Order can Give Peace of Mind by Paty Jager

Does one of these shelving units make you cringe? It does me. I'm not a neat freak, but if things are a shambles around my desk or in my writing life like the unit on the left...I can't write or do anything.

However, trying to keep things straight as an Indie Author is hard. And it can become time consuming.

There have been days when I spent too much time trying to make a spreadsheet to keep track of promotion and/or releases, not to mention guest blogging and events.  But I will never be a person who can make a spreadsheet that will keep me organized. I can't have everything in one place--it overwhelms me.

I have been lured several times by a busy author commenting on these great organizers that helped them stay focused and on top of everything. I looked at a couple and found while I use multiple things to keep me focused, I can't have it all in one book and flip back and forth between pages or there isn't enough room in the square for one day to put what needs done.

The system that works best for me is:

1) Calendar - I have one on the wall for personal stuff. I can look at it multiple times a day and see what is coming up.

2) Date Book - I keep a date book on my desk. It's open all the time beside my computer. I can take it with me when I'll be gone for more than a day. This has events I'm participating in, guest blogging dates, my group blog dates, and promotion dates. The squares are large enough to write in the blog titles and any topics for those. The edges of the pages have space for notations about promotions I want to do, when to send guest blog posts.

3) Whiteboard - This is on the wall between my bookcases. It is there for me to see all day long. This has Write 3K a Day! across the top. That is what I need to finish the projects I wrote down on the board in December. I have the word Write and the months under it.  The next column is the project I should be writing in that month. The next column is release. The projects are written in this column across from the month they will be released.  And an X means a cover needs to be ordered.

4) Post-its -  I have various sizes and colors for these. I love the small slender ones for marking pages in research books.  I use the next size up for adding things to my calendar to make my eye catch it. And the most common size, I use every day. The first one of the day is to make my list of things to do that day. I stick it on the side of the computer monitor. Then I use Post-its to keep track of things when I'm writing that I want to check later or to keep track of names of characters that I'll add to my character list at the end of the day. That way I don't have to stop, open my binder or open another document on my computer. I just jot it down and deal with adding it later. 

5) Binder and Spreadsheets - I have a binder with pages of grids that I made to keep track of where, when, the price, the format, and the ISBNs for my books. It also has a spread sheet of FB places to promote that I can put the title on a column and write down the date that I put the book there. And I have a spreadsheet for places I promote, when, what book, how much I paid and the result of sales or downloads.

Trying to do all of this and write my 3k words a day and not feel like I'm chained to the computer is daunting. When I take more than two days at a time off, it takes a lot to pump myself up to get back to the grind. I LOVE the writing! It's all the other stuff that makes it hard to get back at the computer. 

Whether you're a writer or a reader, what do you do to try to keep your life in order?

I have a new mystery that released this month. Artful Murder book ten in the Shandra Higheagle Mystery series.

Secrets… Scandal… Murder…

An autistic boy and his brother need potter Shandra Higheagle’s help when a teacher’s body is found after a confrontation with the older brother. Shandra knows the boy is innocent. Digging into the teacher’s life, she and Ryan turn up scandal.

Detective Ryan Greer has believed in Shandra’s dreams in the past, but she can’t always be right. When his investigation uncovers a principal on the take, females being harassed, and parents kept in the dark, he discovers more suspects than the brothers. Shandra’s time at the school is coming to an end, and the killer has struck again.

Universal buy link: https://www.books2read.com/u/bapvjq   

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 32 novels, 6 novellas, and numerous anthologies of murder mystery and western romance. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. This is what Mysteries Etc says about her Shandra Higheagle mystery series: “Mystery, romance, small town, and Native American heritage combine to make a compelling read.”

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Photo source: Depositphotos

Weddings and Whirlwinds by Susan Sheehey

Wow, does time fly!

I've been waist-deep in my upcoming release, Royal Wedding,
the finale novella in the Royals of Solana romantic suspense series. Comes out mid-May, just in time for Prince Harry & Meghan Markle's nuptials.

If anyone is interested in an Advanced Reader Copy, I'm sending those out in just a week or so. Sign up for my reader group here, they get first dibs.
Is this a shameless self-promo post, well...yes, I'm sorry. (There's at least a smidge of shame in my soul), but this is just where my mind has been the last several weeks. Plus, I'm so super excited, and this cover has me aww-ing, from the brilliant Jay Aheer from Simply Defined Art.

If you're interested, the description is below.

The invitations are sent. Champagne glasses are full. Paparazzi wait, breathless for the perfect shot. 

The eyes of the world are fixed on the opulent fairytale unfolding in tropical paradise.

If they only knew what it took for the Royals of Solana to reach Happily Ever After.

The weight on their shoulders has never been greater, the stakes never higher…

Royal Wedding is the finale of the Royals of Solana romantic suspense and adventure series 

by Susan Sheehey.

If you love exotic beaches, happy endings, and lavishly steamy romance, 

then you’ll drool for the Royals of Solana series.
One-click now!

A Royals of Solana novella

One year after reclaiming the throne of Solana, the island is still healing and rebuilding. 

Relentless paparazzi plague the royal family.

Limelight follows André and Gemma to every corner of the island, 

shining an invasive light on their blinding passion. 

With a rock on her finger for nearly a year, André fears she won’t ever agree to a nuptial date. 

Her fear of commitment rules much of their relationship 

until they discover an unlikely betrayal from within the palace.

Alanna and Flynn face the pressures of royal responsibility. 

He struggles to find his place by his queen’s side. Along with the obligation of 

producing an heir to the throne, he’s forced to face his own insecurities 

regarding personal childhood challenges.
The weight on Alanna’s shoulders has never been greater, 

and the eyes of the world are watching. 

Every detail of her life is dictated by governmental protocol.

Finding the privacy they need to rekindle the spark seems as difficult 

as navigating the turbulent waters of a royal wedding.
Happily Ever After is on the edge of disaster.

Hands Off My Alpha Hero

   A few weeks ago, I saw a Meme that was a quote by an author. His meme said something like …

’how do women who read novels/watch movies about sexually aggressive men, then turn around and cry foul when it happens to them’

    I read a number of comments to the ‘repost’ by a female – and I was a bit shocked… nearly half of the comments were in agreement.

    To be clear, I am NOT saying that you’re not allowed to agree with him. It is your right to read, comprehend, agree with, whatever you want, but I wanted to address my own feelings about the post.

    As a life-long reader and someone who has written my own fiction since I was a child, words carry great power for me. When my stuttering garnered me a lot of negative attention, I pulled away from most of my classmates and read instead of trying to communicate with people who seemed determined to belittle me. What it did was introduce me to a world of words and meanings. When I didn’t understand/recognize a word, I looked to context and then a dictionary to inform myself.

   Am I always right… goodness, No!

   What I believe is that the meme is supposed to make light of the fact that so many women seem to be saying… #MeToo, that claiming their book preference or their movie choice means that they want to have sexual acts acted upon them by someone who takes away their control or the ability to make the decision about what they want.

   Sexuality has been a taboo for TOO LONG. It’s the same reason why Romance books are laughed at and called trivial. A positive attitude toward sexuality is elusive for many. In my 40s I'm still learning. 

   Let’s look at the ‘Sexually Aggressive Men” concept – I think what he’s trying to allude to is the ALPHA MALE – the take charge! Grab the woman and bend her over… um… yeah.. you know. He’s the one that swoops in for the kiss. Tells the woman she’s ‘it’ for him. The guy that makes sure his woman knows how much she means to him. He’s the dominant. He’s the Captain of Industry. He’s the Navy SEAL.  The centuries old vampire. The demanding shapeshifter.

But the original meme seems to liken these men to the men in the news accused of Sexual ASSAULT – taking their pleasure ‘from’ others.

   So why do I see a difference?

   The difference between the two? POWER AND CONSENT.

   In a situation where a woman is the victim of Sexual Assault, she HAS NO POWER – HER CONSENT isn’t a factor.

   Why are ALPHA Heroes in Romance different from Sexual Predators?

   Because the women have POWER in the situation/relationship.

   And the woman is giving CONSENT to what he’s doing when they are intimate.

   A true Dom in a D/S relationship is the one with the LEAST POWER in the relationship. The ‘SAFE WORD’ stops everything in its tracks! It doesn’t matter what’s going on… the safe word is just that SAFE. It allows a Submissive to give themselves over to the experience without fearing that it will go beyond where the sub feels SAFE. When a sub says the Safe Word, the Dom doesn’t get to decide if the sub meant it. The safe word is a big ol’ DEAD END SIGN. The Dom doesn’t get to pump the brakes or tell her to ‘just relax’ or suggest that ‘you don’t really mean that.’

   That’s where the original meme’s argument flies off the rails.

   Any sexual act/connection/experience should be CONSENTUAL. If it’s NOT, then it’s not a joy, it’s a pain. An attack on someone’s person. When someone touches you without your consent, it takes away a piece of your control, a piece of your soul.

   That’s NOT an Alpha HERO.

   An Alpha Hero supports his lover. He gives her respect and a sense of security that allows her to conquer the world and find the power within herself to do what she wants.

   

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a one-way street either. The Alpha Hero is not a sex toy. He’s not a mindless object to ‘get her off.’ He gets fulfillment because she is fulfilled.  He achieves his release and joy from that because they are sharing the experience together. He can take her to the edge and send her tumbling into the heights of ecstasy, not because he’s taking something from her… he’s giving her the power… and in return it makes him even more powerful.

   There are so many issues that people struggle with. Body image, body autonomy, it’s so difficult to take back your control once you’ve lost it. What I’m hoping for is that our society will understand that sex doesn’t have to be taboo. It’s okay for a person to enjoy the pleasures of their own body.    People can give joy to another, but they should only ‘take’ what is offered, because it’s a gift.

   Enjoy your gifts, readers! Love your self… love your life! 

Looking for an Alpha Hero who'd do anything for his love? And love her all the more for those times that she can be her own hero as well...

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	Her UnBearable Protector	http://a.co/9DQuEF8
	His UnBearable Touch	http://a.co/gvgXxdX
	Their UnBearable Destiny	http://a.co/imM9vNR
Sylvan City Alpha Series
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Scheduling Me Time- By Carolyn Hector

Forget that planner I was so hell bent on getting last month! I'm on to just a sticky note to schedule some ME time (stick around.. I'll explain it all in a moment).

So here it is, March! All that planning I did for the month of February went way out the window.
B-b-but at least I have a few excuses (as I always do).

3 of my boys are taking this on-line class for PE (go figure). Two have been in it since September/17 and one has been active in it since December (in between soccer). So for the 2 that have been in it the longest have had plenty of time to get this 2-part class done. They have designated times after school for 2.5 hours and they also have time at home. I trusted that they'd get finished with the utmost ease but the boys haven't done a lick of work and are now kicked out of an online class. How is this even possible/ So with the 3rd one still in the class I'm playing mother hen making sure this gets done because clearly I've failed (again) as guardian by assuming they would stay on task.

This is a freshman course and now my soon-to-be-senior will now take this class face to face and my soon-to-be-sophomore would rather take 2 years of AFJROTC to meet the requirement instead of one year of PE. Go figure.

So that's excuse 1.


Excuse 2..my son got the flu. We're talking down and out...me freaking out because of these reports coming out with kids dying. I managed to keep him isolated in my room and also kept the other boys from catching it. Sooooo I may clap myself on the back for that. Oh yeah! Knock on wood.. I didn't get the flu.
So we were home for a week .... and do you think I got any writing done? Not a lick. (and yet I wonder where the boys get their procrastination from!)

I did--while procrastinating on the book--come up with some cool Black History tidbits on Instagram for Black Pageant Queens. ... you know there's more to the story besides the beautiful Vanessa Williams. 

Excuse 3...I signed up to be a judge for a contest and you all know me by now. I sit here and judge myself enough thinking... I bet these authors bought a planner and they plan and DO what they say they're going to do. 

I imagine everyone with a fabulous view of a cherry blossom lined lake ...with kids who listen to them and leave them alone while they're writing. I know! I know.. I went to RWA and learned everyone is pretty much just like me when it comes to trying to fit in writing time. But these books I've read are great and clearly done with uninterrupted time lol. I can write a paragraph and somewhere in the midst of it I am using one of the boys' names because they have knocked on my door for the umpteenth time.

Excuse 4 

I had to resubmit my proposal...the one I was all ready to start writing...only to have a wrench thrown in the story-line and had to go back and re-figure out what to do with my characters. They are litterally sitting my my head tapping their feet waiting for me to do something with them..........AND OF COURSE a random story idea that I swear is going to be the brilliant best seller is plotting itself in my head. 

And forget writing the bow-chica-wow-wow scenes. I feel like I'm going to have to schedule a special evening to get the job done. I'm going to buy myself a bottle of wine..wait until everyone goes to bed and then give myself 30 minutes per scene that I've been all pent up to write....but simply can't because it's just weird for me to write a sex scene when one of five boy knocks on my door every 10 minutes to asks something. And HEY! Spring Break is next week. I think I may get a lot done then. 

Alright time for another meeting 

Happy Reading!

Happy Writing

XOXO 

Carolyn 

Join the Tiara Squad here 

Fun, Friends, and Utter Chaos @JacquieRogers #writerslife #chaos

Fun, Friends, and Utter Chaos 
by Jacquie Rogers

Can you believe it's March already?  We don't even have all our Christmas stuff put away.  That will be rectified shortly, however, and you'll find out why after I tell you about my visit to the Round Table Readers group in Tacoma, Washington.

Speaker gift from Round Table Readers

My husband pried me out of bed at the crack of dawn on February 7 to speak at the Round Table Readers book club.  This was a major undertaking for him and he utilized prodigious amounts of coffee as well as a bit of brute force.  Well he yanked my covers off me.  I think that could be categorized as brute force, don't you?  We were in the car by 9am on our way to pick up my author friend, Judith Laik, and from there, we drove south to Tacoma.

Tacoma Traffic was confusing at best, and we were in somewhat of a muddle when we got to Round Table Pizza, and for the first time, it occurred to me that I had no idea what my contact looked like.  But I knew her name was Ursula so I asked around and, long story still too long, finally found her.  She said to get something to eat, which I did, but was last in line.

From left: Honey Beaulieu, Ursula Stomsvik, Jacquie Rogers, Sassy

And then, salad half-eaten, I got the signal to speak.  For whatever reason, I decided my prepared remarks didn't fit the bill so I just rambled off into the sunset.  The folks there were super nice, asked excellent questions, and it was obvious that I had landed in a hotbed of serious readers.  Especially since I completely sold out of books.

I'd like to thank Ursula for inviting me, all the Round Table Readers who made it so much fun, Elizabeth Flynn (my editor), and Mike Flynn (marketer).  The one who amazed me was Diane Garland (Your WorldKeeper) who flew in from Dubai, took a nap, and drove 40 miles to my event.  I'd buy her a latte but she's a tea drinker.

I encourage all my author friends to jump at the opportunity if you're invited to speak to this group!

Meantime, I've been writing, writing, writing.  Yes, Much Ado About Mail-Order Brides is coming right along.  I'm at the 2/3 mark.  I'm hoping the writing will go faster from here on out--it usually does.  Unless I get stuck, of course.  But I think I have everything worked out.  Sometimes writing gets complicated when you have over a dozen threads running in one story.  That's a lot to track!

If that's not enough, we finally heard from Sound Transit after close to ten years of being in limbo.  Yes, they're buying the house and will smoosh it for the train.  That means we'll be moving.  We don't know when or where to, but we're moving.  The appraisal will come in the next 60 days so you know what that means.

Wish us luck!

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TRYING SOMETHING NEW

By Caroline Clemmons

Do you stay with an author whose writing you enjoy if they change subgenre? I hope you are saying an enthusiastic “Yes!” to that question. You see, I’m straying into time travel romance for a few months.

I've tiptoed here before. I wrote a single time travel several years ago, OUT OF THE BLUE, in which an Irish heroine came forward from 1845 to today’s Texas and helped a detective solve several murders. Sales have been okay, but less than stellar. In addition, that was before I learned to choose titles carefully and didn’t know there were already numerous books of the same title. You can find that book on Amazon at http://a.co/8N79HVh.

Hoping for better luck this time, I’m writing a trilogy in which each heroine comes forward to today. The first is TEXAS LIGHTNING, book one of the Texas Time Travel Series. This is completed and with my editor now. I expect to release it March 17. In it, a female rancher comes forward from 1896 to find the hero firmly ensconced in what she believes is her home on her ranch.

The second is underway, TEXAS RAINBOW. This cover is one of my favorites. In it, the heroine is a flapper from 1920 who comes forward to discover descendants of her friends living in town. She is determined the youngest, Bobby, not get caught up in crime.

The third will be TEXAS STORM, in which a woman air service pilot (WASP) is forced to parachute to safety during a storm that took out her plane’s engine. Those brave pilots led dangerous lives. Imagine her surprise when she learns she has parachuted from 1943 into today. Reconciling herself to her new life requires a different kind of bravery.

After this trilogy, I expect to return to my usual western romances. At least, until a notion to try something new strikes me, which is one of the joys of being self-published. I can choose what I write and when. This is a great job and I'll keep writing as long as you keep reading my books!