it's about time).  The Bibliography is nearly complete, but the ebooks section needs stuff added to it.  Please be patient with me as I work on this. 

If you're looking for something to read, check out the Bibliography - there's a lot there, I'm happy to say.  And stay tuned as I get to updating the ebook section.

And if you want a free short story, don't forget to sign up for my occasional newsletter!

Take care.

New book out!

I've been remiss in updating my bibliography here on the site, but I wanted readers to know that I have a new book out.  SEEK AND YE SHALL FIND is now available as a paperback from Amazon or an ebook from your favorite ebook vendor.

"Two years ago, Gary Benson's world as he knew it ended.

His daughter Sarah died in a car accident while she was

arguing with Gary about religion. The tragedy left Gary filled

with guilt and estranged not only from God, but also his

Chinese wife and their remaining daughter, Sarah's twin sister Melanie.

When Melanie, arrested and accused of being a Chinese

National Christian while visiting family in China, disappears,

Gary must marshal all of his contacts as an ex-Special Forces

member and senior CIA analyst to try to save her.

He blamed God for one daughter’s death. Can he find a

way to forgive God—and himself—to save the other in time?"

I hope you check it out!

Where is "Laura's Look?"

Back in May I announced that "Laura's Look 1998-2000," my first collection of columns, would be out by the end of the month.  Observant folk might notice we are now in July and there is no sign of the book.  The curious among you might even ask, "What gives?"

The short answer: Life happened.

The longer answer (feel free to skip):
At the end of April my mother-in-law, who lives with us, went to the hospital with three different infections - pneumonia, a urinary tract infection, and sepsis.  She was a week in the hospital, and then three weeks in a nursing home undergoing rehab.

Except for a brief hospital stay, since then she's been home.  And she isn't as strong as she was before, and needs more care.  This has fallen to me.

At some point in May I tossed my writing goals on the trash heap.  I just couldn't juggle everything.  I have had to scale back my goals and expectations for now while I figure out this new aspect of my life.

So, when is "Laura's Look 1998-2000" coming out?

Good question. My hope is the end of this month.  But it depends on life right now, which is not entirely in my control.

Thanks for being patient with me.  My hopes is you will find the book worth the wait.

Coming later this month...

Finally....

Coming later this year...

Tuesday Thoughts: The Conclusion of Nano and a New Book Out!

Yes, this should be Monday Musings, but by the time I finished writing I was exhausted.  And it completely slipped my mind.  So please forgive me for being late.

I finished up this year's Nanowrimo at 25,074 words.  While it's only half of the 50k I was aiming for, it is my best month this year and better than I did last in last year's Nano.  So I'm calling this a win on my side.

On the plus side as well I am working on a novel that has fired my interest, even if I'm at the stage where it all seems like garbage (every novel hits this stage when you write, you just push through it) and I hope to finish this one by early next year.

Speaking of novels, I have a new one out.  TWO WEEKS IN GUYANA is available as an ebook in all the usual spots and should be available as a print book shortly.  I hope you enjoy it!

Monday Musings: Nano, Day 23

Here's the thing: I'm not going to make 50k.

As I said last week, I'm not as upset about it as I could be.  This could well be my most productive month this year.  And I'm still interested in this project, even if my timeline is a mess (long story).

But making 50k would've been nice.

But while doing this, I've also managed to get a book to the proofing stage, which means it's almost ready to be launched.  Hopefully that's something I can report on next week.

While I plan to get a bunch of writing done this week, it's also about family.  I will be hosting Thanksgiving dinner.  We will have 8 people and 6 (yes, 6) dogs at our house.  Pray for us! <g>

And I hope all of you have a happy and safe Thanksgiving.

Monday Musings: Nano day 16

By this time I should've passed the halfway mark on Nanowrimo.  That's 25,000 words for those keeping count.

If you look at the small applet above this post, you'll see I just passed 15k.  Which means I'm over 10,000 words behind.

Part of me is a little frustrated.  I really wanted to hit the 50k mark this year, and the odds of my doing that are steadily shrinking.  It is still doable at this stage if I can push myself - but at this point I'd have to average 2,304 words a day to make it.  That's a lot of words per day, especially with the fact this novel seems to be slowing down my writing pace for some reason.

But part of me is not unhappy so far.

The last time I went over 10k in a monthly wordcount was July.  And I'm looking to break 20k if not more by the time November is over.  Given my poor showing the past few months, that's a victory.

And I'm really getting into this story.  It has been a while since I actually finished a novel, though I have a couple I've worked on over this year.  This novel could well be finished by the end of the year - a good thing.

So I will keep pushing on.  I may not hit 50k, but to  me whatever I end up with this month will be a success.  Let's see how far I go.  :)

On the radio!

I will be on "The Barry Foster Show" tomorrow morning (Friday) at 9:05 AM EST to talk about my new book REDEMPTION. You can listen live to the show here: http://streamnetradio.com/barry.php And if you want to call in, the number's (863) 385-9985. Wish me luck!!

Fiction River subscription drive

Fiction River, an anthology magazine with awesome short stories of many different genres, is having a subscription drive via Kickstarter.

Why am I telling you this?

One of my short stories will be published in a special Kobo edition of the upcoming issue Past Crimes.  It's called "Choices" and the editor of the issue has some nice things to say about it.

Also, if you contribute to the subscription drive there are a lot of nice rewards - including either an e-copy or a SIGNED copy of my novel DEAD HYPOCRITES.  It's a great opportunity to get a lot of great reading.

So here's the video...

After you've watched this head over to the website and check out the offerings: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/403649867/fiction-river-subscription-drive

Hope you see something you like!!

Long overdue updates...

Well, it's been a while since I updated this blog, and I really have no excuse.  One of my goals this year is to get into a regular blogging schedule so that I am keeping this active on a regular basis.

On the writing front, I have some news: my latest novel REDEMPTION is available as an ebook at all the usual sources (Smashwords, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Kobo).  The paperback version has been delayed due to production issues but I hope it will see the light of day this month.

Also, my short story "Choices" will appear in a special Kobo edition of Fiction River: Past Crime this October.  Check www.fictionriver.com for more information.

My column in the News Sun (Highlands County) is still going strong.  You can read it online at www.newssun.com.  A book with a collection of my earliest columns is supposed to come out later this year.

I am currently working on a couple of projects - a fantasy novel I'm co-authoring and a murder mystery set on a cruise ship.  I am hoping to see a YA Christian novel published this year.

I have plans for the blog.  I'd like to start posting a short story on Sundays for you to read for free for a week.  Then I'd delete it and post another one the subsequent week.  I also plan to spend a lot more time talking about things that I find interesting and letting you know what's going on in my life.

Right now my husband is in Nicaragua on a medical mission trip until Saturday.  If you are the praying kind, pray for his safety and productivity.  I'd appreciate it.

Anyway, sorry for the rambling - just letting you know I haven't dropped off the face of the earth.  I'm still here, still writing, and hopefully some of you are still reading.

Until next time,

Laura

Nano summary...

Well, my Nano project, "Murder On the High Seas," clocked in at 30,023 words by midnight on the 30th (or 30,102 words if you take the website's count).  Either way, I missed 50k by a bit.

While I would've liked to have hit the 50,000 word mark last month, I am not as disappointed as I expected to be.  30,000 words are still a lot.  It's my best one-month word count since 2011.  And I'm probably halfway through this particular novel, which is not a bad thing.

My current goals?  One is to write 20,000 new words of fiction this month.  That will give me 180,000 words for the year, which is my goal for 3013.  This doesn't count the column, or exercises I'm doing for a short online workshop I'm taking.  These are either for a novel or a short story.

Another goal I have is to get my latest novel, "Redemption," published.  I have some copyedits I need to finish going through and then it can be put out.  I hope to have it up before Christmas - I will announce it here when it comes out, and JJ Press will also be making an announcement about it.

Remember - it's better to try and fail then not to try at all.  What are your goals for December?

It's November...

...so it must be National Novel Writing Month, that time of year when I mainline caffeine and lose what's left of my mind.

The goal of National Novel Writing Month (otherwise known as Nanowrimo, or Nano) is to write 50,000 words in the month of November.  That breaks down to about 1,667 words a day, or around six and a half pages.

Is it crazy?  For sure.  Hard?  You know it.  Am I going to do it?  Of course!  Even if I don't hit the goal of 50,000 I will have a lot of new words written and be well on the way to writing a new novel.

The novel I'm writing?  "Death On the High Seas."  It's about a murder that takes place on a stranded cruise ship and the woman who tries to solve the case.

I'll try to update you with my progress.  Meanwhile, if you've ever wanted to write a book, this is a great time to start it!  Let me know if you're participating!

Happy National Book Lover's Day!

Today is National Book Lover's Day!  It's a great opportunity to visit your local library, or pluck a book from your shelves to read, or charge up your ebook reader.  It's also a great day to buy books - check out my ebooks and bibliography if you're interested in adding to your library!

It would also be a good day to start writing that book you've been planning to pen.  Fire up that word processor and have at it!

I plan to work on my own work-in-progress (wip) today and read some good stuff.  Hope you enjoy the day!

What a week and a day!

Got back this week from attending an amazing Mystery Workshop.  Learned a lot about mysteries and how to write them, as well as the differences between the various flavors of mysteries, from cozy to noir.

It was an intense time of attending sessions, working on assignments, and writing.  I wrote over 9,000 words last week, quite often under the gun of a looming deadline.  (I can type very fast when I'm motivated, and I was very motivated).

The course was taught by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, an amazing writer and editor in her own right.  Her husband Dean Wesley Smith also stopped by to offer his take on things in the writing business.

All in all it was a great if exhausting week.  I got to meet or see again some very talented writers who wrote great stories that I look forward to seeing published in the future.  We had a lot of fun bonding over breakfast and during breaks.

So now I've (hopefully) caught up on my sleep and can get back to work.  I'm currently working on some writing and also hope to have some things ready to be published before the end of July.  I will keep you posted!

Help for Ben Wolverton

Author David Farland's son, Ben Wolverton, was in a bad accident and received serious injuries.  Fellow wordsmiths have joined together to raise funds to help defray medical expenses.

Please click the link below and help if you can:

http://www.helpwolverton.com/p/books-for-book-bomb.html

Thanks.

Okay, maybe I'm just not a blogger...

...you would think that I was, being a writer and everything.  But it's been months since I posted anything and I noticed I hadn't added some books to my bibliography and ebooks page.  Almost everything is now updated and (hopefully) all the links work properly.

Anyway, is there anything in particular you'd like to see me blather about here?  I will try to do better on keeping everyone up to speed.  Any writing news I will try to report as soon as possible.  Any other news I will also try to post.

In the meantime, explore the site, let me know what you'd like to see!