M.J. Fredrick's Blog, page 17

Goals the Last Full Week of March

 

Did you know we have 11 weeks of school left, and because of testing and holidays and other interruptions, only 3 will be regular weeks, when I see all my classes?

This is not one of those weeks. We have Girl Scouts during PE on Wednesday which means I will have All The Boys All Day Long. I will need a jalapeno margarita when I get home, oh, yes, I will.

This is also going to be a crazy writing week for me. I was supposed to have finished Waltz Back to Texas yesterday but spent the day on revisions of The Novella from Hell, which is now the Not-So-Bad-After-All Novella, thanks to a suggestion from Trish (WHY DIDN’T SHE READ IT EARLIER? SPARE ME THE ANGUISH? Ahem.) But I worked on it ALL DAY yesterday, stopping only for a nap and dinner.

So today, I have to read Trish’s novella and get back to Waltz. I’m going to be revising the beginning as I write the end, so that should be interesting.

 

Finish oilfield book
Read Trish’s SS story
Start novella
Start revisions on oilfield book
Work on Booklovers Buffet website
Figure out Rafflecopter
Update computer so I can publish directly to iTunes
Cook/clean/exercise (I MEAN IT! I’m gaining my weight back and am not happy!)

Kindle Countdown Deal for What (Not) to Expect

What (Not) to Expect When You’re Expecting is a Kindle Countdown Deal, on sale for 99 cents until Tuesday! I really hope to give this story a boost–I sure loved writing it. Available at Amazon only.

Bailey Summers is very good at taking care of herself. So good, in fact, that she shuts others out with very little effort.

But when her brother and his partner want a child, she pushes out of her comfort zone and offers to be their surrogate. It’s just nine months out of her life, right?

Right.

Because of course when she’s struggling with morning sickness, she encounters the hottest man she’s ever met. To make matters worse, he’s the new bartender at her popular bar.

Rick Cassidy comes with his own complications. He’s a middle school teacher taking a summer job as a bartender to help out his brother’s family. His brother is in a rehab hospital after colliding with a drunk driver, and Rick is trying to help them make ends meet. He’s just out of a relationship himself, with a woman who couldn’t handle him spending so much time caring for his brother. So what’s he doing eyeballing his boss, the boss of a job he needs?

But late nights, close quarters and second-trimester hormones overrule better judgement, and complications intertwine. This is definitely not what they were expecting.

Goals for the Week of Wicked

 

I am going to see Wicked this week with my mom, Baby Brother and his significant other. Crazy excited. I’ve never been to a Broadway show, but I’ve wanted to see this one. I’m not a particular fan of The Wizard of Oz, but this story intrigues me.

The plan was, go to Wicked Tuesday, take off Wednesday, but we have testing training on Wednesday, so wahhh! Also, I have breakfast duty AND I’m supposed to get observed. Fun week back after vacation :-/

Plus, I have a LOT of writing stuff to do!

Enjoy my first Broadway show
Training for the STAAR test
Finish oilfield book
Newsletter
Get observed
Breakfast duty
Countdown Deal for What Not to Expect
Clean/cook/exercise

My Waltz Back to Texas Playlist

I love love love making playlists. I thought I’d share my newest with you! the first song, “Boomtown” by Jackson Parten, isn’t on YouTube. Sad! Neither is the song “Hennessee” that was on the show Nashville the other night. But here’s the rest. Clearly a Texas influence!

Goals for the Week of SPRING BREAK!!!

Wow, DST is throwing me. It’s just now getting light outside, which is when my first class will start, which means, since I HAVE NO WINDOWS, I won’t even see the sun until I go downstairs for lunch duty at noon. That STINKS.

I have a busy spring break ahead, mostly because Starfish Shores set me so far behind that I have to write a LOT on Waltz Back to Texas to get it done on time. On the plus side, I almost have a cover, which is very inspirational!

So, this week:

Day with Mom
Work hard on oilfield book–10 pages a day, at least
See about going direct at Apple–right now I go through Smashwords and there just isn’t enough control
Work in the yard
Clean/cook/exercise–ESPECIALLY exercise!

Excerpt from Bluestone Homecoming

He hadn’t run outside since he lived in Excelsior. Back then, he’d run with an iPod blaring music so he’d keep a rhythm, blocking out everything else. Now he wanted to hear what was around him. Not sure if that was because of his time in a war zone or because he needed to appreciate his surroundings. He listened to the slow putter of a boat heading out for a day of fishing, the occasional splash of a fish. He jogged past Prater Landing, the launch company Lily’s family owned. He saw a couple of guys bundled up checking out the boats lashed to the dock, and he waved as he ran by.

Then he spotted a figure ahead of him on the path, someone sensible enough to wear sweats over her curvy bottom, her blonde ponytail swinging rhythmically as she jogged.

Trinity Madison. What were the odds? He hesitated, not sure if he should approach, what his welcome would be—the friendly flirt at the town hall meeting or the stern teacher. He pulled alongside her and she jumped a foot to the side. Too late, he saw she was listening to an iPod and hadn’t heard him. He reached out a hand to steady her on the uneven path.

“Sorry about that.” He gestured to the earbuds. “What are you listening to?”

“Maddox Bradley, since they were talking about him at the town hall meeting.”

“Do you remember him? Are you—did you grow up in Bluestone? He was a summer kid.” He didn’t remember her, but she was younger than him. So was Maddox, for that matter. He remembered the guy as a little prick, but the girls had had a different view.

“I vaguely remember him. He was a couple of years older. We moved here about fifteen years ago when my father was assigned to Bluestone Methodist, then I went away to school for a couple of years, and came back here to teach.”

“So you were, what, a freshman?”

“Eighth grade.”

He gestured to the bakery, with its neon “OPEN” sign. “Want some coffee?”

She glanced at the face of her iPod. “I guess I have a few minutes, if we get it to go.”

He guided her across the street with his hand at the small of her back. It had been so long since he’d touched a woman in such a way. Lily didn’t count—she was like the sister he never had, no matter what Quinn thought. And that zing of awareness didn’t buzz through his body when she was around.

They walked to the counter and ordered two coffees to go. While they waited, he turned to her. “So you’re pretty young for a counselor.”

She shrugged and placed her palms on the counter. “I went on and got my masters, since I was already in the swing of going to school. I put in a few years in the classroom before I decided I wanted focus on counseling.”

A smile canted his lips. “Come on, we’re in Bluestone. Do you really see that many problem kids?”

She leveled a look at him. “I also deal with testing and achievement data, as well as kids dealing with divorce, with the loss of family income, with the loss of a mother.”

Ow. He shifted back toward the counter, as if that would make him any less vulnerable to her words. “Does he talk to you? About her?”

She shook her head. “Does he talk to you?”

He frowned, wishing he hadn’t brought it up. It had been a surprisingly pleasant morning, and while the pain of losing Liv was no longer sharp, the pain of what his son was dealing with was.

Goals the Week Before Spring Break

 

This is a crazy week. It’s more likely the teachers are more excited for Spring Break than the kids. I just need to stay sane–and hope if I get observed, which I might, it all goes well.

Also, my younger brother is having a surgical procedure on Wednesday. He broke his back 6 years ago and he’s still having a lot of problems, so they’re going to do an out-patient procedure to help the nerves move better. Can you imagine that will be an outpatient surgery? Anyway, good thoughts and prayers would be appreciated.

My to-do list:

Make plans for Spring Break.
Work on Oilfield book
Finish last Rita book
Doctor’s appt
Survive the week with the kids! And possibly get observed.
Clean/cook/exercise

Release Day!! Guarded Hearts, New and Improved

Okay, really, I only improved the ending, though I went through the whole thing and made some cosmetic changes before rereleasing it. So if you were one of the 50 or so people who bought it through Lyrical, well, no point in getting it again. But if you missed that chance, well, here it is!

Texas Congresswoman McKenna Jones’s life is in danger when her father’s old enemy surfaces. She’s the target of revenge and narrowly escapes a kidnapping attempt. She’s advised to go into hiding until the threat has passed, but her fight to get an important bill passed forces her to stay right where she is. Her father assigns Ethan Riggins to protect her–a sacrifice of her privacy, but it’s no real hardship since he’s sinfully sexy and easy to work with.

For Ethan Riggins, it’s a struggle to keep his distance from the congresswoman. McKenna is his assignment, and his friend’s daughter. She also happens to be smart, driven and beautiful. Being around her makes him want to loosen the reins on his emotions, which he’s kept in check for far too long.

When the threat escalates, Ethan and McKenna have to take charge of the investigation so they can discover if a happily-ever-after is in store for them.

Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Kobo.

Goals the Week I’m Rereleasing Guarded Hearts

 

Okay, I’m almost done with my Rita reading, I finished revisions on Starfish Shores this morning and sent it to Trish and Tanya, and am ready to dive into my new series. I made a playlist on YouTube, and am working on a collage. I feel very accomplished.

But I am SO READY for Spring Break. Every week gets harder and longer! This week is mostly regular, except for Boy Scouts on Tuesday, so I’ll have all the girls. We’ll be talking about music in the 1960s this week.

Work on oilfield book
Read for Rita
Launch Guarded Hearts again
Look for cover images for SS
Book formatter for SS
Clean/cook/exercise

Writing a New Series

So I’m writing the first book of a new series, Texas-set, and plotting the other books. I think it will be at least four books. I’ve been listening to a lot of Red Dirt music (kinda newish country), and last week we went to see Hayes Carll, a singer-songwriter who I adore. He writes the best songs, very inspirational for characters, like this one:

I’ve also been listening to Slacker Radio in the car, and I tap the heart when I hear a song I like. I don’t take the time to read the artist, because, well, I’m driving. Turns out I like the Eli Young Band and Kenny Chesney. And there are a LOT of country singers named Josh. But I really like country music because it’s rich with character ideas.

So is it any surprise that I want to write another country singer in this new series?

Which leads to a big problem when I’m writing another small-town series–not having repeating characters. In Bluestone, I have a reporter and a counselor, a waitress and a country singer, a bar owner who is a former soldier and a woman who runs pretty much everything.

In Boomtown, I have a waitress and a former soldier (oops), a bar owner (oops again) and a country singer (maybe), a mayor and a beauty salon owner, a banker and a contractor, and a rancher and…not sure yet. I think I need to make the overall trope so different that the stories aren’t the same.

But then–in Bluestone I had the one who wants to stay and the one who wants to leave, the reunion romance, and the friends-to-lovers thing.

In Boomtown, I have the one who wants to stay and the one who wants to leave, the good boy/bad girl, the opposite sides of the tracks and….not sure yet.

Then there’s the other series I want to write, which has a maid who sings at the local place on the weekends, another maid who falls for a returning soldier…

I think because I write a lot of blue-collar romance, I tend to hit the same types again and again. Plus, jobs like waitresses are easy to write, not a lot of research, and it can put the characters together easily. Same with a bartender. I think I can make the stories different enough, because who wants to read the same story? Heck, who wants to write the same story?