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Testing to see if I can blog from my phone.  This could be fun...

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?

Nano update: Day 10

Well, here we are at day 10 of Nanowrimo.  Technically I should be at 16,670 words if I were on schedule.

However, that was not meant to be.  Due to a variety of factors I have clocked in at day 10 with a mere 10,132 words.

Is that low?  Yeah, for the pace I hoped to set, that's a few thousand short (I was hoping to be closer to 20k by now).  Am I disappointed?  Yeah, a little.  Am I discouraged?  Not really.  I have 20 days left on this thing and could still hit 50k if I push myself some.  So it's still doable.

And here's the thing.  As things stand now, my word count for November is better than my word counts were for September and October.  I have an excellent chance for this to be my best total word count month for the year, even if I miss the 50k mark (my best month so far this year was June with 18,462 words).

Do I still want to hit 50k?  Indeed.  I'm estimating the book I'm working on to clock in at around 60k so that would put it close to finished.  And 50k would help me hit my goal for 180,000 new fiction words this year (this doesn't count the column I write every week, which is non-fiction).

So I'm a third of the way through, not exactly where I want to be, but not ready to lay down and quit yet.  So if you're working on Nano and still have a ways to go, don't give up!  Just keep writing.  And I'll update you again in a few days on my progress.

Write on!

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!