Just a simple composition and tribute to my friends at LARA and to inspire our new President, Erica Barton. Happy New Year! Go LARA. (And don’t forget to give me your tips in my new year’s writing challenges.)
2011 was perhaps the best, but busiest of my life! I did find time to write, but not enough to finish my current manuscript. Now I have two manuscripts that need completion ASAP. I’ve put aside key times to write, but I need more. So now I’m getting creative, trying to find little bits of time I can carve out in my schedule. Suggestions and encouragement are welcome. How do you find time to write or follow your dreams in a world full of commitments, demands, and distractions?
Here is what I have so far. Help me figure out more.
July is here, and for some, it’s the beginning of dreaded Summer School!
As much as I love learning new things, I admit there were days when school felt like slavery. But there’s no denying education is the number one differentiator between poverty and financial security. Of course, luck, hard work, and making good choices all need to be added in.
Here is my weekly five – actually only four. It’s up to you to fill in number five.
Good luck to everyone in Summer School! Wishing you all As and air-conditioned rooms!
Tricia
It was hard not to laugh at the opening ceremonies of 2011 RWA National Conference. Diana Gabaldon of the Outlander novels was joined by thriller writer Steve Berry, and Tess Gerritsen, author whose books inspired the series Rizzoli & Isles. The chemistry of the three had us in stitches and it’s always a great to see people at the top of their game who are still grounded and can laugh at themselves.
The industry is changing and that has certainly been the topic all week, but my interest is in this year’s RITA nominees for best YA novel. The competition is fierce in what some say is the hottest genre in fiction. Here are the nominees: Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Schroeder, The Clearing by Heather Davis, Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare, I Now Pronounce You Someone Else by Erin McCahan, The Iron King by Julie Kagawa, Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles, and The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells.
Winners will be announced Friday, July 1st. Good luck to all the Rita and Golden Heart Finalists!
I’m off to NYC for this year’s Romance Writers of America conference – a gathering for all things female and fiction. If you are nearby, be sure to attend the 2011 “Readers for Life” Literacy Signing, on Tuesday, June 28th, from 5:30-7:30 PM. Proceeds go to ProLiteracy Worldwide and their local NYC partner, ACE New York. I won’t be signing this year, but you will have more than 400 authors including YA Authors such as Meg Cabot.
I will also be doing a lot of New York research as the city is home to some of the heroes of my new series, The Black Swan Files – the details of which are still Top Secret!
Look for Tweets from the Big Apple.