Stephanie Haefner's Blog

Release day for SIZE MATTERS is coming soon!!!

So excited! Book 2 in my Classy n Sassy series is releasing in less than 2 weeks!! If you haven't read book 1, read TRY ME ON FOR SIZE now!!

I'm throwing a fun Facebook party on release day to celebrate!! There will be TNS of special guests and fun and prizes. Check out out and RSVP now so you don't miss out on anything!! https://www.facebook.com/events/14360...

Valentine's Day Blog Giveaway!!!!

Stop by my website for an AWESOME giveaway! Choose your own prize! Lingerie or books!! :)

http://thewriterscocoon.blogspot.com/...

Reader fan clubs/groups??

Is this becoming a cool thing? Do readers like interacting on social media with their favorite authors??

I will admit, I get star-struck quite easily. I got all kinds of giddy the other day because Jenny McCarthy followed me on Twitter! I happy dance when anyone with any smidgen of star-quality replies or favorites my Tweets. Jordan Knight retweeted me one day and OMG! So so cool!! I interact with my favorite authors too, on Twitter and Facebook. It's fun. And cool. And I think it's really neat to get insider info.

So...I know I'm not a big time author or anything, but since FB has made it really difficult for me to chat with readers on my regular author page, I decided to start a reader group on Facebook. Come on over and check it out!!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/22278...

I hate neglected blogs!

I hate clicking someone's blog and seeing the last post was months, or even years ago. And here I am...doing just that :(

It's been a hell of a summer. That's all I can say. It's been one thing after another. Two kids keep me busy. I can't imagine what bigger families are like. Yikes! Do mom and dad ever get a spare moment to breathe? LOL!

Lots of exciting writing-related things going on too. I still can't reveal much yet, but let's just say, it's what I've been working the last 5+ years for. I still can't believe it's actually happening. Details to come soon. I promise!!!

My big Summer celebration and giveaway!

I LOVE summer! The long days, the laziness, the sleeping in, the beautiful weather, the picnics and parties. Going to the beach, going on vacation, going to festivals, going to the park. ALL kinds of fun stuff going on everywhere!

So I decided to do a fun celebration on my website with TONS of awesome prizes!! Stop by for details!!

http://thewriterscocoon.blogspot.com/...

It's that time of year again!

Do you make New Year's resolutions? Or at least set goals for the new year?? I always do. I just need to. I like having something to work toward. I like checking things off my list when I achieve them. I love the feeling of accomplishment!

I don't always make all my goals though and that is a bit disheartening. But I know I am human and if I truly did try my best, then I don't let myself dwell on it. I just try and work even harder.

I aim for balance in my life. Often as a work at home mom, I struggle with the balance between my career and my family. If I'm working, I feel like I should be spending more time with my kids and hubby. But if we're goofing off, I feel like I should be working instead. My plan for this year is to achieve more balance and spend less time on things that don't matter. Like housework ;) LOL!

I usually make a list of how many projects I want to complete in a year, but I'm not doing that this year. I did it last year and ended up switching focus and though I did accomplish several completed projects, they weren't exactly what I'd planned. I still consider it a successful year though. This year I just want to write more. Make more time for it.

Hope everyone's new year is off to a great start!

Is Twitter for you?

I started a Twitter account a while back...and I won't lie. It's main purpose was to stalk follow celebrities. It was pretty cool to read the daily thoughts of people I admired and idolized.

But then I started realizing it might be a good idea to get on there and network with many of my fellow authors. So I started a new account, since the first was not my actual name. (The one I use now is @stephanihaefner, in case you wanna go follow me!) I started following writers I already knew and agents I wanted. I started making lots of friends and it started to be really fun. I gained a small following and it was so cool. And yeah, I still follow celebrities ;)

So is Twitter for everyone? No. It really depends on what you want to gain from social networking.

If you want to share photo albums, keep in touch with family and friends, send lengthy private messages, and organize events, Facebook is definitely far better for all that. Twitter is tough, with it's 140 character limit and all.

If you want to meet new people with similar interests, Twitter is the place. In my opinion, since Twitter has a very limited profile page--bio is all you have and it's pretty short-- to me it feels a bit more private. There's no pics of me, accept my one profile pic. There's none of my kids. It's simple. And I feel like it's a better place to converse with people you don't know in real life, if that makes any kind of sense.

If you're looking to network and meet people in your line of business, Twitter is DEFINITELY the place to be. I have made SOOOOOOO many connections there and found out about so many opportunities. Invaluable! :)

And if you want to stalk celebrities, definitely check Twitter out! :) It really is cool :) And you just never know when one will actually reply to you! Just today I was beyond ecstatic to get a RT (that's retweet, for those of you not versed in Twitter-speak) and a direct Tweet from Josh Henderson, one of the hotties on the new Dallas (the hottest, IMHO!) Many celebs post pics you wouldn't get to see otherwise. Very cool stuff :)

If you like to keep up on news, current events, anything happening in the world or in your town, with up-to-the-minute posts, Twitter is for you. I follow several news outlets, including my local newspaper. They update throughout the day with breaking news.

I really love Twitter...far more than I ever expected.

So, do you Twitter? Why? What do you like about it? What do you hate?

Is it wrong to escape??

I know some people think it is a waste of time to read fiction. There's nothing to learn. The brain isn't stimulated.

Well, I completely disagree.

No, the purpose of fiction is not to learn facts, but I sure as hell learn a lot when I read it. If I'm reading a book about a rancher, I learn a little bit about what it's like to work that job. If I read a book about a fashion student, I learn a little bit about design and clothing. If I read a book about a football player, yeah, I learn a little more about something I knew nothing about before reading the book.

And yes, all of these scenarios are books I have recently read.

My point is that fiction does not have the main goal of informing it's readers, but the readers sure do learn something.

I read fiction for entertainment and escape. I like to forget my daily life and lose myself in another world. When I read Lone Star Trouble, it was real fun to "travel" to Texas and "meet" some people who raised cattle, got dirty, and worked hard. I never knew so much about vintage clothing until I "met" Lizzie Nichols in Queen of Babble and it was really interesting. Made me wanna peruse some yard sales for fabric treasures. And as a girly girl, it was super interesting to immerse myself in the world of a female high school quarterback in Catching Jordan.

I read for pleasure and entertainment....and if I learn something too, great. I don't think it makes me a less of a person because the books I choose to read are filled with imaginary people. As an author I know how difficult it is to create and imaginary world and do the research necessary to also make it realistic and believable.

Control and letting go....

I used to be far more of an anal person than I am now. I liked things how I liked them. I liked to do what I wanted when I wanted and where, etc...

But when I became a mom, I learned to let some of that go. As any parent can tell you, babies and kids have their own schedules and you need to somewhat adapt to them. But you also have to be ready to change plans at the drop of a hat or make new ones, be ready to come home if you're out, and basically be ready to do things differently than you'd planned. Being an ultra planner like myself, it was hard at first, but being a parent made me relax...whereas other people it does the opposite. Many people become anal when they have a baby. I learned to take things a bit slower and adapt.

But I did still let a lot of things bother me. Until about a year or so ago. All of a sudden, it hit me...total lightbulb moment. There is so much in life that I have absolutely zero control over. So why was I making myself nuts worrying about them? Why did I stress myself out??

I do what I can with the things I can control...but everything else.....whatever. I can't control other people's actions. I can't control other people's feelings. All I can do is do my best to be a good person. Life is unpredictable and there are never any guarantees with anything. Things change. People make mistakes. Unforeseen things happen. It's not worth the aggravation and stress to let them bother me.

The new Dallas....did you watch?

Oh yeah...I watched the new Dallas. I never watched the original. My parents were huge fans, but us kids had to be in bed before Dallas came on. But I do remember that opening song...and boy did it send chills up and down my spine when I watched the new Dallas the other night!!

With some of my favorite shows ending and being canceled lately, and the lack of decent TV (meaning, good fictional shows with talented writers...not reality crap), I've really been craving good shows. I love a great soap opera....I want sex, drama, a few laughs. I wanna be sucked in and emerged in a fabulous fictional world. And Dallas is exactly that. Plus some really hot guys!! I've been a Jesse Metcalfe fan since his first appearance on Desperate Housewives. And though I thought Josh Henderson was cute when he was on DH too....he is so super sexy now. I've never been into bad boys, but Oh My! I am loving me some John Ross Ewing!! I think he's my favorite so far!!

Anyway, the second point of this post (after all my gushing over the story and hot guys) is the backstory. Now, like me, there have to be thousands of viewers who did not watch the original series. I don't know every character's story. I only know tiny bits and pieces. I mean, really, who DIDN'T know JR was shot in the 80's?? So the writers have a huge challenge in front of them. They need to bring new viewers up to speed, and also remind old viewers what happened 20 years ago. But the story needs to start in the here and now and draw people in to what's happening now...no time for too much filling in.

And so far, I think the writers have done a great job. I know enough of what happened years ago to not be completely lost. I still have a couple questions that I hope will be answered soon, but the show has already pulled me in enough that I am intrigued with the present and not so much the past.

So, anyone become a new fan of Dallas like me?? Any old fans watching the new show? What are your thoughts??

I tried to get the Dallas DVDs but my library did not have them :(