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!

Jingle When You Walk

My heart has been broken so many times, it jingles when I walk ~ Garrison Keillor

If you’re like me, this is not your first dream journey. Establishing a writing career is not my first stab at large goals. I did quit smoking and I did finish my BS degree. But there have been a lot of dreams along the way that didn’t work out.

I think that has made me more resilient this time, it could be age as well…LOL! Whatever it is, I get up everyday now with a plan and a goal and move forward with my dreams of the next published novel.

Do you think past failed dreams help you today? I’d love to hear!

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!

Happy New Year!

If you have follow me, you know I am a strong proponent of New Year's Resolutions, Goal Setting, and Goal Sharing. Here are my goals for 2015:

1. Rework and publish Need Your Love.
2. Rewrite and publish The Higher Law.
3. Finish writing and polishing, then publish Sartin.
4. Write and then publish A Life to Call Our Own, the sequel to A Place to Call Their Own.
5. Write the sequel to Disappear With Me.
6. Write the sequel to The Higher Law.
7. Write a non-fiction book about achieving your goals.
8. Start writing A Love to Call His Own, the sequel to A Life to Call Our Own.

What are your goals for the year? I'd love to hear.

Stop by my friends and see what their goals are for 2015:

1. velvetpanic Heloise West | mmromantic historical

2. Blue Night blog

3. C.V. Madison | Dreamer of Words

4. Alexis Duran | Writer of Fantasy, SF and Erotica

5. Jena Wade | Author of erotic romance

6. Kimber Vale | Come for the sex. Stay for the stor

7. Sexy Erotic Xciting

8. The Blunt Instrument | Take that how you will…

9. Dean Pace-Frech

10. Jennah Scott

11. Amelia Bishop

12. Halls Without Shame | Musings of JT Hall

13. Chris McHart

14. skyejonesromanceblog

15. Shiloh Saddler 

16. Hayley Whitehall

 

Musa Publishing: You'll Have to Use the Stairs

I'm over on the Musa Blog talking about getting goals done by the end of the year!

Check us out!

Musa Publishing: You'll Have to Use the Stairs: by L. Dean Pace-Frech "The elevator to success is out of order. You’ll have to use the stairs…one step at a time" ~ Joe Girard ...

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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!

Poetry is the Evidence

Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash ~ Leonard Cohen

How is your dream journey going for 2014? We still have about 14 or 15 weeks left of the year to accomplish things. I had a rough draft writing time last year, but got back on track in January. I’ve been going strong ever since. I started with a new crit group of other gay romance writers that has helped my craft as well. I finished one manuscript and an very close to finishing two others.

Whatever “poetry” can be translated to in your dream journey is just the evidence that your goal is going along, or burning, well. For a writer, it is the production of well-written manuscripts. If you’re in sales, that is the growth of your business. If you’re in school or changing careers, it’s each of those steps towards that new education.

How are your goals coming along for 2014? 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!

Your Whole LIfe Shows in Your Face

I think your whole life shows in your face and you should be proud of that ~ Lauren Bacall

Does your life show in your face? Have you sacrificed blood, sweat, and tears to get where you’re at today? I hope so, I think in some way or other we all have.

What are you reading this weekend? 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 Kobo !

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 Kobo!

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

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

A Point on Which the Soul May Fix

Nothing contributes so much to tranquilize the mind as a steady purpose, a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye ~ Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

When I am not busy, sometimes it feels like I don’t get a lot done. For example, I am a big procrastinator, so quick five minute things constantly get shoved to “I’ll do it later this week,” or “another time.” Then, I feel like I’m rushing to get stuff done, like make a grocery shopping list, just in the nick of time. Do you ever feel that way?

I love the act of actually writing a manuscript. What I have figured out about his task is because there is a word count goal that is associated with this task. I can actually measure the amount of work that gets done each day towards my ultimate goal of finishing a novel. Where I get tripped up on is the editing/polishing part. Not only is it harder to quantify the task, but by the time I’m polishing, I don’t read what I’ve written, I read what I think it should say.

By keeping my mind on the end goal, a manuscript ready for publication, I learn to balance not only my time but also perfect may art. I seem to do that better on a deadline, even if it is self imposed.

What about you, do you better on deadlines, self-imposed or those imposed by other restrictions? I’d love to hear!

_______________________________________________

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!

Musa Publishing: To Post, or Not to Post: That is the Question

Musa Publishing: To Post, or Not to Post: That is the Question: by L. Dean Pace-Frech "Creativity is piercing the mundane to find the marvelous" ~ Bill Moyers When I started my writing caree...

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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!

Do You Want it Desperately Enought?

You can have anything you want if you want it desperately enough. You must want it with an exuberance that erupts through the skin and joins the energy that created the world ~ Sheila Graham

Have you started working on your goals for this year yet? If no, do you have a plan in place? Maybe school doesn’t start until the May term? Maybe you have a fourth quarter sales goal that you’re working towards?

But what if, for whatever reason, you’ve given up on your goals? It’s sad, but easy to do. The best things for us are ususally the hardest to do, eating right, working out versus not working out. Going after dream goals is the same way. It’s so easy to stop after one or two days of less than desirable results and shelve any ideas we might have had. Believe me, it took four years to write the first draft of my first novel.

If you want to achieve your goals, you have to put forth the energy that created the world. You have to put yourself out there and make sacrifices. Many of the sacrifices might be temporary. If you have to get up early in the morning to work on your dream journey, or fore go television at night, that’s usually temporary. If you have a family, involve them in the goal, maybe they can take over household chores, temporarily, to help you meet your goal?

Do you want your goals desperately enough in 2014? Are you working on them now?

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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 Kobo !

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 Kobo!

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

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

The Awe-Manac Misstake Day

Here's to silly mistakes that turn into creative discoveries ~ Jill Badonsky

I finished another first draft last week! Hooray! I can't believe it still feels like the first time I did that two years ago this time. But I'm getting better at being productive. I got back to a fourth manuscript (merman story) and I have been revising The Higher Law at the same time. It's crazy but it's fun.

And here's the mistake I made. I overbooked myself.

I went from few promotion activities in January to a million this month!  I have done three guest blogs, and am in the middle of two giveaways that last this week (see the links below!). Talk about making mistakes, I booked not only my own blog hop with a giveaway, but a giveaway on a another site. Oh well, that's two chances for everyone to win Disappear With Me.

So feel free to make mistakes and don't forget to register to win one of two giveaways this week.

(And if you can't wait for the announcements, both novels are on sale for only $1.99 this week!)

When was the last time a mistake turned out good? 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 Barnes and Noble!

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 Barnes and Noble!

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

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

Nightmares

I have dreams and I've had nightmares. I overcame my nightmares because of my dreams ~ Jonas Salk

What nightmares do you have think about? For me, it seems to be about not being happy at work in life.  So how do I overcome that? With my further dreams of a success!

Sometimes these dire thoughts fuel me to keep working, especially when I'm struggling. It also helps to fuel my daily routines because I don't want those dire thoughts to come true. I turn the dire thoughts around into positive actions to prevent them from coming true.

How do you handle negative self talk along 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?

When the War Between the States ended in 1865 many Americans emerged from the turmoil energized by their possibilities for the future. Frank Greerson and Gregory Young were no different. After battling southern rebels and preserving the Union, the two men set out to battle the Kansas Prairie and build a life together. Frank yearned for his own farm, away from his family—even at the risk of alienating them. Gregory, an only child, returned home to claim his inheritance to help finance their adventure out west.

Between the difficult work of establishing a farm on the unforgiving Kansas prairie, and the additional obstacles provided by the weather, Native Americans and wild animals, will their love and loyalty be enough to sustain them through the hardships?

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

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

Join the conversation:  use #APTCTO to talk about the novel on social media!

This is the Day

This is a day to separate what does work for you from what is no longer needed. Time to toss out old regrets, useless feelings or past resentments ~ Ed and Deb Shapiro

No matter what your dream journey, there will always be advice from those who have gone before you that say you need to this and you need to that to be successful.  As a writer I am told that I need to blog everyday to build my platform.

But that doesn't work for me.  For years I struggled with not only coming up with a topic to post about and also guilt when I didn't get a post published. Then there were days when I got a blog post done, but no writing in the novel. Crazy! 

I finally came to terms with the fact that I am too busy to write a blog post every day of the week. Even when I tried to write more than one post a day for the future dates, those posts quickly dwindled out.

I did figure out I could post four days a week. One on Saturday and Sunday and two during the week.  I struggled for just a bit that I this wasn't every day, but it was a schedule I could work with. Every since I figured out, posting regularly on my blog has not been a problem.

So my advice is this:  it's your dream journey and you are the one that has to take the steps to reach your goals. Even if another expert in your field is telling you to do something, and it doesn't work for you, modify the advice to fit your schedule and your dream. It might take you longer, but it also might make the dream journey much more enjoyable!

What is a routine in your dream journey you modify to fit your schedule?

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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?
 
When the War Between the States ended in 1865 many Americans emerged from the turmoil energized by their possibilities for the future. Frank Greerson and Gregory Young were no different. After battling southern rebels and preserving the Union, the two men set out to battle the Kansas Prairie and build a life together. Frank yearned for his own farm, away from his family—even at the risk of alienating them. Gregory, an only child, returned home to claim his inheritance to help finance their adventure out west.

Between the difficult work of establishing a farm on the unforgiving Kansas prairie, and the additional obstacles provided by the weather, Native Americans and wild animals, will their love and loyalty be enough to sustain them through the hardships?

Purchase A Place to Call Their Own from Musa Publishing today!

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

Join the conversation:  use #APTCTO to talk about the novel on social media!

Don't Stop at the Beginning

When it comes to exploring your creative side, it's very easy to think of all the reasons you can't do it--you don't have the time, you don't have the money, etc.--but if you are truly passionate about expressing yourself, you can find a way. When you feel as though you can't do something, the simple antidote is action: Begin doing it. Start the process, even if it's just a simple step, and don't stop at the beginning. Take the next step and the next until what you've dreamed about becomes a reality ~ Marcus Buckingham


When I decided I was going to write a novel, I just sat down and started writing.  I had my characters in mind and I knew generally what the plot would be about (the beginning, the majority of the novel, and how it would end). I had not studied the fiction writing process, I had not studied the world of publishing.  That was 2008 and how times have changed in just five years!

But I had passion and that was to write my story.  Along the way, I learned how to craft my story into an appealing work of fiction.  I also learned (through research and the hard way, LOL) about the world of publishing and changes taking place within it. I didn't stop at the beginning and kept going. It took me four years to complete the first draft and another year to see it published, but it's done.

My advice if you want to do something is just start doing it knowing what you do know. Anything you need to learn can be picked up along the way.

When you jump into a new task or goal, do you jump in and do it or do you research before you start?

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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?
 
When the War Between the States ended in 1865 many Americans emerged from the turmoil energized by their possibilities for the future. Frank Greerson and Gregory Young were no different. After battling southern rebels and preserving the Union, the two men set out to battle the Kansas Prairie and build a life together. Frank yearned for his own farm, away from his family—even at the risk of alienating them. Gregory, an only child, returned home to claim his inheritance to help finance their adventure out west.

Between the difficult work of establishing a farm on the unforgiving Kansas prairie, and the additional obstacles provided by the weather, Native Americans and wild animals, will their love and loyalty be enough to sustain them through the hardships?

Purchase A Place to Call Their Own from Kobo today!

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

Join the conversation:  use #APTCTO to talk about the novel on social media!

It's Not Forever

Build on your past successes, be grateful for what you have, and know that this, too, shall pass. It's only for the now. Whatever we're facing, it's not forever ~ Dave Pelzer

Can you believe it's August already?  Where has the time gone? 

I love the month of August.  This time of year (August, September) is like a renewal for me.  I've started new jobs, new careers, and some milestone moments in my life during this time.

When I was growing up, my dad was a teacher, so this time of year really did feel more like new year for all of us, more than January ever did.  Now, when August rolls around, I get energized because I know that the end of year is right around the corner.

I set out to complete three goals this year:

1. Get #APTCTO published.
2. Prepare Disappear With Me for submission.
3. Complete the first draft of The Higher Law.

So far I have accomplished 1, and nearly done with 2.  I have gotten started on The Higher Law, but only about ten percent done.

So, as August rolls around this year, I am ready to get this third manuscript written.

How is your year going?  What are your plans for the last five months of the year?

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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?
 
When the War Between the States ended in 1865 many Americans emerged from the turmoil energized by their possibilities for the future. Frank Greerson and Gregory Young were no different. After battling southern rebels and preserving the Union, the two men set out to battle the Kansas Prairie and build a life together. Frank yearned for his own farm, away from his family—even at the risk of alienating them. Gregory, an only child, returned home to claim his inheritance to help finance their adventure out west.

Between the difficult work of establishing a farm on the unforgiving Kansas prairie, and the additional obstacles provided by the weather, Native Americans and wild animals, will their love and loyalty be enough to sustain them through the hardships?

Purchase A Place to Call Their Own from Smashwords today!

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

Join the conversation:  use #APTCTO to talk about the novel on social media!