Robin Jeffrey's Blog, page 6
March 17, 2024
Countdown to Alderwood Barnes & Noble Signing!
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Alderwood Barnes & Noble Signing!
Book signing alert!!
I will be at Barnes & Noble Alderwood on Saturday, March 23rd, starting at 12pm (that’s noon, folks!) signing and selling copies of my Cadence Turing Mystery series and the first book of my The Night series, “Hungry is the Night”. If you like classic murder mysteries with scifi twists or spicy urban fantasy, these books are for you — stop by and say hi!
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March 12, 2024
The Check-In
Welcome to THE CHECK-IN, where you can get a sneak peek into my writing progress every week! Read on to find out what I’m working on and how things are progressing in my world.
Here’s the breakdown:
2nd Chance Anth. – What’s that? Is that progress? It is! You know, I still don’t know if I’m going to be able to make enough forward movement on this piece to have it ready by my publisher’s deadline, but I’m trying not to worry about it too much yet. I’m getting there slow and steady. Oh, and did I mention it has a title now? Meet Save Yourself, everyone!Lonely is the Night – Lonely stalled a little bit this week, but I’m happy to say I had a massively successful two hour brainstorming session that I think is really going to open up my word count over the next week. It’s amazing, when you know what you’re going to write you can… you know… write it. Maddeningly simple, but also so hard to do sometimes.Trying to get back on the writing horse after the craziness of Emerald City ComicCon and Portland and all that. Life is full of interruptions, but you just have to sit down and make the time to do whatever work you can. Especially when it’s work you love!
LESSON OF THE WEEK: DON’T JUDGE – CELEBRATE!
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Behind the Scenes Sunday
Let’s take a peek at the cogs inside the machine and talk about why I write and how I write on Behind the Scenes Sunday! Today I’d like to talk about newsletters — my struggles with crafting compelling newsletter content, the importance of newsletters for authors, and how I’m trying to improve my newsletter going forward.
Newsletters are the cornerstone of many successful authors’ platforms. But building up a newsletter following can often feel tedious, impossible, and more than a little frustrating. Then, once you do have people signed up, what do you say to them? How often do you send out a newsletter? What kind of information should it include?
The key thing to remember about newsletters is that they are the best way to connect you with the people who want to support you. People sign up for your newsletter because they care. They want to know what you are doing and they want to know if they can be a part of it. With that in mind, try not to worry too much about modeling your newsletter off of any other authors’ newsletter in particular — focus on what you want to say to your audience. How do you want to show up, authentically be yourself, and connect with your readership? Once you figure that out, you’ll see positive responses to your newsletter work.
Personally, I don’t feel I’ve been doing a very good job at my newsletter. In an attempt to improve, I’ve been asking my newsletter subscribers to fill out a survey about my newsletter content: why they follow and what they would like to see more of/get out of a newsletter from me. I’ve already gotten some great ideas from the survey responses and am excited to roll out an improved newsletter soon.
As always, if you’re interested in supporting me and my work, thank you: Hungry is the Night, my paranormal romance, is available on all major platforms, as are my classic murder mysteries with scifi twists, The Cadence Turing Mystery series!
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Emerald City ComicCon – LAST DAY!
LAST DAY TO VISIT US AT EMERALD CITY COMICCON 2024!
Come to Writer’s Block today & find me at WB #21 where I will be signing and selling all of my books (plus a few other not to be missed goodies!). Readers Unite! Whether mystery, science fiction, romance, or the paranormal is your jam, I have something for you. Come find me!
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The Check-In
Welcome to THE CHECK-IN, where you can get a sneak peek into my writing progress every week! Read on to find out what I’m working on and how things are progressing in my world.
No break down this week because, in perfect honesty, things are exactly where they were last week. Why? Because I have been at a writing convention learning and loving it, as well as prepping for Emerald City ComicCon! Some weeks are going to be like that, you just aren’t going to have the bandwidth to sit down and get the words on the page because you are busy with the other parts of being a writer. That’s okay. I’m here to tell you, that’s okay. No one is going to come take your writer card away from you if you don’t write a thousand words a day. You are here, you are doing the work. Celebrate what you have done and keep moving forward!
LESSON OF THE WEEK: ALL PROGRESS IS VALID PROGRESS.
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Behind the Scenes Sunday
Let’s take a peek at the cogs inside the machine and talk about why I write and how I write on Behind the Scenes Sunday! Today I’d like to talk about my struggles with negative self-talk and some ways to combat the less-than-kind voices in your head.
I am the queen of negative self-talk. Often times, I will send myself into a spiral of depression and anxiety with negative self-talk that I’m not even fully conscious is happening. I will ignore all my good qualities, all my accomplishments, all the things I have in my life, all the people who love me, every positive thing in my life and focus relentlessly on all my failings, all the things I have yet to achieve, all the things I don’t have, all the people who have left me, and every negative thing in my life. And I am truly vicious in the language I use when I talk to myself.
Sometimes it feels like nothing is ever good enough for Negative Robin.
But for the past few months, I have been making a concerted effort to change all that. I am my own worst enemy when I should be my biggest supporter. I don’t want to fear my judgment more than anyone else’s. I want to be my biggest advocate and ally and I think I can make that happen. So can you! Here’s a few ideas to fight back against the negative voice in your own head:
Talk to yourself the way you’d talk to your best friend. Would you ever tell your friend that they suck and they’re never going to amount to anything? Then why would you tell yourself that? Cut it out! Become your own best friend.Imagine your favorite fictional character pumping you up. If being your own best friend feels impossible (you’re just not best friend material, you wrongly think), imagine your favorite fictional character being your best friend. Imagine what they would say to you if you told them you were feeling worthless, or like a failure. Let the characters who inspire you pump you up!Make a list of your accomplishments. Evidence, evidence, evidence. Your negative voice is making bad faith arguments about why you’re no good — so show up with some evidence for how much you rule!As always, if you’re interested in supporting me and my work, thank you: Hungry is the Night, my paranormal romance, is available on all major platforms, as are my classic murder mysteries with scifi twists, The Cadence Turing Mystery series!
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Countdown to Emerald City ComicCon 2024!
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ECCC 2024!
Only 1 more week until Emerald City ComicCon 2024!! Not only will I be there in Writer’s Block (Table #21!) but I will be a guest on the panel “Demystifying BookTok for Indie Authors and Publishers” with authors @mtzimny and @estephensauthor !! The panel will be in Summit Room 432, from 2pm to 3pm on Sunday, March 3rd (check out all the details here: https://buff.ly/48eMoqC). I am beyond pumped for the show this year and can’t wait to see you all there!
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The Check-In
Welcome to THE CHECK-IN, where you can get a sneak peek into my writing progress every week! Read on to find out what I’m working on and how things are progressing in my world.
Here’s the breakdown:
2nd Chance Anth. – I really need a title for this bad boy! It’s coming along, slowly but surely and I already feel a lot better about it than I did about Fickle Fae (at the end there, I mean). I think I did the right thing, starting from scratch, and now the only question is: can I finish it before the deadline? I will do my best! Lonely is the Night – About a third of the way to my ultimately word count goal for this bad boy! (Reminder: I tend to aim for 78k to 80k for my book length projects). I think I may be nearing a point with this draft where I have to do some more serious plot work/outlining/planning, which is never my favorite part of the drafting process, but I know I can conquer it. I’m excited for the way this book is shaping up and I can’t wait to share parts of it with you all!Didn’t get quite as much writing done as I was hoping to this week, but I by no means slouched, so overall I’m happy with this week’s check-in. I feel like I’m continuing to work my way out of the writing slump I found myself in early this year and get back to my normal level of work. Events are going to start popping up fairly regularly starting at the end of this month, so we’ll see how I work those into my writing schedule, but hopefully I still be able to get words on the page!
LESSON OF THE WEEK: STARTING FRESH IS NOT STARTING FROM ZERO!
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Behind the Scenes Sunday
Let’s take a peek at the cogs inside the machine and talk about why I write and how I write on Behind the Scenes Sunday! Today I’d like to talk about the importance of doing things that make you scared in your writing life (and in other areas of your life) and ways you can trick yourselves into being brave!
If you aren’t taking risks, you are never changing. You are never challenging yourself. You are never growing. But there’s no point in pretending that taking risks is anything other than terrifying.
It’s scary doing new things. It’s scary trying something when you don’t know whether or not it will be successful — whether or not you will be successful. And sometimes, the consequences of taking a risk that doesn’t work out are very real and very serious.
So how do you be brave and do it anyway? How can you trick yourself into heading once more into the breach, even when you’re shaking in your boots? Here’s a few ideas:
Tell yourself it’s okay to be scared. I think sometimes just accepting that you’re feeling fear and being okay with it, sitting with the so-called “negative emotion” and coming to terms with it, is the best thing you can do for yourself. Once you realize it’s okay to be scared, the state loses some of it’s power over you.Imagine your life after the thing you’re scared of has been completed. Scared of doing a speech in public? Of writing that book? Of asking that bookstore to feature you? Just imagine what your life will be like ONCE THAT THING HAPPENS. Think about how good you’ll feel. How relieved. The benefits you will be reaping! Draw support from your life cheerleaders. We all have cheerleaders in our lives — people who support us no matter what. If you’re feeling scared, don’t be afraid to reach out to these people and let them cheer you on to victory! They’ll also be there for you if things don’t go so great.As always, if you’re interested in supporting me and my work, thank you: Hungry is the Night, my paranormal romance, is available on all major platforms, as are my classic murder mysteries with scifi twists, The Cadence Turing Mystery series!
Order Your Copies Now!Join My Newsletter!
By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.
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The Check-In
Welcome to THE CHECK-IN, where you can get a sneak peek into my writing progress every week! Read on to find out what I’m working on and how things are progressing in my world.
Here’s the breakdown:
2nd Chance Anth. – Yes, Fickle Fae is officially shelved until further notice. It wasn’t gelling, folks. The story wasn’t working, and it was time to walk away. It wasn’t an easy decision to come to, and for a while I thought that shelving Fae meant I was also shelving my shot at being included in the 2nd Chance Romance Anthology for which I had been writing it. But I took a closer look at my schedule and the deadlines and emerged resolved: I am working on a new, from scratch 2nd Chance Anthology submission! I think, if I keep on schedule, I should be able to finish it, get it edited, and submit it on time! My goal for this piece is 30k. Title TBD – stay tuned!Lonely is the Night – I’ve made some real strong progress on this draft, so psyched to have passed the 20k mark! My outlining is coming in at the clutch and I think I have some good writing days ahead of me. Still not sure how exactly this book is going to wrap up, but it should be exciting to find out!I’m excited that I’ve worked my way out of my writing slump at long last. I think the key was finally admitting to myself that Fickle Fae wasn’t working, and that forcing myself to write on it was helping things. I think this new novella has some good potential and I can’t wait to see how it shapes up. Thanks for sticking with me, y’all!
LESSON OF THE WEEK: THE SUN WILL ALWAYS RISE.
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