Penny Watson's Blog, page 3

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: Women Who Shine

Introducing a new event...

WOMEN WHO SHINE: 
A CELEBRATION OF MATURE WOMEN
How do you feel about aging?

Are you celebrating your maturity, growth, wisdom?

Are you struggling? With menopause, aging parents, empty nest syndrome, reinvention?

How do you feel about yourself? Beautiful, strong? Vulnerable? Anxious?

Who are role models for women aging gracefully? Who are fierce and inspiring?

How do others treat you as you age? Are you invisible?

Are your goals, talents changing? How do...

waiting to breathe

Title for the poem...waiting to breathe.

Also...what you write the day after a 2-foot snowfall in March.

Waiting,

Nina

At-Home Retreat: Will It Work?

Recently I saw an ad for a long-term weight loss retreat. It was ridiculously expensive and luxurious and not really intended for normal people.

However, it got me to thinking...

1. Wow, would I love to do a 6-month weight loss retreat (emphasis on mindfulness and wellness and healthy food and hiking in the forest).

2. Wow, would I love to do a 1-month/2-week/hell, even a one-week retreat.

This would be a great way to soothe my soul and jump-start my weight loss at the same time.

Then I started re...

From the Writing Cave: Observations About Genre Limitations

Personal observation for the week...

What is the most liberating part of switching from the romance genre to other types of fiction?

(At the moment, I'm working on horror, paranormal fiction, and YA fiction).

Creating truly flawed characters, not heroes.

If you ask a reader or author of romance what is the most important rule--unbreakable, sacred--they will most likely answer...

HAPPY ENDINGS!

As a writer of romance, I never found the happy ending to be a limitation. I generally gravitate to what I...

Creating Treasure

I love it when something changes my perspective on a certain topic. 

Looking at things from a different point of view is a way to learn, grow, and change.

Recently, I had two separate events in my life that opened up my eyes about writing and publishing.

One was meeting a woman who wrote her memoir.

The other was expanding my "friends" on social media to include authors of nonfiction, poetry, kiddy lit, mysteries, thrillers, women's fiction, horror, literary fiction, and more.

After fifteen y...

10th Year Book Anniversary: Life Lessons

Ten years ago, in 2009, my first book was published.

It was a quirky take on the legend of Santa Claus, complete with drunken elves, five rambunctious brothers, and romance under the Christmas tree. It had won a couple of awards, and was picked up by a small publisher who offered holiday options.

Here I am, 10 years later. A decade has passed. How did that even happen?

I have now published one children's book, all five installments of the Klaus Brothers Series, an award-nominated short story wit...

Confessions of a Quirky Author

This is the time of year when we reflect upon the past twelve months and think...what just happened?

Did I accomplish the things I wanted to? Did I succeed, fail, let myself down, surprise myself?

Yes to all these things.

This is also the time of year when we think ahead to the next twelve months. A fresh new start! What will I accomplish? What will be my successes? What will be my failures?

Many things.

True confession time: I have had the SAME TWO THINGS ON MY LIST FOR 3 YEARS.

Didn't get them do...

Current Mood

Hair Flip GIF from Justiceleague GIFs

Merry, Merry Day!

Merry Christmas To All!
xoxoxoxoxoxo
With much love,
Nina/Penny

5 Quirky Christmas Films

There are all types of holiday movies. Some are sappy, some are goofy, some are romantic, some are sweet.

My favorite holiday films are a little bit quirky, different, fun.

Here are five adorable movies that have become Christmas traditions for my family...



The Snowman

My son was utterly mesmerized by this 1982 film when he was little. It is based on the book by Raymond Briggs and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. It is a whimsical, moody, charming holiday movie wit...