Penny Watson's Blog, page 6

There's A Monster In My Basement

The first time my basement flooded, I was living in Wellesley, Massachusetts, in a tiny rental house. My husband had just started a new job outside of Boston, and we had a new baby, adopted from the Philippines. 

I was feeling overwhelmed and clueless. My son was one-year-old when we brought him home. What did I know about babies? Nothing!

Case-in-point: At the local supermarket, I went up to a stranger with kids and asked, "WHAT DO YOU FEED THEM?"

She looked at me, and then my son, smiled,...

Sneak Peek for BLUE

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Summer Hygge

When I was searching for the meaning of life (*mid-life crisis...cough cough*) I came across the term "Hygge" and was instantly smitten. It's a Danish word that embodies a feeling of coziness and contentment. It essentially evolved as a way of surviving brutal winters without going stark-raving mad. In other words, if you have many months of darkness and cold, you need to figure out a way to embrace that weather and find the good and beauty there. 

Winter Hygge practices may involve snugg...

The Fallacy of Constant Visibility

I'm giving a talk in a couple of weeks about anxiety, stress, and finding ways to be happy in the midst of a writing career.

Twenty years ago, the pace of the publishing world was much slower. You submitted a manuscript (in print, via snail mail), and you might hear back in eight months. Then, maybe you would land an agent, and it would take another year to get a publishing contract. And then another year or two before the book was released.

There was still anxiety and worry and desperation, bu...

Another Rousing Edition of Penny's Quirky Summer Reading List!

What does "Summer Reading" actually mean?

Mindless? Easy-breezy? Entertaining? Stuff you can read on the beach and it's okay if some sand gets on your pages?

Not sure exactly, but I'm assuming it's the opposite of "The History of Bosnia" which is--true story--a book my husband once brought to the beach. 

Anyway, I have seen a lot of "Summer Reading Lists" over the last couple of months, so I decided it was time to put together something a little bit quirky and varied and eclectic. 

Time...

Embrace Your Writing Instincts

Once upon a time, I had a critique partner tell me you had to fulfill three tasks with each paragraph you wrote.

To be honest, I can't remember the rules.

I'm not really a rule gal.

But I do remember one thing. It occurred to me that if you are trying to follow a lot of rules with every word you write, it might inhibit your natural storytelling ability.

It might even incapacitate you and give you writer's block. Make you anxious and worried. 

With every word.

I couldn't believe this writer was...

In the works...

BLUE
(Stuff I'm writing...)

LIFE LIST


The Happy Camperwith Bobbi Ruggiero

TRAVEL
(Where I'm going...)

May
Cambridge School of WestonWeston, MA

June
3 Rivers Romance WritersPittsburgh, PA

September
Northern Hearts ConferenceToronto, Canada

October
Moonlight and Magnolias ConferenceAtlanta, GA


What I'm doing...
GARDENING SEASON IS FINALLY HERE!


What are you doing? How is your garden? Travel plans?Writing plans?
WE CAN DO THIS!
Love,Penny/Nina

Slow and Steady Wins the (Weight Loss) Race

I guess it's never too late for an old dog to learn some new tricks.

Case in point: Slow and steady wins the race.

Any other inane proverbs for this post? Let's wait and see!

Here's my story...in 2010, I had a heart attack.

Following the heart attack, I lost about 50 pounds.

How did I do this?

Fear.

I was freakin' scared out of my mind.

There is nothing quite like the fear of death to motivate you for a diet.

I worked out 2-4 hours/day. I hardly ate a thing. I was totally exhausted. I lost all of that...

Building a Community

Lucy the Wonder Weenie
Story Time
Tribe includes humans, animals, insects
Today I'm going to propose something radical.

A different way of looking at a writing/publishing career. 

Instead of focusing on SELLING BOOKS, how about focusing on BUILDING A COMMUNITY?

Over the past few years, the focus in romance publishing has become very business-focused. I see cheat sheets for how to make a best-seller list. I see a frenzied sense of urgency about how often to publish, how much to spend on adverti...

Embracing Real Life

Recently, one of my friends asked--on Facebook--if it were possible to promote a book without social media.

This led to a lively discussion about promotion and how readers find out about books.

I pointed out that the majority of my friends--who are all big readers--do not even have a Facebook account. They don't use Twitter or Instagram. Nothing. They are too busy living their real lives and/or not interested in social media interactions.

But they read a lot. How do they find their books?

Number...