Liz Flaherty's Blog, page 96

On Letting Go and Holding On

Whew! We are back from vacation and we're (RadioMan, bebe and me) a little bit exhausted and a little bit missing the family (all 15 of us in the same place for a week - heaven!) and a lot missing the warm weather...

Once again, we took a little swim with our dolphin friends, and once again, we learned a little lesson. We had a dolphin encounter (in which we kissed and 'danced' and petted) before, when bebe was about 4. This time, all three of us wanted to get a little more up-close-and-person...

Sometimes I Wish . . .

Sometimes, I wish I were a poet.

When I read the poems that Garrison Keillor selects for the Writer's Almanac each morning, I wish I could write poetry like Billy Collins or Emily Dickinson or Maya Angelou . . .

When I discovered the book of Shakespeare's sonnets while I was purging last week--the book I thought I'd tossed out years ago--and I read those lovely, lovely words again, I wished I were poet.

When a friend left this nugget of e.e. cummings's poem "i carry your heart with me," on Face...

When the best laid plans go awry… becoming an Indie Author by Zoe Mullins

The Wranglers welcome Zoe Mullins to the round corral today! (Sorry, Zoe, I can't find the um laut!)
When I was in high school, I had a dream. That dream was to become a writer, and I succeeded in making a career out of it – more or less. I was a successful public relations writer. News releases, newsletters, annual reports, advertising copy and video scripts. I wrote it all. And on vacation, I toyed with fiction, and did nothing with it.
Until five years ago when I decided I was going to get...

Chaos!

Last week I talked about how I felt overwhelmed because marketing was ruining my life. But after thinking it over for a few days, dealing with marketing is only one thing that makes me feel out of control. The problem is coming from several directions.


Yes, this is my office, and it’s a hot mess. Those bags on the floor are things I bought to create welcome gifts for the speakers we’re having at the annual conference at the day job. Mostly the stuff in the bags is chocolate, bottles of water,...

Spreading the Love: Author Signings

Because I'm not writing these days, and the only thing I'm allowed to say about my RITA entries is that I received them (which I said last week), I'm opening up my February blog posts to my writer peeps. They are FAR more prolific (and entertaining) than I am, and since February is the month of love, I like the thought of spreading the blog love.

If you love romance, once of the best ways to do so is to go to book signings and mingle with other romance lovers and the authors who write the...

Blustery Days

By Margie Senechal

Today is a blustery day in the neighborhood. Soon to be followed by a bit of snow and ice. 

My thoughts  this week are a lot like the wind--everywhere and nowhere at the same time. I'm not sure if it's the wind, my new job, or the headache that's been around for the past day or so.

My birthday was a couple of days ago and we went to see Hidden Figures. I can't imagine how anyone can think we should rewind civil rights in our country. 

   From my te...

Spotlight on A.D. Ellis

Ava here! Kristi is on a cruise this week, the lucky gal! In her place, we’re taking the opportunity to promo a fellow writer whose latest book came out last week. Book releases are SOOOOoooo exciting!!

A.D. Ellis, award-winning author of the contemporary Torey Hope and Torey Hope: The Later Year Series, now writes male/male romance. Tomorrow’s release is the fifth in her Something about Him series.
M/M romance is a growing genre with primarily female readers. Even so, A.D. strives to make her...

Research for Gravitas @NanReinhardt

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What a tangled web... @ Liz Flaherty

Nan texted me this picture yesterday. It shows what she managed to do with a brand new, completely neat skein of yarn. Without even trying! Looks like playtime with the Three Little Kittens, doesn't it? But all was well. She sat by the fire and read and unraveled, and the yarn will end in a neat ball.



It's a whole lot like how many times we rewrite the first chapter, isn't it? Or, if we're subbing proposals or entering contests, the first three? We rip them apart, then sit and patiently wind t...

Marketing is Ruining My Life!

That's me, breaking away from marketing. I wish.Okay, I’m being a little dramatic with that title. But it’s how I feel sometimes.

After taking a little break over the Christmas holidays, I recently reopened my blog to guest bloggers. I very quickly received many requests. I love blogging and I love my guest bloggers, but I felt overwhelmed very quickly. I’ve been feeling a whole lot of overwhelmed lately.

With such a crowded book marketplace, a writer has to do everything short of standing on h...