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!

Romance Blog Part II

Six years ago, I embarked on my blogging journey. “If you want to be an author,” they said, “you have to blog every day and develop a platform.” So I started.

But what was I going to blog about on a daily basis? My life certainly isn’t that interesting that everyone wants to read a diarized version of activities each day.

I was new to writing and didn’t consider myself a romance writer at the time. I could have done historical based articles, but then the audience of the blog wouldn’t have matched the audience of my novels.

The one thing I did know about, the one topic I could share from my heart, was my journey to become a published author. I know about setting high goals, breaking it down into achievable chunks, and doing the work to back up the goal.

Along my own path to success (which by my definition was publication), I shared my set backs, my successes, the revision of my goals, boundaries, and Tomlin's. I even created another blog to share spotlight my writing friends work (creating that community).

But lately something hasn’t felt comfortable about the content I’ve been sharing. I dropped off the email list for a couple of blog tour sites. I’ve had my own setback of about six to seven months of not working on my blog or my own dream journey. My goal is to do both. Not only do I want to promote my own romance writing and other great authors, I also want to continue to inspire others in their dream journeys.

So the choice is clear, it’s time to split the two blogs!

       

This blog has been renamed dean frech ~ lgbtqia+ romance writer. My tag line remains the same, Not the history you were taught. I chose to change to the lgbtqia+ designation because, although I only have MM titles published and in the immediate queue right now, I have some ideas for FF and transgendered romance. Who knows what else my twisted brain will come up with along the way.
I am moving the motivational stuff to a new blog, called How I Did It: 5 Easy Steps to Accomplishing Your Goals and Realizing your Dreams. I will also be establishing a new Twitter account and Facebook page for folks to follow me in my journey and use the tools I do to achieve their own dreams and goals. Although not ready to go yet, you can see the blog here:


How I Did It: 5 Steps for Accomplishing Your Goals and Realizing Your Dreams


In addition to my own content and news on my own writing career, I will be joining forces with some blog tour companies to help promote my fellow authors in the LGBTQIA+ fiction arena. Currently I am hosting for IndigoMarketing. I also take direct requests for promo spot, just send me an email to deanfrech@aol.com.

Note about review policy: I don’t reviews any more. As an author myself, I don’t want to muddle what could be a fun collaborative relationship with a review of book I didn’t like. Unfortunately,I don’t have the time to read all the books I want to, let alone try to get something done in time for a release or specific promo date. As the blog grows and expands, I may host a team of reviewers, but I won’t do the reviews myself. When I read a novel, I do so because I enjoy the author, as research for my own writing, etc.

Thank you for joining me today on a new leg of my blogging journey! I hope you return regularly for the latest from me, my Rainbow Snippets on Sundays, and the latest from the lgbtquia+ fiction world.

What do you like to see most from romance author blogs? I'd love to hear!

Change is Inevitable

Change is inevitable - except from a vending machine ~ Robert C. Gallagher

Did you realize that even if you didn’t choose to embark on a dream journey, inevitably your life would change?

Whether we want it to, or not, our lives and the world around us are constantly changing. Had I not quit smoking 19 years ago, who knows what my health would be like today. The world may have passed me over, had I not returned to school and finished my B.S. degree.

When I decided to write a novel, life was pretty good. I had been unemployed. The week I got the job offer, I found the characters and the story in my head that would become A Place to Call Their Own. My life has changed a lot since then, but how different life would be today without a hobby like writing to do every day? Without blog posts to write weekly? Without sales and reviews to promote? Now I write stories that (I hope) change other people’s lives.

If you’re wavering on starting a dream journey, remember your life with change. Hopefully your dream journey will help it change for the better.

How has your dream journey changed your life?

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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!

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 Amazon US! 

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!

Gut Feelings

Here’s to clear gut feelings that spare us emotions and save us time ~ Jill Badonsky

The answers to all your questions about our dream journeys are deep within us. We each hold our own answers. Sometimes we just don’t know it.

When I found my story for my first novel, A Place to Call Their Own, something deep inside resonated that it would be my first novel. I immediately started working on notes and research, developing the characters, etc. It took me four years to write the first draft, but I knew Frank and Gregory’s story was the first I would tell.

Recently, my husband had the choice of two jobs. I told him he had the answers within himself. Even though he quit a job he had only just started, he took the job that was Monday through Friday at a small family owned company that he truly loved. Although he felt guilty about quitting the other job, we knew it was the correct decision for him.

I’d love to hear about a gut feeling you had about your dream journey and how it turned out.

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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 BookStrand!

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 BookStrand!

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!

Life Has its Own Forces

Life has its own hidden forces which you can only discover by living ~ Soren Kierkegaard

If you’re well on your way through your dream journey, you might have already noticed how different your life has turned. You’ve probably met new people, also engaged in your dream journey, and are becoming more involved in the community of dreamers.

That’s been one of the most rewarding aspects of working to become a writer, the community in which I belong. Prior to attending a convention in 2014, I interacted with a few people on Facebook and Twitter. Meeting people in person and spending quality time with them solidified some of those relationships.

If you have the opportunity to commune with others striving for your same, or similar, dream goals, by all means take it. The number of support groups online is endless, but there is nothing like interacting in person to help create community and achieve your goals.

I’d love to hear about a time when you got to spend real time with other in your dream goals and how it helped your own 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 Omnilit!

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 Omnilit!

Faithful Gardener

Help us to be forever faithful gardeners of the spirit, who know that without darkness nothing come to birth and with out light nothing flowers ~ Mary Sarton

When asked recently how I feel, with everything going on, it feels wonderful to say that things are going great!

When I examine why, the common denominator seems to be back into regular writing routines. I can’t believe how much better I feel emotionally, spiritually, even physically. The other day (and even the morning I write this) my appetite is back with a vengeance.

Its seems when I operate with all cylinders firing, that is when I’m the best. I’m back to blogging regularly, promoting my titles, and most importantly, writing. I’m setting boundaries at the NSEDJ and spending energy on myself and my relationship with my husband.

The one area still a bit out of balance is my reading. I have devoured as much as I can on self help topics. I need to balance that with fiction of my favorite authors again. I am trying to enjoy Kayla Jameth’s A Tested Love that came out last month.

I’d love to hear about a time when you found peace when you returned to your dream journey goals.

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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 All Romance eBooks!

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 All Romance eBooks!

A Lump in the Throat

A poem begins with a lump in the throat ~ Robert Frost

Your dream journey usually also starts as a lump in the throat or an itch that one can’t shake. It’s an idea so that so ingrained in your being, it’s probably always been there.

For me, once I settled into my writing routines, I found writing a natural extension of myself. Getting up early in the morning, working for an hour before going to work, makes my day go much better. I much more relaxed, calm, and serene during the day when I get up, excercise, then write for at least an hour.

Working on my dream goal is a regular par of my day as eating or sleeping. When I don’t make the time to get up and work on my projects, my day seems lacking.

Tell me about a part of your dream journey that was easy for you.

_______________________________________________

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!

The Answers are Within

Take full account of the excellencies which you possess, and in gratitude remember how you would hanker after them, if you had them not ~ Marcus Aurelius

After you discover your dream journey, there might be a time of hesitation before you actually get started. If you’re already in the chosen field of your dream goal, this just might mean that you stall progress. For those who haven’t begun…well we all know what that means.

If you’re in that position, don’t despair. Fear of the unknown is natural. Remember this: you have the answers deep inside.

Yes, you read that right, each of us has the answers inside ourselves for the questions we seek.

When I started writing, I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t even know the ending to the story at that point. I had the words in my head and I started typing them out on the blank page on the computer. Inside though, I knew I was going in the right direction.

I did seek out help through books and feedback from others, so the story that is published today is not the rough draft I first produced. I didn’t know everything I needed to know (do you ever?), but I had a gut feeling on where to start and how to progress.

You have the answers deep inside. Take a moment to listen and see what you find out.

I’d love to hear about a time when you figured out your own answers in 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 Omnilit!

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 Omnilit!

Good Actions

Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others ~ Plato

When we moved to Kansas City on December 31, 2009, I made sure we went to church on that first Sunday. For a couple of years I had found Central Presbyterian Church  and knew they were an open and welcoming congregation. I had not been happy with our church where we lived before and was excited to return to my Presbyterian roots. .

That winter in Kansas City was snowy and cold. On that first Sunday morning, it snowed another four inches Saturday night into Sunday. (Later I found out that in ten years, the pastor had never canceled church!) I called the church office, and the message did not indicate that church would be closed, so we made the trek through the city to church that Sunday morning. I’ll never forget that first Sunday with our new church family. I knew that day that we had our found our new church home in Kansas City.

Later that month when we invited the pastor over for coffee, she told us that she was inspired by our story. Determined to start the New Year in a new city right, we traveled to church in the snow. Not only was it good for ourselves, but we inspired others that year.

I think it’s the same when you’re working on accomplishing a dream. In the beginning, the people in your life can act put off or hurt that you might be spending more time on your goals. But after just a little bit of success, soon they return to your corner, cheering you on. Then, as a result of your actions, you inspire them to reach for their own goals.

I’d love to hear about a time when you inspired others to act!

_______________________________________________

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!

My $35K List

Good habits, once established, are just as hard to break as are bad habits ~ Robert Puller

I recently read in Mary Kay Ash’s 1994 autobiography Miracles Happen about her $35K list. This is a list of the top 6 things you’d like to accomplish each day. This comes from a story in the book where a consultant suggested executives of a company pay them what this idea was worth and that ended up being $35,000.

A couple of weeks ago, I created my $35K list for writing. Then I created a grid that I can print out each week and check off my list each day.

If you follow me, you might be ask, why my topic for today returns to the basic of establishing routines. I have fallen out of my routines for the last three months or so. In short, after being sick over the holidays and responsibilities at the NSEDJ (not so evil day job), I just needed the extra rest and have neglected progress on my writing.

That’s the thing about most dream journeys. In my case, I was able to take a break and it worked for me. Now, if I depended on royalties for my income, this break might have been a different story. At this point in my life, all is well.

The other interesting note for me on this exercise is that my $35K list isn’t anything I didn’t already know I needed to be doing. All six routines: writing, blogging, promo, obtaining reviews, obtaining guest post spots, and working with my critique groups are activities I always did anyway. I didn’t always do them every day.

Once again, the answers were inside of me. I needed to get back to the place where I could focus on my writing routines and the 35K helped me get going again.

Have you had a time when you restarted along your dream journey by going back to the basics? 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!

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!

2016 Resolutions - What Are Yours?

Here’s to having a fresh view take you by surprise ~ Jill Badonsky

I’m a bit late, but it’s my first post of the year! That means I need to share my resolutions for the year. If you’ve kept up with me the last few years, you know how important I think that resolutions are. Even though I can look back on many of these posts and see that I didn’t achieve what I set out to do, there are plenty of New Year’s Resolutions that I accomplished. Some of them include:

• Quitting smoking in 1997
• Going back to school to complete my undergrad degree in 1998
• Finishing writing A Place to Call Their Own in 2012
• Writing Disappear With Me in 2012
• Publishing 3 titles in 2015 (although 2 of them were 2nd editions…LOL)

So, in the spirit of both writing goals and sharing them, here are my writing goals for 2016:

• Write 3 complete novels and submit them to publishers
• Start a fourth by the end of the year.
• Self publish Disappear With Me when my rights revert on March 31, 2016
• Be more consistent with promotion

What are you working on in 2016? 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 JMS Books LLC!

It is also available from Amazon!

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? 

  Disappear With Me isavailable from Amber Quill Press!

A chance meeting at a wedding in June, 1966, ignites a spark between Eron Lassiter and Garrett Emerson. Can they find happiness amidst the still pervasive culture of propriety, honor, and expectation in the 1960s?

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

It is also available from Amazon!

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?

Disappear With Me has a New Home!

Time’s fun when you’re having flies ~ Kermit the Frog

I am excited to announce that Disappear With Me has a new home! I just signed a contract with Amber Quill Press for their Amber Allure imprint. I am excited that DWM has a home with a bigger publisher in the gay romance world. I’m also excited that it will sit along with other great gay historical authors and titles.

It looks like DWM will be also be released in May, more details to follow as I get them.

Here is a blurb about Disappear With Me:

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?

In 1910, the United Kingdom was in turmoil. King Edward died after only nine years on the throne. The social class system that upheld British society for centuries was being chipped away by social, political, and economic unrest across the Commonwealth. Amidst this backdrop, Reverend Leander Norris is accused of sodomy. After discovering his own self-worth and unconditional love, Leander finds the courage to stand up for what he believes is right and pleads not guilty to the charges. Throughout the trial, Leander’s past is revealed, including the temptations that bring the accusations against him. By the end of the trail, Leander is once again reunited with a romantic interest from the past, but it may be too late to rekindle any love that might remain, given the circumstances of the era and Leander’s likely sentence.


Here’s a link to the Amber Quill’s website in case you are not familiar:




http://www.amberquill.com/