Stop and Smell the Roses

If you always take time to stop and smell the roses, sooner or later, you’ll inhale a bee ~ Unknown

Sometimes you just have to relax and laugh and that's why I love about today's quote!  How many times in our fast paced, media driven lives, do we hear, "stop and smell the roses" these days?  

The tough thing about hearing this when you're working on a dream journey is knowing that success doesn't come through stopping and smelling the roses.  Success in any dream journey comes from having a clear vision and goals, routines and boundaries to work towards those goals, and friends to help you along the way.  And my new mantra is to keep it all simple so it doesn't become too complicated.

So yes, stop and smell the roses along your journey, but don't stop too often or too long, or yes, you will run into a bee. 

Make it a great finish to your week, everyone!

Change in Yourself

Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore ~ Dorothy, The Wizard of Oz

Once you get started on your dream journey and start accomplishing some of your smaller goals, you’ll notice a change in yourself.You’ll see the rest of your journey differently. You’ll notice that it’s not as hard as you once thought it might be. You’ll start looking at the outside world differently as well.

But beware - in my experience, just when I have things under control, I get knocked back two or three steps. What I’ve learned is that no matter how much I’ve learned and no matter how easy my routines and boundaries are to adhere to, I have to constantly remind myself all the reasons to keep going.

I’ve also learned that the best things for us (in this case, working on routines that help achieve goals in our dream journey) are sometimes the hardest to do. It’s easy to sleep in every morning and get up at the very last minute before you have to get ready for work. It can be grueling to get up two or three hours before work everyday (including weekends) to work on your dream goals. (The same can be said if you are working all day and coming home to work on dream goals).

What’s a change in yourself that you noticed right away once you started working on your dream journey?

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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from JMS Books !

Can two men find love amidst the pervasive culture of  propriety, honor, and expectation of the 1960s?

My latest novel, Need Your Love is available from JMS Books!

Parts of Jobs that We Love

Here’s to the parts of our jobs that we love ~ Jill Badonsky

No matter how much we enjoy our dream journey, there will be tasks that we just don’t like. For me, it’s the promo part of writing. I am inconsistent with asking for reviews from blogs, posting in the Facebook groups, and asking to do guest posts. But that is part of sales process in today’s Internet global market.

When I was in direct sales, one of the tips constantly given by top leadership was to hire other people to do the work that anyone could do. Recently, I read a Mary Kay Ash book and she talked about having a housekeeper as soon as she could afford it. Mary Kay said that anyone could clean her house, but only she could lead and build her team. So that’s one tip to get out of the tasks that you don’t like that have to be done.

I supposed I need to have more faith in my own work. I do need to hire a assistant to do the promo part for me. Promo needs to be consistent. I have to write the content in my own voice, but I don’t necessarily need to be the one that contacts all the blog sites out there. Amazing what brainstorms I come up with writing posts.

So, here’s to the parts of our jobs that we love, and help us figure out a way to delegate the stuff that we don’t.

What’s a task in your dream journey you’re able to hire out or delegate?

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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from Smashwords!

Can two men find love amidst the pervasive culture of  propriety, honor, and expectation of the 1960s?

My latest novel, Need Your Love is available from Smashwords!

Coming soon from JMS Books: Disappear With Me!

Relief

Here’s to a moment of relief ~ Jill Badonsky

So…I’m back at some of my regular routines. This is the third full week of consistent blog posts, I am participating in my critique groups, life is better than it has been.

I feel a sense of relief to resume many of my normal activities in my writing life. There have been times in the past when I felt guilty and worried about not completing those activities. My comfort comes not only from returning to the activities that build my writer brand, but also from giving myself a break.

Would I have prefered/wanted/loved to have more titles available at this point in my publishing career? Absolutely.

For me, it just wasn’t in the cards, and I am fine with that. Everything comes in its due time and evidently there are more life lessons to learn before I can put out another new title. Maybe it was to keep all my titles with one publisher? Seems to be working out for me so far.

Wherever you are in your dream journey, I hope you have some relief as well. My wish for you is that your relief is in accomplishment. But if that’s not where you are, my desire is that your relief comes in giving yourself a break.

Where, how, why do you feel relief on your dream journey?

_______________________________________________

Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from Kobo!

Can two men find love amidst the pervasive culture of  propriety, honor, and expectation of the 1960s?

My latest novel, Need Your Love is available from Kobo!

Muscular and Spiritual Energy

There’s a muscular energy in sunlight corresponding to the spiritual energy of the wind ~ Annie Dillard

Once you get your routines figured out, you might find them easy to adhere because they work so well for you.

My routines work for me because I truly am a morning person. I get up, ride my exercise bike, and then sit down at the computer for at least an hour before work each day. We are usually in bed by 9pm each night and I am up by 5 every day. This also helps me maintain a consistent sleep schedule.

Boundaries also work well for me, when it comes to writing. It’s hard for me to be creative after a full day of work, so I rarely work on creative, first draft writing in the evenings. I might work on editing if I have a novel coming out, but that is a bit different.

I’m not so good at setting boundaries with my NSEDJ, but I’m getting better at that as well.

I’d love to hear about how your routines and boundaries work well for your dream journey.

_______________________________________________

Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from Barnes and Noble!

Can two men find love amidst the pervasive culture of  propriety, honor, and expectation of the 1960s?

My latest novel, Need Your Love is available from Barnes and Noble!

Balance

Just don’t give up on trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong ~ Ella Fitzgerald

Balance, balance, balance…I’m having some issues with NSEDJ (not so evil day job, I really do love working for the people I do) and getting my writing editing done. Even as I write this during the week before Saturday, I am not going into the office until noon today. But as soon as I am done with some writing chores, I will crack open the laptop and work on some projects.

I am trying. I make lists of the most important tasks that need to get done and then focus on those in the time I have in the morning and in the evenings. It’s all a delicate balance.

What other tips do you have for maintaining balance in our busy lives?

Balance and Boundaries

If life give you lemons, make some kind of fruity juice ~ Conan O’Brien

How’ve you been? Me? Busy!!!

I just some extensive edits back on my next novel, Need Your Love, set in the 1960s. I tried on Monday and Tuesday to focus on working on those edits and exhausted myself. I had a church meeting on Wednesday and we were supposed to go grocery shopping on Thursday. Instead, we took the night off. And we did on Friday as well.

Although I want to get this manuscript reworked and out to Dreamspinner, I also have to balance that with life. My Not-So-Evil-Day-Job is still really busy. We didn’t go grocery shopping on
Thursday like we normally do because I hadn’t had a chance to do the list yet. Yes, achieving goals is important, but balancing that with everything is even more important sometimes.

Even today would be a great day to work on the editing process. It’s pouring here in Kansas City, but we are going to the check out the mall that is not too far from the house. We never got to it over the winter when it was cold, so we’ll do it today while it rains and we can’t hang out on our patio anyway.

Balance and boundaries, we’ve got to have them or we’ll kill ourselves trying to reach our goals.

What challenges do you have balancing your dream activity with everyday life?

Faith in Yourself

Faith gives you an inner strength and a sense of balance and perspective in life ~ Gregory Peck

So the last couple of weeks have a been reminder to have faith in myself. I write about having a vision, creating goals, developing routines and boundaries, and having friends along the journey. But sometimes I forget to mention having faith in yourself and remembering that lesson when it comes to my own work.

With Musa’s demise, both of my published titles have found homes with two new publishers. APTCTO only took twenty-four hours to submit the query and sign the contract. It helped I had had a Twitter conversation with JM about second editions, but still, I turned that deal around in 24 hours.  I signed a contract last week for DWM with Amber Quill Press.That deal took a bit longer, I had some insider information, but still, they accepted my work.

Can you believe it? Two different publishers accepted my work! But why shouldn’t I believe it? Those two novels received plenty of four and five star reviews when they were available. APTCTO was even mentioned as Best Historical in 2013 by The Novel Approach Reviews!  There was no reason I shouldn’t believe that my work would get picked up somewhere else fairly quick.

Do you ever feel that way along your dream journey? Do you ever have some of those same bouts of self-doubt that I do with my writing. The one thing to remember is that, believe it or not, you are doing a wonderful job at whatever you’re trying to accomplish. Remember, most people aren’t even working towards a goal that is extra curricular from earning a living. Even if your goal is a promotion at your job, very few people are working toward higher goals than making it through the day and the week. My facts aren’t based on anything but my own experience, but I promise.

Wherever you are on your dream journey, remember to have faith in yourself. I am sure, as in my case, your are doing great!

When was the last time you realized you weren’t giving yourself enough credit for what you were accomplishing?

Defiance

Here’s to defiance when it leads to creative freedom - Jill Badonsky

Next Tuesday, the first quarter of 2015 will already be behind us? How is your progress on this year’s goals going for you?

For me, it’s been a rocky year so far. I got off to a slow start in January, but returned to daily progress on goals in February. Then the big news came. I went immediately from two nearly completed manuscripts to four in the blink of an eye. After a brief mourning period, I reviewed my manuscripts and sent them off to new publishers. APTCTO got picked up by JMS Books and will be published in May. I am still waiting to hear on DWM.

One of the hidden benefits of rereading my published manuscripts was reacquainting myself with my early characters. I had planned to do so later in the year, but it was nice to do it now. I also gained a new appreciation and respect for APTCTO, and therefore my own writing. Another benefit of releasing second editions of my novels will be the fact that maybe I’ll have four or five new releases this year insted of just two or three.

I’ve revised my scheduled three or four times since January. Although one revision was just about fixing the dates, it made a big difference in the overall plan. There have still been days when I don’t get as much done as I want, but I seem to be able to get caught up. Part of that drive this year is a determination to set boundaries between my day job and my writing job/goals.

Overall, it hasn’t been a bad quarter. I have one contract signed and soon I will have two manuscripts in submission piles waiting for contracts. While I wait, I’ll plug away at fourth nearly complete manuscript and get it done before July.

How is your first quarter going?

The Day After Tomorrow

The day after tomorrow is the third day of the rest of your life ~ George Carlin

Happy Sunday! What are you working on today? Maybe you’re using the day to catch up what you didn’t get done last week or maybe you are trying to get ahead for the next week. Maybe you’re so caught up you can just take the day off, enjoy the winter weather inside, and watch movies.

What ever the case, use it wisely. Even taking time off from both day job activities and dream journey is using the time wisely to recharge and attack both on Monday morning.

What are you doing this weekend?

Don't Let Anyone Rob You

Don’t let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity. It’s your place in the world; it’s your life. Go on and do all you can with it, and make it the life you want to be ~ Mae Jennison

After a six to eight month absence, I think I am back. It has been busy, crazy at work learning new tasks and re-adjusting my work life to handle all the new tasks on our plates. I let my dream work suffer and now I am about six weeks or so behind.

I am not letting that stop me. I resolve to get caught up this year. I make that goal every year, but I’ve done it before so now I know I can do it again. I used the last two weeks to get caught up at work and make a plan, so now I can spend my mornings back on my writing.

I can’t believe how energized I was on Monday. Even though I had plenty to do over the weekend, I only worked a couple of hours, but created a plan for the week. I was able to work on a finished manuscript and create a plan to get back into my critique group routine this week. 

I am back, and ready to get writing and publishing with a vengeance.

How do you like to return to projects you have set aside for awhile?

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Is it possible fora two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

 

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from Musa Publishing!

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural? 

My latest novel, Disappear With Me is available from Musa Publishing!

Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Use #APTCTO and #disappearwithme to discuss on social media!

A More Substantial Reality

Meditation is such a more substantial reality than what we normally take to be reality ~ Richard Gere

If you’re like me, you’re probably working a demanding full time job and trying to achieve a dream goal, whether it is writing like me, direct sales, going to school, whatever it may be. In addition, I am involved in my church and we are buying a townhouse right now. Whew!

Sometimes I get so embroiled in everything, I get stuck on difficult challenges. I have such lofty goals with my writing, that I sometimes have problems moving the plot forward, or in the case of my current WIP, tying things together. What I have found lately is to just take a break and think about the scene on which I am working. For example, sometimes on the weekend, I stop writing and work on a packing project and think about a difficult scene or plot point. Then, when it comes to me, I have the chance to go back to the laptop and finish out my thought.

During the week it works a bit different. If I get a brainstorm, I usually have to make a note and revisit the manuscript another time. I do have an hour break in the morning taking Thomas to work that gives me a chance to think about my writing as well.

So when you get stuck, take a break, regroup and think about what you’re trying to accomplish. You’ll be amazed at how well you’re able to figure out your quandry.

What do you do when you get stuck? I’d love to hear!

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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from Amazon US!

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural? 

My latest novel, Disappear With Me is available from Amazon US!

Or, check out my author page on Amazon UK.

Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Use #APTCTO and #disappearwith me to mention on social media!

Wisdom Within Ourselves

Here’s to the wise people that inspire us, here’s to the wisdom within ourselves ~ Jill Badonsky

Here’s to the wisdom within ourselves! Do you remember the moment when you decided that you were going to pursue your dream? Did you feel scared or overwhelmed? And at the same time, exited and energized?

Along your dream journey, do you understand the times when you can push yourself and yet understand the times when you do need to slow down and take a break? All of those scenarios are the beauty of wisdom within ourselves.

My writing, day job, church obligations, and personal life have just all exploded this summer. Two or three weeks ago, I had a fabulous brainstorm for both a story but also a new method to my writing madness. I’ve been trying to achieve an aggressive word count goal each day. If this approach is successful I will adapt it as my method going forward.

Day job and church obligations are absolutely out of control. Last week I had to take a break.

The wisdom within me said, “I know you want to finish that new manuscript, but it’s too much. Take a break, regroup, and get back to it this weekend.”

So I did.

I spent Saturday and Sunday going back through the beginning of the manuscript (which by the way, is the end of the story), and fixing things that had changed along the way. I didn’t get a lot of word count accomplished, but I did get editing and polishing done.

If you’re like me, your dream goal can’t come true soon enough. But there are times, like last week, when I just have to say, “I am only one person, and something else needs my attention this week.”

What do you do when you realize that you can only do so much? 

_______________________________________________

Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from BookStrand!

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural? 

My latest novel, Disappear With Me is available from BookStrand!

Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Join the conversation, use #APTCTO and #disappearwithme on social media!

Faithful Gardeners

Help us to be ever faithful gardeners of the spirit, who know that without darkness nothing comes to birth, and without light nothing flowers ~ Mary Sarton

What an amazing couple of weeks! Still on a high from RainbowCon, I am furiously working to complete the manuscript for my third novel, The Higher Law. Things are coming along, just not as quickly as I had hoped. I have added 60 - 80 pages to this manuscript, which has been a rarity for me. Usually I cut stuff in the later versions. It’s a result of what I learned at RainbowCon.

It’s been a busy week as well. Now it’s time to take a deep breath and enjoy my birthday this weekend.

What are you up to?

_______________________________________________

Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from Smashwords!

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural? 

My latest novel, Disappear With Me is available from Smashwords!

Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Join the conversation, use #APTCTO and #disappearwithme on social media!

Defiance

Here’s to defiance when it leads to creative freedom ~ Jill Badonsky

I’ve been very defiant lately. I didn’t write the whole week after the time change to allow me time to adjust. Last week, instead of writing blog posts, I did nothing but promote other people’s stuff on my book blog.

On top of all that, I have a new plot bunny that will not go away. This one is about a ten year old girl during the depression. It totally doesn’t fit with my m/m romance genre, but it’s going to be one hilarious novel. It’s not a matter of it, it’s a matter of when.

The break from working on my second draft and the break from blogging has really helped me focus. The break from writing is worked into my submission schedule for the rest of the year. Although I didn’t write my own content last, week I still had content to consistently provide. All in all, it’s been a win-win for me.

When have you been defiantly creative lately?

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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

Purchase A Place to Call Their Own through iTunes for your iPad, iPhone, or iPod today!

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural? 

Purchase Disappear With Me through iTunes for your iPad, iPhone, or iPod today!

Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Join the conversation, use #APTCTO and #disappearwithme on social media!

Your Best Self Makes Your Best Stuff

When you're settled and still, that's the best way to create because your best self makes your best stuff ~ Bobby McFerrin

I just made my rooming arrangements for Rainbow Con, for readers and writers of LGBT fiction. I was just telling my roommate that all I'm low-key and I just need a quiet place to read, write, and sleep. I plan on spending most of my time at the Con.

One thing I can't compromise on is the time of day that I do my writing. I have to write in the morning when I first wake up. That's when I am my best self for writing and that's the only time I can be productive. I have tried to do some in the morning and some in the evening after work, it's never as satisfying for me as getting up and getting it done.

Now I am taking a bit of a break this week because of the time change. I am sleeping in a bit and not worrying about my word count goals. I planned for the break this week in my over all time frame for finishing up The Higher Law.

What's one routine boundary you can't break yourself?

_______________________________________________

Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from BookStrand!

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural? 

My latest novel, Disappear With Me is available from BookStrand!

Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Join the conversation, use #APTCTO and #disappearwithme on social media!

There are No Rules

The only rule is that there are no rules ~ Del Close

This is the week I break all my rules in my routine and let my body adjust to the time change.  The last two time changes, I have just had a horrible time with it. I know, I know, I am getting old. That's why I'm adjusting my schedule this week.

The weird thing about is that the exhaustion doesn't show up for a week or two after the time change. So this time, I am just sleeping in for the next few days, then backing my wake up time. By next weekend, I should be back to my regular time and hopefully it will be enough for me to adjust.

If you're just starting a dream journey or just having some early success, I understand how you might be shocked that I would even admit this. I was there one time, too. I just worked through the exhaustion to meet my goals. And there are times when you have to do that. If I were working on edits for release deadline, I'd have to work through it.

It's just a temporary adjustment so I can be more productive overall.

Have you made any temporary adjustments to your dream journey routines lately?

_______________________________________________

Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from All Romance eBooks!

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural? 

My latest novel, Disappear With Me is available from All Romance eBooks!

Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Use #APTCTO and #disappearwithme to mention on social media!

I'm With You Kid

Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told, "I'm with you kid, let's go!" ~ Maya Angelou

If you've been on your dream journey for a while and achieved some of your goals, I think you might understand what this quote is saying. I am in the midst of revising a third manuscript and trying to keep two published novels on the tops of readers minds.

I just had the busiest of month ever of promotions. I participated in a Valentine's Day blog hop, wrote three guest posts, and had three giveaways. It has been one of those months where every day I worked on my revisions. I didn't always get everything done, but then I reworked my plan. And after two days of working, I seem to be finding a balance between being productive, moving forward on edits, and all the social media interaction and promotion scheduling I need to do.

I'm busy, but it's a fun busy right now.

Do you like to work in a busy fashion?

_______________________________________________

Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from OmniLit !

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural?

My latest novel, Disappear With Me is available from OmniLit!

Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Use #APTCTO and #disappearwithme to mention on social media!

The Most Dangerous Thing

The most dangerous thing in the world is to try to leap a chasm in two jumps ~ David Lloyd George

How are your goals for 2014 going? I hope they are going well. Mine have been under constant revision. When I completed the first drafts of both A Place to Call Their Own and Disappear With Me, I was at a stand still as far as the editing was concerned.

First of all, it's hard for me to edit my own work. I know what it's supposed to say most of the time. I can't help it if my fingers don't type exactly what I meant or I was the victim of auto-correct in a typing session. But now, I have a new revision strategy that I employ.

I am retyping the entire ms from beginning to end. That helps me re-read the manuscript how it's written. It also helps me "hear" in my own head the awkward sentences. I amuse myself with the notes I wrote in the first draft to fix the second time around.

My challenge is wanting to do too much! I still work a full time job and promotion seems to be a full time job. So I have to adjust my boundaries and make sure I am taking time for me as well. But I think I finally got it figured out this week.

Have you had to readjust your boundaries or routines this year? I'd love to hear!

_______________________________________________

Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from All Romance eBooks!

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural? 

My latest novel, Disappear With Me is available from All Romance eBooks!

Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Use #APTCTO and #disappearwithme to mention on social media!