T.D. Shields's Blog, page 2

Are You Genre-Phobic?

Are you a genre-phobe? Do you love to read fantasy but avoid romance like the plague?  Sci-fi flips your switch but horror makes you flip out?  I’m right there with you. Through the years I’ve had many genre phobias, but I notice that mine tend to shift over time. When I was a teenager, I couldn’t get enough of romance novels. I loved to read about people older than me living exciting lives where I could picture myself as part of the adventure. Now that I am the older person, I love to read

Indie Authors vs. Amateur Authors

A few months back I read yet another article by someone who doesn't enjoy reading indie authors. (By the way, many prefer the term 'indie' to 'self-published,' just in case you're not familiar with the reference.) That's because in some people's perceptions, self-published authors are just those who were too lazy or not good enough to be picked up by one of the big publishers.  In a lot of cases, that's far from the truth. Sometimes, indie authors have been published by publishers in the past

What I'm Reading Today: The Obsession, by Nora Roberts

I’m a big fan of indie fiction, but that doesn’t mean I won’t jump on a new book from a bestselling author. Nora Roberts (who also writes as J.D. Robb) is an author I always pick up as soon as a new book is released. I like a good romantic suspense novel, and Nora Roberts always does a great job of weaving together heartwarming love and thrilling tension. As with most of Nora Roberts’ books (and ALL of her J.D. Robb books), I’d happily sit down and read this one straight through if it weren’t

Return to Liberty Pack

Even though I've started work on a new series, I still love Poppy and my other friends from Liberty Pack. (Because I totally think of them as my friends, rather than fictional characters.) I sometimes think about what they're up to now that Poppy has set things to rights in Goodland and returned to her new family in Denver. I hope you've wondered about them, too. So from time to time I'll share snippets of life in Liberty Pack here on the blog. Poppy I prodded the rubble with a long stick,

Please Don't Make Me Read a "Real" Book

Don't misunderstand me, I love books. I mean, I REALLY love books.  I read at least a few books a week, and on a really good week, I might read a dozen or more. I love to fall into a new story and lose myself in the author's world. Some books are so magical that you can barely pause for sleep or work... some books are less transporting, but still a fun break from everyday life.  So I love books... but I don't love "real" books. I've heard many people say (or post on Facebook, which is totally

Powerful Nap Hack

When you struggle with sleep as much as I do, you have to develop some strategies to deal with the tiredness that goes along with nights of restless or nonexistent sleep. One of my favorite things in life is the nap. Naps are awesome. I can sleep so much better during the day… I just drop right off and sleep for hours. Unfortunately, that’s rarely something that fits into a daytime schedule – there are kids, work, errands, and all those other pesky disturbances that interfere.   So I can’t take

Sleep Deprived

I just tried to wash away the smeared make-up racoon eyes that I saw in the mirror ... only to realize that those dark circles weren't make-up, just my face. I envy people like my husband who fall asleep easily and stay that way. I used to be one of those people. I'm not even sure when it changed, but now I am definitely not one of those easy-sleepers.   Unless it's during the day when I should be getting other things accomplished, of course. For some reason I seem to have no trouble falling

Glutton for Punishment

Into Light is finally out there in the world... what a relief! And because I am apparently a huge glutton for punishment, I took all of one day as vacation from writing before diving into a new book.   We have some strange occurences at our house sometimes. The tv turns itself off or on or randomly changes channels. The kids' toys make noises when no one is there to play with them. Recently  I watched a Christmas ornament fly off my tree and land on the floor several feet away - no explanation

Hooray! It's Done!

Into Light is done and available on Amazon right this minute!   It has been a long road... crashing computers, crazy family stuff, and a host of other issues that led to delays in finishing this book, but I'm so happy that it's done at last.   Along the way, Into Shadow has picked up some recognition. It was a finalist in the BookBzz PrizeWriter competition, it was one of the Top 100 Indie Books of 2015, and it is currently a finalist in the 2015 Whitney Awards (fingers are crossed waiting for

I See the Light!

  You know, the one at the end of the tunnel? And I'm PRETTY sure it's not an oncoming train.   Seriously, Into Light is SOOOO close to finished. I've finished it. I've edited it. I've edited it again. I've sent it out to beta readers who gave some hugely useful feedback resulting in another round of edits. I'm waiting on feedback from a couple more beta readers so I can edit again. And don't forget that last and hugely important round of edits to catch all (I dearly hope) the little typos that