Heather Sunseri's Blog, page 33

How Important is Music to a Novel? And a Mindspeak Giveaway!

Greetings!Exactly one month from tomorrow is tax filing deadline. I know that April 15 is just another day for most people, but for me, it’s my last day of working the day job for awhileand the daybefore I sit down and REALLY get to work on Book #2 of the Mindspeak series.

So, we are celebrating three things this week with a $20 iTunes giveaway:

1. One month until the end of tax season! Which means one month until I buckle down and truly attack Book #2 in the Mindspeak series.

2. You!!!! MINDSPE...

I’m Being Interviewed AND a Giveaway

Happy Monday! I’m answering some great questions over at Heather Day Gilbert’s today — questions about howI decided to writeyoung adult, my research into human cloning, and whether I would still recommend self-publishing now that I’m seven weeks post launch.

Plus, I’mgiving away a copy of MINDSPEAK.

Know Thy Publishing Self

Writers. We are all the same, yet we are all very unique. (And by “all” I really mean “most.” There are always exceptions to everything.)

We want to snag a fantastic agent. We want the validation that comes with attracting the attention of a big-time publisher, followed by attracting the attention of lots and lots of readers.

We want the control that comes with designing our own covers (or at least control over deciding if a cover needs to be changed after we don’t like a design) and deciding w...

What Does Your Success Look Like?

Isn’t she adorable? Meet Katie, my brother’s newest addition.

Think about a goal or something you desire in life right now. It can be a career goal. A dream outside of your day job. Maybe it’s to lose weight. Or run a marathon. Something big. Something that rests before you at the top of a large, intimidating moutain of obstacles.

My brother did an amazing, brave thing several years ago. Well into his thirties, he went back to law school. He had always wanted to be an attorney, but life got in...

The Winner Is…, Thank You, and Your Favorite Romance!!

Photo credit – Coffee with Heart by Scott Barlow (Creative Commons)

One of the things I’m quickly learning about self-publishing is that although the process of getting there is often times lonely, I can’t reach a level of success alone.

Another thing I’m learning (actually, I already knew this) is that…

YOU GUYS ROCK!!!

I have been blown away by the early response to Mindspeak. I asked for help on Facebook, and man, did y’all stand up and help! I would not have seen some early glimpses of succes...

Do You Keep Your Dreams a Secret?

I’ve know many writers over the last several years who are closet writers. They hide their sought after profession/hobby/vocation/talent/dream from everyone around them, even those who love them the most.

I was definitely one of those writers.

Why do writers hide their writing even though many writers’ ultimate desire is to be read by others?

Here are some of the excuses I’ve used.

1. Writing is personal.

Well, yeah. Duh! It is personal. And many of us struggle to share the intimate details of our...

That Was the Ickiest Kiss EVER! And a Delicious Review

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Photo Credit: Wet Kiss by wtl photography (Creative Commons – Flickr)

I don’t know about you, but I’mpermanently scarred by that kiss last night. It was sloppy-wet, uber gross, yuck, euww!

And if you haven’t seen the GoDaddy commercial that I’m referring to… DON’T DO IT!

I’m not even kidding. Permanent damage has been done. And if that’s how they run word-of-mouth campaigns? Well,I guess we are at least talking about GoDaddy this morning. But in a good way? I think not.

Anyway, I promise here and...

The Power of Word-of-Mouth: A MINDSPEAK Celebration and a $50 Giveaway!!!

I don’t usually tell cat stories on the blog. But this past week, The Cat (aka Olivia)has been unusually annoying. Just yesterday morning around 5 a.m. she punched me in the nose. (And like last Friday,I was asleep at the time.)You know how a cat plays with a mouse that she just carried around the house, outside hopefully. She sets it down gently,stares at it, willing it to still be alive so it will run, and she can catch it again. But instead,it’s d-e-a-d DEAD. Well, that was my nose bright...

News Update and a Playlist

MINDSPEAK had a fabulous first day and first weekendon Amazon!! Thank you to everyone who helped make that possible by sharing it all over Facebook,Twitter and her daughter’s swim meet (you know who you are). You guys ROCK!!

There is still time to enter the giveaway over at Froze8′s blogwhere I’m giving away two copies of MINDSPEAK.

Next, many have asked when Mindspeak will be released on Barnes & Noble and other retailers. Here’s the thing about the whole DIY side of things. Sometimes you’re t...

A Morning in the Life of a Published Writer

My first morning as a published writer:

At 5:00 AM this morning, my phone buzzed with a text message alerting me that there would be no school for my children. A “snow” day!!! I fell immediately back to sleep.

At 5:20, my daughter’s cat, Olivia (aka KeePoo) bit me. She. Bit. Me! On thehand, right between the thumb and forefinger where you’re most sensitive. While I was sleeping.I don’t know why! She then curled up beside me and went to sleep. (We’ll have to talk about cats in another post – She...