Lauralynn Elliott's Blog, page 37
October 21, 2012
Sunday Update 10/21/12
I’m sitting here a little disappointed because the first 50 people who register for the RNConvention get to have a special VIP brunch with Jimmy Thomas and some other hunks. Anya and I were all set to start registering as soon as it opened at 3:00 PM on Saturday. But they changed it to tonight, at the same time church starts. Bleh. Anyway…onward.
Formatting for Print
After fighting so long with page numbers on the print version of Vampires’ Curse, I finally got it to work! So while it was still in my mind how to do it, I went ahead and formatted Soul of a Vampire. So I’ll be publishing both of them on CreateSpace pretty close together. Anya has to work on the print cover of SoaV first. She pretty much has VC done…she was just waiting on me to tell her how many pages it was going to be.
Writing
I finally started on the book I’m co-writing with my husband. Right off the bat, we disagreed on something. He wanted more description about the MC’s feelings before he has an accident. I think I started it right and that it doesn’t need anything else. So I stopped writing if for a little while. Then I picked it back up and didn’t change anything. I can always add more later if hubby still feels like it needs more. I ended up writing 560 words, but I would have liked it to be more.
Health
I’ve been faithful to my workouts, going to the gym 3-4 days a week. But I need to add cardio. I’m going to order some Chaco running/walking shoes because since I’ve been wearing my Chaco sandals, no shoe feels good on my feet anymore, even my Tone-Ups. When I walk on the treadmill at home, I could wear my sandals, I guess. But at the gym, they expect you to wear appropriate shoes. Since I found an extra $112 I didn’t know I had, I can buy those shoes. 
October 19, 2012
Sleepy All the Time!
*yawn* Yeah, that’s how I feel every evening. And partly throughout the day. And it’s killing my productivity. By the time I’m ready to start working on my WIP, I’m too sleepy to write anything. And I know this is probably my own fault. You see, I fall asleep on the couch every night watching TV, then I wake up sometime in the middle of the night and go to bed. And I know I’m not getting good sleep while I’m on the couch with the TV on. So why do I do this? Well, I actually enjoy falling asleep while watching TV. I don’t know why; I just do. And there’s something that I don’t like about going to bed IN the bed. I can’t explain it. Part of it is that I just feel so LONELY. My husband works third shift, so I sleep alone five nights out of the week. And I don’t like it. So I fall asleep with the company of the TV, then when I wake back up and go to bed, I’m too sleepy to worry about being lonely. This whole thing is quickly becoming a habit.
I really don’t know how to break this habit. The simple answer is JUST GO TO BED. But I don’t WANT to. I keep wondering if there’s some way to make my bedroom more of a haven, something pleasant and enjoyable. A peaceful place. Should I redecorate? Add some plants?
Does anyone have any ideas?
October 17, 2012
Wednesday Update 10/17/12
Most of you know I just released Soul of a Vampire. This is the thirteenth work I’ve released (although two of the releases are compilations of some of the others), and I still get all excited when I release something new. Keep your fingers crossed for me. And don’t forget to enter the giveaway on my blog!
Now on to the next project. I finally started looking over the notes my husband and I made last May for a book idea that came into his head. Some of you will remember that my husband suddenly had this awesome idea for a book, and I told him I would write it for him. We brainstormed on the way to Florida when we were going on vacation. I think the way I’ll handle the author credit on this book is to put both of our names on it. Or say Lauralynn Elliott with Jim Elliott…something like that. Anyway, after going over the notes and getting a rough outline, I know how this book starts and ends. I have several points for the middle, but a lot of those will be filled in later. I’m excited and scared because I’ve never collaborated with anyone before, and I certainly never thought it would be my husband I would write a book with. My plan is to write at least one hour a day, five days a week on this. We’ll see how that goes.
Soul of a Vampire Giveaway!
Now that Soul of a Vampire is up on Smashwords, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble, it’s time to announce what I’m giving away to celebrate the release. At first, I was going to just give away swag, which is basically items with the book cover images or some other promo type items. I’m still going to send bookmarks to the winner, but I wanted to find something special. I searched and searched for the perfect thing I was looking for, and I finally found it. Everyone who comments on this post and tells me their favorite gem through October 23 will have their name entered into the drawing, which will be done by using random.org. The winner will receive a Smashwords coupon code for a free copy of Soul of a Vampire, some bookmarks with the cover picture, and……THIS:
Garnet Jewelry Mentioned in Book
This picture doesn’t do this necklace and earring set justice..it’s much prettier when you actually see it. There is a garnet jewelry set (sorry, there was no bracelet with the one I bought) in Soul of a Vampire. I know these aren’t real garnets, or I wouldn’t have been able to afford the necklace, but they LOOK like garnets. LOL. Anyway, good luck everyone. Please tell your friends how they can win this necklace and earring set. Remember, the only thing you have to do is comment and tell me your favorite gem. There is no obligation to review the book or Tweet or mention on Facebook or…. See, I’m easy to get along with.
October 16, 2012
Quick Soul of a Vampire Update
Just wanted to let you guys know that Soul of a Vampire is up on Amazon now. Soul of a Vampire
It should be up on B & N soon. As soon as it is, I’m going to announce the giveaway I promised.
October 15, 2012
Update on Soul of a Vampire
I was going to upload SoaV during lunch today. Then I realized I needed a blurb. Duh. Then Amazon says KDP is not working and to come back later. Seriously? So, right now, SoaV is up on Smashwords only. Here is the link. Soul of a Vampire. Hopefully, Amazon will be up and working tonight so I can upload. And I plan to do B & N tonight, too. Right now, I’m off to file several reports to several different states. Stupid day job. (Just kidding…I actually like my day job!)
Keep checking back on my blog to see what I’m giving away in honor of publishing Soul of a Vampire. (I’ll post that when SoaV is published on all venues.) All I’m saying is that it’s pretty and it relates to something in the book. 
October 14, 2012
Sunday Update 10/14/12
There’s not a lot of writing stuff going on right now. I’ve had a lot of OTHER stuff going on. The biggest thing on my plate was the banquet, with entertainment, that we did at our church for our “over 65″ members. We did a Hee Haw skit which turned out hilarious. I’m glad that’s finally off my plate. Hopefully, I can get started on my new book this week.
I hope I can finish the last few things that need doing on Soul of a Vampire tonight. Maybe I can upload it for publication tonight. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
I skipped a couple of workouts last week, so I only got in two. I just had too much other stuff to do during lunch those other two days. Back on track next week!
October 12, 2012
Black Dagger Brotherhood #3
Kait Nolan once said the Black Dagger Brotherhood Books by J.R. Ward were like crack. I resisted reading them for a long time because, from what I’d heard, they sounded kind of silly. Not so! They ARE crack. Honestly, I can’t put my finger on the exact reason they are so addictive. I think it’s because they are so intense, and you get entangled in their world. And each book, although it’s about a certain brother, is a teaser for what might happen in the next book. You have to keep reading.
Anyway, I’m about an hour away from finishing book #3. I like to listen to the audio books for this series. The narrator is awesome. Anyway, this has been my favorite book so far. This one is jam packed with emotion. This is the only one so far that has actually made me CRY. More than once. There are a couple of things that happen that are so sad. One of them will stay sad. I think the other situation will work out in a happy way. But I don’t KNOW for sure. When a book touches my emotions like this, I feel like I really got my money’s worth in buying it. I plan on listening to all of them, if possible. I will have to listen to some other things in between because I don’t think I can just listen to them all back to back. My tastes are too eclectic to stick with the same genre for a long time. But you can bet I’ll be back to read the next one!
October 10, 2012
Wednesday Update 10/10/12
Where is the time going? It’s already getting close to the middle of October!
I finally finished edits on Soul of a Vampire. Everything is almost ready. I say almost because I always let my mom have a go at my manuscript before publishing. She’s caught things that NO ONE else has. She doesn’t see very well, so I still can’t figure out how she does it. LOL. Also, I think Anya had a couple of questions, so I need to get those from her. So it’s almost time. Publishing should happen this week or the beginning of next week. Once again, I have something going on to distract me from writing stuff. Our church congregation does a little dinner and program for our senior citizens every year, and I’m part of the entertainment. So there’s practicing, rehearsing, then the real thing. I hope I can find a really being pair of overalls. Got you curious now, haven’t I?
So what do the rest of you think of the Author Rank thing going on at Amazon?
October 7, 2012
Sunday Update 10/7/12
I’m really too tired to post anything coherent. I got the beta read done for a friend while I was manning the booth…you know, the one where nobody bought anything. Well, not much. As most of you know, I got stuck in an elevator (for all the details, see yesterday’s post). I didn’t get any editing or writing done. Going to bed soon. It was a long trip back. My sponsor duties will have to wait until tomorrow. But I haven’t forgotten you guys! Goodnight.
