S.L. Danielson's Blog, page 32

15 Simple Reminders You Might Need If You’re Not Getting Enough Writing Done

I fit into a LOT of these categories unfortunately….I haven’t written anything (beyond a paltry journal entry or two) in about four days. I have books to edit and am trying to balance between finding a day job, volunteering, and family life.

 

via 15 Simple Reminders You Might Need If You’re Not Getting Enough Writing Done

Rainbow Snippets November 3rd

[image error]Rainbow snippets FB page

How is it November already??? I know, that whole earth round the sun bit and time passing…blah blah blah. LOL  This year has flown by! 

In that spirit, the release of this book has been delayed until November 9th, so I’ll post one last snippet (for now since I have another release coming Dec 1st I wish to share).

What is Rainbow Snippets? It’s a group of LGBT+ authors who post six sentences (or more) from a current WIP, published work or even something they’ve read that they want to rave about. Click on the link below the rainbow to be transported to a place of wonder where you will find tasters of everything from sweet romance, to hot and steamy, to fantasy and sci-fi.

This is the 3rd book in the Upstaged series to be release by Extasy Books.  To see the other 2; here are the links:

http://www.extasybooks.com/978-1-4874-1804-5-opening-act/

http://www.extasybooks.com/cheryl-headford/s-l-danielson/978-1-4874-2024-6-waiting-in-the-wings/

To set the stage; this (and last week’s post are of Vince on the morning of his wedding to his beloved Billy.  His roomie (and ex-bf, also his friend and best man) Asher is there to talk him through the coming celebration.

He smiled at his friend and best man and hugged him. “Good morning, Asher. Today’s the day!”

“Yeah, it is. No need to ask if you’re excited. Sit down and let me get you some breakfast. And no arguments”—he quickly added as Vince opened his mouth to complain—“I’m not having you throw up in the car because you’re too excited to eat. Toast and coffee aren’t going to kill you.”

Vince laughed and rubbed his neck. “Yes, Asher.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Halloween!

Ghosts, goblins, ghouls, witches, warlocks, and scary things of all sorts are in fashion today.  What memories does this day hold for you?

For me, it was always about the costumes, dressing up as something I’m not and loved it. Being a kid in the 70’s it wasn’t easy though. Do you remember your childhood costumes? I do. You had a plastic mask over your face (that you could barely breathe out of) and a plastic costume tied at  your neck, covering you up.

Next of course, was the trick-or-treating. Going door-to-door wasn’t a real option where I grew up (no neighbors nearby) but we did it up at my grammar school. (Like the trunk-or-treats of today). We’d have a parade of the costumes on the playground, treats in the classroom, and a haunted house in the rec room.

Once we moved to this area, we actually had neighbors that we could go around and trick-or-treat at. Of course right off, you knew the best houses; and there were two kinds. The first was where they were all decorated up with the husband hiding on the roof, waiting to scare us to death. (I screamed soooo loud)!

The second (or a tie for me) was the one with the full-sized Snickers bars. They were served on a silver platter no less! The house wasn’t very decorated (older folks) but man, they knew how to treat the little ones! (ok and not so little).

How about you? How old were you when you stopped trick-or-treating? Do you go with your kids (or grandkids) now?

I stopped at…cough….19. But that’s a long story.  I have no children (and no grandchildren) so my fun is just seeing the costumes and hoping my workplace allows it.

Enjoy today/tonight and stay safe out there!

 

 

 

How to overcome your fear

Mine is definitely the fear of failure, and reading it aloud

Jean's Writing

Well, it’s Halloween again and scary things are heading your way.

But do you really need to open the door to find scary things that instill fear?

No, not me. All I have to do is walk over to my desk. 

Because, if you’re a writer, you live with fear. At least I do. Fear of failure, and fear of success. Yep, that’s right. Sitting down at the keyboard is a whole other kind of fear.

Is it really fear of writing or is it fear of failure?

Do you suffer from Graphophobia, Scriptophobia,Achievemephobia,  Atychiphobia or some other phobia?

Oh yeah, there is a phobia for everything.

Scriptophobia, fear of writing (in public, class, etc.). I believe a writer can feel this fear because we are expecting someone, someday to read what we’ve written. ie… public.

Graphophobia, fear of handwriting. Okay, this one is a stretch…

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Self-Publishing – Your Fellow Authors are not Your Enemies – Let’s Help Each Other — Author Don Massenzio

If you are like me, you are aware of the thousands of other authors that are in the self-publishing universe on social media platforms. We all belong to groups on Facebook and we promote our books, blogs, giveaways, and events. We start to see the same names over and over relentlessly touting our work. As […]

via Self-Publishing – Your Fellow Authors are not Your Enemies – Let’s Help Each Other — Author Don Massenzio

Rainbow Snippets October 27th

[image error]Rainbow snippets FB page

Presenting…the first snippet from the Up-n-coming Upstaged 3: Duet (release date tba)

What is Rainbow Snippets? It’s a group of LGBT+ authors who post six sentences (or more) from a current WIP, published work or even something they’ve read that they want to rave about. Click on the link below the rainbow to be transported to a place of wonder where you will find tasters of everything from sweet romance, to hot and steamy, to fantasy and sci-fi.

This is the 3rd book in the Upstaged series to be release by Extasy Books.  To see the other 2; here are the links:

http://www.extasybooks.com/978-1-4874-1804-5-opening-act/

http://www.extasybooks.com/cheryl-headford/s-l-danielson/978-1-4874-2024-6-waiting-in-the-wings/

To set the stage; this (and last week’s post are of Vince on the morning of his wedding to his beloved Billy. I’d left that out last week (grrrr) so this week I won’t forget the context! This picks right up the next lines down after Vince awoke (without his finace there due to superstition).

For a while, Asher had been in there with him, but at Vince’s insistence, he’d left. Vince had been without his lover before, but this time it was torture. Thankfully, however, he’d survived the night.

He scooted out of bed and threw on a robe. Shaking out his hair with his fingers, he glanced at the class ring on his finger. In a few hours it would be replaced with a gorgeous wedding band. A surge of excitement crackled through Vince and he smiled. After a long yawn, he stretched and padded to the bathroom to shower.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time for Plan C

Well boys n girls...it is time for Plan C. Plan Creative or Charming or something else I haven't conjured just yet.

Plan A went away in 2015; that was, a marriage, a house, the little white picket fence and goals. My life got complicated. (VERY)

Plan B was going great! New man, new state, new environment, and a great job. Well...that job went away in January.

So now...I still have my man (my fiance), a roof over my head, and a brain full of creativity (it's just stuck in neutral). I also have loads of education (which is a blessing a curse). A Masters is terrific if it's in your current field and you have a job already.

Have you ever reached a point for your Plan C? My goal now is to try to land any type of gig, but to work very much on my long-neglected books, ads, networking, etc.

I wish you (and me) luck!!

Three years of shots...

Hi all! An update on my baby boy, Jack. He is still going strong after over three years after being diagnosed as diabetic. So far he has endured two pancreatitis (mild) attacks (where he gets sick for two days and we have to give him pills for anti-nausea and one to stoke his appetite), and over 2,000 shots!!!! (one shot every 12 hours) and a move to another state.
Still...this little trooper keeps going strong.
He just turned 13 this year and we didn't know if he'd make it to 10. (sniff)!!!

I love you baby boy!!! You are mama's 20-lb angel 💖💖💖

Sick of the Rat Race

The rat race. The 9 to 5. The daily work that gives us the ability (mostly) to buy housing, food, clothing, and all the things we need (and hopefully some we want too).

Since the early 1990's I have been firmly ingrained in the corporate world. From receptionist to file clerk and working my way up (and sideways) to learn all the MS Office you can handle, plus I was a top number-cruncher. At one point in time my then husband and I were doing just fine...until 2006 when the world as we knew it ended and I became the sole breadwinner. I earned two degrees in seven years...but now I need to leverage that knowledge.

As I type this during my now third month of unemployment I wonder...what did it get me? Where am I in my life? I am 40+ years old, no children, but I have a very hard-working fiance who is blue collar. (a shrinking field in its entirety for manufacturing in this country) but at least he has a job. My now ex-husband is still draining me a little at a time (no worries, there is a light at the end of that tunnel) but I'm still making next to nothing. I either have to learn an entirely new job or...

I need a non-traditional job.

All my life (working life) I wanted the 9-5, secretarial role, do my bit kind of gig. I quickly found out that's not what I wanted at all and was typecast (after being Speedy Gonzales on a 10-key) in the accounting world. A stigma that haunts me to this day. I cannot get away from it, as much as I try. (I had been pursuing a 3rd degree in accounting when my personal life blew up. So much for concentration! Plus, I decided, that was not what I really wanted. It was a great distraction, but the mission failed.)

I have many skills and talents, but none of which the modern labor force seems to pick up in their keyword searches of my resume. In three months I've had one phone interview and two agencies call. Let me tell you, I've done the agency bit since I was 18 years old. It's time to stop that altogether, (but that's another post.)

So...I am saying here and now that while I am forced to look for something "traditional" I will work my side gigs and try to keep writing so that my books are at least seen and some fresh material is out there. Plus I'm a knitting fiend and may open an Etsy shop or sell on Facebook. I may pick up other crafts just to sell my wares if I find that there's a market.

OK, rant over.

To all my fans and friends through these tough years, Thank You a millions times over! Without you, I don't know what I'd do. You've fallen for Phillip or Sam or maybe even Mark. We love you and appreciate you all deeply.

Wedding...take two

For those who might not know my story; I am a second-time bride coming this fall.
My first marriage ended amicably (we are still best buds) but he went on to become what he really wanted to be...a she.

So, that aside...my wonderful man (of nearly two years) asked me to marry him this past winter and I'm thrilled! But now the extra fun part...the planning.

If you've never been married before, let me warn you now. If you are not a planner or an organized person, or even have an idea of what you want...then start finding someone who can and get some ideas together.

Even though this is not my first rodeo, it has been 20 years since I last marched down the aisle. Lots has changed...from styles of gowns to cake toppers, and even tuxes. This time around I am holding to what I wanted all along...an outdoor, small ceremony. No more super-long church aisle and close to 100 people. That's fine...if it's your first. But I'm middle-aged now (cough) and we want things a bit simpler.

I will wrap this up with some sites (and stores) that I am using to help me prepare. Go with your own style and don't let anyone persuade you to what you don't want.

Party City (great for all kinds of wedding stuff)
Hobby Lobby or Joanns, Michaels, Ben Franklin
Etsy (artisans galore!)
Amazon (found the gown here)
Thumbtack (where I've found the photographer and minister)
Ulta

Also never count out your local businesses. Bakers, florists, dressmakers, and corral friends and family who are gifted with hair and makeup, and even the shutterbugs.

Cheers!

Steph