Mary Castillo's Blog: News from Mary Castillo
August 9, 2017
New audiobook excerpt: Girl in the Mist
, a paranormal romantic suspense short in the Dori O. series.Click here to listen
January 22, 2017
Lost in the Light: A Guide to A Dark and Stormy Reading Night
Thank you for a wonderful review! I’m so happy it gave you the tingly tingles!!!
It was a dark and stormy night…for at least one of the nights I was reading Lost in the Light by Mary Castillo. [Note: Book Club Sunday were thrilled when Mary asked us to read her book!] Dark and stormy is the perfect atmosphere to begin Lost in the Light as readers are introduced to Detective Dori Orihuela and her crumbling, foreboding 120 year old mansion. Dori soon discovers that her house is haunted by the ghost of a Prohibition era rumrunner, Vicente, who desperately wants Dori to find a woman named Anna. The book switches back and forth between Dori’s quest to help Vicente in the present day and the events leading up to Vicente’s death in 1932.
Since there’s almost nothing better than spending a dark and stormy night curled up with a spooky book, here is everything you need to create the perfect Dark and Stormy Reading…
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Filed under: News
December 16, 2016
Lost in the Light Chapters 30 and 31
“I know you’re mad at me but I figured if I got shot again, it would be to late for me to say sorry.”
Filed under: Lost in the Light, Mary Podcast Audiobook, Mary's Books, News, The Dori O. Paranormal Mystery Series
December 9, 2016
Lost in the Light Chapters 28 and 29
For the first day of the rest of his life, Vicente looked like hell. But he never felt more alive than watching Anna brush her hair through her fingers.
Filed under: Lost in the Light, Mary Podcast Audiobook, Mary's Books, News, The Dori O. Paranormal Mystery Series
December 2, 2016
Lost in the Light Chapter 27
Dori returns to find Vicente vanished. Gavin has now finished his work and they’re ready to part ways until they make a tragic discovery.
Filed under: Lost in the Light, Mary Podcast Audiobook, Mary's Books, News, The Dori O. Paranormal Mystery Series
November 4, 2016
November 2, 2016
NaNoWriMo Tip 2: How to Make Your Goal
I should’ve added, “How to Make Your Goal Without Losing Your Mind.”
So this is by no means the absolute, fool-proof, 100% guaranteed list of how to achieve your NaNoWriMo goals. It is what works for me and I share this with the goal that it might stimulate you to come up with ways that will work for you.
Here we go:
Understand how you write. I’ve been doing this writing thing since 1994. One would think I had it figured out. But life changes. The demands on your attention and energy change. You develop back problems and the old eyes stop working the way they used to. I was trying to do the same old routine: sit my behind down for an hour and write without a break. I can tell you what that accomplished: a page or two of work and way too much Facebook scrolling, sharing, liking and commenting. I read and practiced The Chunky Method and it changed my writing life for the better. I learned that I have an optimal 15 minute attention span. So I set my stopwatch and within an hour I work in 15 minute segments. And guess what? I write like the damn house was on fire in those 15 minute sessions! Do I say and not as I once did: rather than write the way you think you should write, embrace your work style and make it work for you!
Give your a break. Oh I just heard that groan. I’m a mama so I also caught that eyeroll with the eyes on the backof my head, too! But seriously, give yourself a break. Even if it’s just to stand up, do some wrist circles or scream into a pillow, moving re-energizes the body and mind. My personal favorite is to the dishes. Maybe it’s the flow of the water but it just gives my mind a release and then those characters start up again and I’m ready for my next 15 minute session.
There will be days you can’t work and that’s okay. This is a judgment-free zone. Life happens. Kids get sick. You get sick. Someone at work gets sick and you have to pick up the ball. On days when I can’t write (and boy do I get a grumpy!), I remind myself that the world is always there. Because really, where the hell is it going to go? What will the characters do without you? I find that the simple statement, “The world is always there,” lifts the stress off my shoulders and prepares me to jump in mess up my characters’ lives even more.
Meditate. Dude, this changed my life. I’m telling you the truth. A short prayer followed by a ten-minute session of quiet gets me in the world and ready to go. I’ve now started meditating after my writing session to transition into family time or work. I highly recommend davidji‘s Sweetspot Online Community for free meditations. He brings ancient meditation techniques to the modern world and he’s a funny guy. Plus Rocky the pug may have a crush on Peaches the Buddha Princess.
Turn off social media. In fact as soon as finish reading this, do yourself a favor and turn off your browser. Set your mobile to Airplane mode, throw the wireless thing-of-boob out the window and get writing!
Filed under: News
November 1, 2016
NaNoWriMo Tip 1: Goals
If so, consider setting a specific goal between November 1 and November 30th. Here are some that have served me in past NaNoWriMo’s:
Write the first five or ten chapters
Revise Act I
Write a novella or short story
The more specific I am with a goal, the more likely I am to accomplish or exceed that goal. For this year’s #NaNoWriMo I’ll be editing Act III of Lost in Whispers. Nothing more, nothing less. And I know there will be changes that will require me to back to Act I and Act II in December so that the book makes sense. But my goal is not for Act III to be perfectly publishable. It just needs to get done so I’m closer to my final goal of getting this book in its very best form to you in March 2017!
But if you really want to write that book in 30 days, go for it! I’ll post some tips to make it as productive as possible tomorrow.
If you’re NaNoWriMo-ing this month, please share your goals and stay in touch with your progress!
Filed under: Writing Wisdom
