Anna Travis's Blog, page 3

What's It Really Like to Have an Aussie?

Ever read about a really amazing fictional dog and started to want one?  Here's what our life with an Aussie is really like:Meet the Dog Behind the BooksIn The Coral Killer, Ruby West's fictional dog is a full-sized, tri-color Australian Shepherd named Angel.  Our real-life dog is a Mini Aussie named Gracie (technically minis are also called American Shepherds).  Gracie is a blue merle (which means she looks like someone splashed white and black paint on a blue-gray dog).

Before you get to the...

How to Get a Snake Out of Your Car

Seriously.  'Cause it really can happen.Really?If you read The Coral Killer, you were probably thinking I totally made up that whole thing about a snake getting trapped in the family's minivan.

I wish I was.

I won't tell the whole story here.  It's in The Coral Killer, and if you live in Florida, or somewhere rather snake-infested, it might kinda freak you out (one of my beta readers called me to say that, sorry, she totally freaked at the flash back and had to stop reading there)!

Other than th...

Busy Mama, Take Time for Prayer

Sometimes I feel like a ping-pong ball.  I have To-Do lists, but they get longer, and longer, and longer, crowded out by taking care of what's "urgent."

You know the urgent: Where are the band-aids? How do you spell ukulele? What's twelve times five? I spilled syrup on the floor! Has anybody seen the dog lately? 

When am I supposed to pray, much less teach my children to?With all the urgent, sometimes I feel like a ping-pong ball. Sure, there are more peaceful seasons, but if your life is feeli...

Gifts for Word-Smiths

Okay.  People can be hard to shop for.  Especially people who build entire worlds in their head for their personal entertainment.  I mean, what's a gift-giver to do?  My advice: ask another writer.

And since that's me, here's some quirky ideas for the word-smiths in your life...I totally want this shirt.
[image error] "Careful or you'll end up in my novel." [image error] Because I have wondered if I should clear my cache after doing research... [image error] [image error] It. Is. Water-proof. [image error] For those of us with fantasy roots: [image error] Scrivener.  It really is...

The Milana Legends, Part Three, Oceans Deep

Yes!  Book Three is finally here!
And, yes!  I'm working on book four!  You can check the Fantasy page and scroll down to see where I'm at with it ;)

Who Knew?

Summer Writing Goal: Write Faster.  
Discovery: Easier to do when babies sleep well.  Shocking, right?

Seriously though, why am I writing another series?  And why so different? 

Because it's fun!  And because let's face it, I'm kinda easily distracted.  Being able to jump back and forth from a massive project like Milana to a fun, fast-paced mystery is gooood for my brain.  And my writing.

Teen Author: How Much Can You Chew?

Man, oh, man.  This is the writing advice I wish had gotten when I first started out...Food for Thought...Today's teen author advice is short and sweet. 

Don't bite off more than you can chew.

You probably have this great, epic, Harry Potter length story brewing in your head, right?  

Well, run away.  Run hard.  Run far.  Sure, scratch notes for it, keep a notebook or file or pinterest board, or whatever floats your boat.  But for the love of literature, put that awesome idea aside.  

When you ar...

Pockets & Shepherding & Teaching Kids to Pray

Sometimes I feel like a ping-pong ball.  I have To-Do lists, but they get longer, and longer, and longer, crowded out by taking care of what's "urgent."

You know the urgent: Where are the band-aids? How do you spell ukulele? What's twelve times five? I spilled syrup on the floor! Has anybody seen the dog lately? 

I've found that if I keep my To-Do list very, very focused, then I get more done.  If I'm being honest, my Prayer list often gives me that same ping-pong feeling. So I decided to see if...

Living Life

Just a quick post to say that I'm putting the blog on the backlinks for a while!  

All the old posts are still here, but I am going to step back so that I can enjoy pouring into my family and my books.  Truth be told, I have teenagers and infants running around here, and life is fleeting: I don't want to miss what's right in front of me!

The free time I have is going into my books (I know you Milana fans would rather that anyway)!  My goal is to learn to edit faster, and be happy w...

Book Three Available for Pre-Order!

[image error] Oceans Deep is ready for launch!  I'm getting great feedback from my beta team, and am so excited to send book three off right!  Pre-order your copy here.