Carly Phillips's Blog: Carly's Web Blogs, page 103

Am I Back from Vacation?

Yep. Rejuvenated? So-so. I don't know. I feel like life is spinning so fast it's hard to keep up. Leslie's in NY with no Internet so we're switching days (in case you're confused). I'm in one of those moods – no specific topic comes to mind so I'll spit things out there to talk about!

I'm starting the second book in my Serendipity series and it's tough. Not quite sure where I want to take these two characters, so it's not flowing smoothly yet. Cross your fingers for me that it will!

Buddy's having an endoscopy today … cross your fingers for him as well. I hope they find something treatable so we can help him feel better. Dog or woman, it sucks getting old.

I hear there's a big Apple announcement today and you know I'll be all over that – as soon as I figure out what it is, LOL.

Trying new medication for migraines (Lyrica) and hoping this fuzziness in my head goes away otherwise I'll be off these meds soon. But I was having constant headaches and I was so hopeful this was the answer (I've recently tried chiropractor, acupuncture, and this new mouth guard for TMJ with no success).

Knitting's been fun but I have no more time for fun! Must work, work, work!

Read Lori Wilde's The Sweetheart's Knitting Club while I was away. Very cute story!!! Wish I had more time for reading too …

And that's that! We can talk about anything I've mentioned or you can tell me what's going on with you!

Winners and Sunday Funny

The winner of the $25 Amazon Gift Card is

# 22 Patsy L Roberts

Congratulations! Please email me at: carly phillips @ mac . com (no spaces) with your info. so I can send your gift card!

And the winner of Saturday's ONE THING with Roxanne St Claire giveaway is:

#2 Erin !

Congratulations! Please email Julie: at julie leto at gmail dot com (no spaces) with the word "winner" in the subject line) and she'll take care of getting you your prizes!

Congrats to all!

******

And for the Sunday Funny (sorry I'm short on funnies! this is a so-so one!)

Wilber and Bubba are quietly sitting in a boat fishing, chewing

and drinking beer. Suddenly Bubba says, "I think I'm gonna

divorce my wife. She ain't said nary a word to me in over two

months."

Wilber spits, takes a sip of his beer and says, "Ya better think it over……

Women like that are very hard to find!"

Carly's Friday Jungle Madness

So … I don't vary. And I hope you don't mind! As usual, today's giveaway – a chance to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card!

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You know the drill! Comment for a chance to win!

On Vacation!

I'm unapologetically on vacation!

My stress levels have been off the charts – sick parent; sick elderly dog, oldest daughter I adore leaving for college in January; too many funerals (I don't care if they've lived wonderfully old lives, I hate cemeteries!); and book deadlines. NOT complaining, just saying I earned this quick getaway with my husband! So the floor's yours! Discuss what you want; party in the jungle, have fun without me – just don't trash the place! We're all GREEN in the jungle. We care about the environment!

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Don't forget to check back tomorrow for the Friday giveaway!

Something New

I know we're always talking about things we need to do – lose weight, excerise, etc. Always in search of new ways, ideas. I've tried gyms, I've tried Pilates, Yoga, etc. It's rare for me to stick with anything. More often than not, doing nothing is what I stick with. Well, last week I started Weight Watchers. After one week, I lost one pound. This week they discussed exercise. So I pushed myself this morning, did a series of exercises that are for body strengthening, then I downloaded "From Couch to 5K" onto my iPhone and did Day 1. In a nutshell, it tells me when to walk, when to run, when to walk … and changes it up, increasing each week. I did 2 miles on the treadmill yesterday and burned 275 calories. Huge for me. Now the hard part. Keeping it up. Because I didn't get any writing done yesterday. I'm a morning person. I'd rather write in the morning. Exercise in the morning. I can't do both, shower and get errands done. So this is a huge challenge for me, one I've yet to figure out.

Suggestions welcome!

Sunday Funny and Winners

Sorry! Picked winners last night, forgot to update and slept in this morning! Here you go and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

The winner of the Friday Contest, a $50 Amazon G.C. is:

# 150 Shirley

Congratulations! Email carly phillips @ mac . com (no spaces) and confirm your name/email to receive your prize!

And the winner of the Saturday ONE THING Contest is:

# 18 Virginia C

Congratulations! Email: julie leto at gmail dot com with your addresses to receive your prize!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

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November Books

So Janelle asked on Monday what everyone is reading. What I want to know is how do you find out what you want to read? In other words, November 1 is around the corner. How do you discover what authors have books out that you want to buy? I get RT in the mail, but honestly it comes so early, I often forget what I read in there that's coming out in the future. Of course I get all the emails from sites and authors I've signed up for newsletters, so that's a help. And is it me, or is the Amazon and BN and even Borders sections a bit confusing as to one easy place to find a list of what's out now or next week?

For November, what I do know is that Nalini Singh has Play of Passion out and Roxanne St Claire has Edge of Sight but who else has a November release and where do you find your information each month? Talk to me!

Carly's Jungle Madness Friday!

Oops!

It's been one of those days…prize for one lucky commenter is a $20 giftcard from Amazon.

More later!

Social Networking

At the conference I mentioned last week there was alot of talk about social networking as the new and most valuable means of promotion. For those of us on Twitter, Facebook and who visit blogs, this isn't news. But it did get me wondering: what sites are most important to you as READERS? For example a few years ago, I'd wake up and check a long list of blogs. These days I'm more likely to check Facebook and Twitter. But I realize I'm probably missing a whole load of places that could tell me about books, authors, etc.

So tell me about your web browsing these days. What sites do you like and hit daily and why?

FYI I had a longer post written on my iPhone. IT DISAPPEARED. I'm so frustrated! But this is what I remember wanting to talk about in a shorter version. And as I said, I think it's a nice jump from Leslie's blog this week!

Fun in the Sun

And business too!

Well business MOSTLY. If you're a multi-published author, I beg you to check out Novelist's Inc (NINC), "the only writer's organization devoted exclusively to the needs of multi-published novelists." AND also taken directly from their website – "Ninc is all about the business of the business. Whether a two-book author or a 102 book author, if you're serious about your career, this is the place to be. Ninc, the lifeline for career authors."

Why am I telling you this when many of you who visit us at Plotmonkeys are readers? Because some of you are authors. And all of you are people who are passionate about something in life and so this Blog will pertain to you too. This past week, I traveled to St. Pete for the NINC Conference. As a bonus, I spent five whole days hanging out with Julie who made it her mission to taste every frou frou drink on the menu by the pool bar – but that's another story! At this conference, I discovered so much about the BUSINESS of writing my head is still spinning 5 days later. I sat in sessions and took pages and pages of notes like I was back in college. I met new people, hung out with old friends, and most importantly recharged both personally and professionally.

So how does this blog apply to the nonwriters among us?

1. If you love something, it pays to keep fresh, keep up, and keep learning.

2. If you are stressed, it also pays to take a time out – I wish we could all go to the sunny beach whenever we need a break, but since that's not always possible, remember you can always close your eyes and wish yourself there!

And now here are some photos from the week.

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Notice they're the most important things – scenery and friendship!