Tag Archives: Goals

Mid-Month Update for July

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Horn Worm in the Tomatoes by Randy Cockrell

Horn Worm in the Tomatoes by Randy Cockrell

I cannot believe it’s the middle of the month already. July is a busy month and I guess that’s why it’s going so fast.

Fourth of July was pretty much rained out here in Payson. The town held the fireworks but very few people were left to watch them fire off in the rain.

The garden has been going like blockbusters. I’m harvesting blackberries, swiss chard, herbs, and sungold cherry tomatoes. The other tomato plants are producing but they’re all still green. There is no sign of hornworms yet, which makes me thankful. They get as big as my forefinger and can eat a tomato plant to just stem in no time flat. This is the time of year they show up so I’ve been carefully examining the plants every time I water. Unfortunately, they look exactly like a tomato leaf so they’re tough to spot. Other plants in the garden, hot and sweet peppers, cantaloupe, summer squash, butternut squash, peas, and green and yellow beans. The cantaloupe have, so far, produced two small ‘lopes but the pill bugs are eating them before they are even close to ripe. I don’t generally like to use bug killer but if I don’t, there won’t be any cantaloupe for me. The picture at the top of the page is of a hornworm, just in case you’ve never seen one before. It looks like an alien, doesn’t it?

July’s Camp NaNo is proceeding nicely. I have a 7K short story done and yesterday I completed the first of two novelettes for my new Brown Rain series. The novelette, titled The Beginning, finished at 21K words in the first draft which puts it in the novella category. I don’t mind. Longer is nearly always better in my opinion. I’ll start the second one today and continue my march toward the 50K NaNo goal for the month. I’m at 28K, past the word mid-point with time to spare.

I’m 18 chapters into the semi-final revision of Revolution, a little over half way done. I’ll hand it off to one more editor, my hubby, for a final look see then one last edit before formatting for release. Yes, the editing, rewriting process takes longer than the 1st draft writing. Be patient, it’s on its way.

The Goodreads site offers a Question the Author option. What do you think, are there questions you’d like to ask and no place to ask them? Would you be interested if I signed up for that on the Goodreads site?

Thanks for stopping by my blog today.

Like any author, my books sell based on reviews. Would you be interested in getting a free copy to review for me? Go to the button on the right side of the blog or go to my Newsletter tab to sign up. Or sign up here. Use Control, Click to access the link. Let me know you’d like to be a reviewer on the e-tailer or Goodreads site of your choice.

I have an in depth interview on my Smashwords Author page. You can read it here. Don’t see information about me you’d like to know? Leave me your question in my comments and I’ll try to answer it.

Hard Choices: A Gulliver Station Story released May17th! I’m pretty excited about it. You can buy at: Apple, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, or Smashwords today!

Published!

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Piano Poster by Elthenstorm via www.DeviantArt.com

Piano Poster by Elthenstorm via www.DeviantArt.com

I’ve been working like crazy on my books this month. Today, I got my 3rd Gulliver Station book, Hard Choices, up on Amazon (ASIN: B00KEVWYHW) and Smashwords (https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/439286).  Distribution to other distributors will take a week to two weeks to accomplish.  I’ve decided to give my readers a deal. Sign up for my newsletter and I’ll reward you with a free copy of Book 2, The Challenge. Sign up here. Use Control, Click to access the link. You all are getting this offer before even my newsletter people. Hurry, offer ends Sunday the 25th!

This month I’m continuing the writing habit with my writing site’s May Story a Day. I’ve written seven stories so far in addition to working on my 2YN novel, well on my way to 10 stories this month. In addition, I’ve challenged myself to write at least 1K of words per day in new writing five days per week. I’m doing well with both challenges.

My blog has been undergoing a makeover. My friend Brianna Jill Soloski, has given the site a face-lift and fixed my Books page. See it on www.conniesrandomthoughts.wordpress.com. If you like what she did, she’s ready to hire at: (http://girlseeksplace.wordpress.com/hireme/). Blogs, Etsy pages, whatever you need in editing and a whole lot of other things.

The weather has been fine and we’re now up into the 80’s. I don’t expect any more frosts. I put in seed for Serano peppers, Rutger’s tomato, summer green and yellow squash, a bird house gourd, butternut squash, peas, green bush beans, green pole beans and yellow beans. Potatoes, herbs and swiss chard are already growing on their own. I’m going to buy more tomato, basil and pepper plants. I’m lazy and didn’t get seed started in time. I put my bay leaf tree and lemon tree out in the yard. So far they’re fine.

The town has been a hive of activity again this weekend. For the fine arts people, a classical piano recital by a 13 year-old girl was held on Saturday night. I didn’t go but friends I walked with on Sunday morning said the young lady was quite accomplished. She even threw in some Gershwin, just to keep it interesting. On the other end of the scale, the Spring Rodeo was in town on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. People both local and from far away traveled into town to see the riding, bronc bustin, and ropin’. Saturday is a big yard sale day. My hubby and I picked up a nearly new oak dining room table and six matching chairs for an amazing price. The yard sale people even delivered it. Yay! There’s something for everyone in my little town.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today. Please sign up for my newsletter where you’ll get first dibs on any promotions, book announcements, and other information. Want to know how to get a free copy of each new book? Go to the button on the right side of the blog or go to my Newsletter tab to sign up. Or sign up here. Use Control, Click to access the link.

I have an in depth interview on my Smashwords Author page. You can read it here.  Don’t see information about me you’d like to know? Leave me your question in my comments and I’ll try to answer it.

Hard Choices: A Gulliver Station Story, released May17th! I’m pretty excited about it. You can buy at: Apple, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, or Smashwords today!

Merry May

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Mr. Low's Corvette

Mr. Low’s Corvette

Families at the Park

Families at the Park

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother’s Day yesterday. My daughter gave me a gift certificate for a massage. I love having a massage but I’m too cheap to buy one for myself. So many thanks to the girl for an excellent gift. I called my Mom. My oldest brother and his wife were there for a visit. She’d already been to breakfast with the second brother and was getting ready to go to dinner with the third brother. My sister, who lives in Florida, had already called her. I was the last one to check in. We had a nice long chat, over an hour.
This month I’m continuing the writing habit with my writing site’s May Story a Day. I’ve committed to writing at least 10 stories this month. In addition, I’ve challenged myself to write at least 1K of words per day in new writing five days per week. I’m doing well with both challenges. I have six short stories written already and have moved forward on a novel I’m writing in my Two Year Novel class. I finished the final edit for my next book to be released, Hard Choices. Now it’s time to get that puppy formatted and released. The last book in the series, Revolution, still needs to be edited. Busy, busy, busy.
The weather is warming up. I put a purchased tomato plant in the garden two days ago and it’s doing just fine. Time to get the rest of the garden in.
Saturday my hubby and I attended a Classic Corvette car show. One of our friends was displaying his car in the show. That’s a pic of his car at the top of the post. A lot of people were there enjoying the day. Then we went to the Wildlife fair in Green Valley park. In addition to various vendors, several organizations brought animals that people could pet as well as raptors, snakes, and other critters. The fair rented kayaks for people to paddle around the pond in and fishing poles for kids to try their hand at fishing. The park was full of families having a good time outdoors.
Thanks for stopping by my blog today.

Please sign up for my newsletter where you’ll get first dibs on any promotions, book announcements, and other information. Want to know how to get a free copy of each new book? Go to the button on the right side of the blog or go to my Newsletter tab to sign up. Or sign up here. Use Control, Click to access the link.
I have an in depth interview on my Smashwords Author page. You can read it here. Don’t see information about me you’d like to know? Leave me your question in my comments and I’ll try to answer it.
The Challenge: A Gulliver Station Story, released March 23rd! I’m pretty excited about it. You can buy at: Apple, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, or Smashwords today!

End of April

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Cherry Tomatoes by Night Owl Dreamer via www.deviantart.com

Cherry Tomatoes by Night Owl Dreamer via www.deviantart.com

It occurred to me the other day that I put up goals for the year on the Forward Motion writers site and I didn’t remember ever giving a status. Sure enough, I’ve been so busy this year that I hadn’t gone back, even once, to check on whether or not I’ve been meeting my goals for the year. Good news! January, February and March I did what I had planned to do.

This month though, I’ve fallen a little behind. While I have completed the cover for my next book to be released, Hard Choices, I haven’t finished the editing. Not good. I hope to release the end of May so as my daughter says, I need to get crack-a-lackin’.

April’s Camp National Novel Writing Month, https://campnanowrimo.org/sign_in, has only three days left, counting today. I’ve been plugging away on my novel, still unnamed and of yesterday, I’m at 46,400 words, well on my way to my goal for 50K words. Just 3500 words over the next three days and I’ll meet the challenge! My novel however will not be complete. I’m probably only a third of the way through it so I’m hoping between April’s NaNo challenge and next month’s Story a Day challenge, I’ll have solidified a habit to sit down and write 1000 to 2000 words per day. I can get a lot of writing done with that pace. Just need to find time to edit!

Saturday we had a sleet/snow storm here in Central Arizona. I’m glad I didn’t have my garden in yet. The one tomato plant I have is still in a pot. My favorite cherry tomato, a Sun Gold, is under the overhang of my back patio, safe from a late night frost or bitter wind. It should start warming up here now so it will be in my raised bed soon. I’m looking forward to the sweet, delicious bite of that tomato, still warm from the sun.

My project to collect my mom’s history by using To Our Children’s Children: Preserving Family Histories for Generations to Come by Bob Greene and D.G. Fulford is ongoing. We’ve finished the second chapter of questions. Chapter three is coming up.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today.

Please sign up for my newsletter where you’ll get first dibs on any promotions, book announcements, and other information. Want to know how to get a free copy of each new book? Go to the button on the right side of the blog or go to my Newsletter tab to sign up. Or sign up here. Use Control, Click to access the link.

I have an in depth interview on my Smashwords Author page. You can read it here. Don’t see information about me you’d like to know? Leave me your question in my comments and I’ll try to answer it.

The Challenge: A Gulliver Station Story released March 23rd! I’m pretty excited about it. You can buy at: Apple, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, or Smashwords today!

Halfway Point in April 2014 Camp NaNo

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Writing in the Evening by ksiaz via www.deviantart.com

Writing in the Evening by ksiaz via www.deviantart.com

Tomorrow will be the halfway point for the April Camp National Novel Writing Month, https://campnanowrimo.org/sign_in . So far I have finished a novelette and two short stories. I’m now working on my novel, still unnamed but it’s a fantasy. I set my goal for 50K words and as of Sunday afternoon, I’m over 21,000words. There’s still a lot of writing to be done!

I bought fresh seeds today. I can plant cold hardy stuff like peas and beans now. The rest will have to wait for warmer weather. My Meyer lemon tree has another round of blossoms coming. This is the third time it’s blossomed since January. I have some tiny lemons growing from the last flush. Hopefully I’ll get more on this go round.

I have to go to the dentist on Wednesday, I have a tooth ache under a crown. The dentist says I need a root canal. Yay me! A root canal. Anyway, I’ve had this ache for about a month; it’s time to get it taken care of.

I bought To Our Children’s Children: Preserving Family Histories for Generations to Come by Bob Greene and D.G. Fulford a very long time ago. It’s a list of questions around the person’s personal data, family life, work life, ancestory and so on.  I dug it out of my book case and began asking my mother questions from the book.  If I ask a few questions every day, (I call her everyday anyway) soon I’ll have enough information to put a memoir together for her. I’m liking this project.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today.

Go ahead and sign up for my newsletter where you’ll get first dibs on any promotions, book announcements, and other information. Go to the button on the right side of the blog or go to my Newsletter tab to sign up. Or sign up here.  Use Control, Click to access the link.

I have an in depth interview on my Smashwords Author page. You can read it here.  Don’t see information about me you’d like to know? Leave me your question in my comments and I’ll try to answer it.

The Challenge: A Gulliver Station Story released March 23rd! I’m pretty excited about it. You can buy at: Apple, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, or Smashwords today!

200th Blog Post!

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Celebration by Star Maiden, PatriciaRodelaArtist, ©2007-2014 PatriciaRodelaArtist

Celebration by Star Maiden, PatriciaRodelaArtist, ©2007-2014 PatriciaRodelaArtist

This is my 200th blog post! I’m amazed to be honest. When I started this I never expected to have much to say. I’ve discovered I have a lot to talk about with you all. Thank you for coming back every week!

I’ve been prepping for the April Camp National Novel Writing Month, https://campnanowrimo.org/sign_in . This is a writing challenge but unlike November’s 50K word in the month challenge, I can set any word goal I want. I have a novelette to finish, two short stories to write, and a novel to do. I’m going to set my goal for 50K words. Lots of writing to be done!

I’ve been doing some gardening. I had to begin watering too. We’ve only had one rain storm since December and it was barely a tenth of an inch. We still get frost in the mornings though so I can’t plant a lot yet. However, things like spinach, lettuce and other cold hardy things can be planted. I’ve been eyeing pansies for the flower tub in my front yard. They’re extremely cold hardy and will look good out there for a very long time.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today.

Go ahead and sign up for my newsletter where you’ll get first dibs on any promotions, book announcements, and other information. Go to the button on the right side of the blog or go to my Newsletter tab to sign up. Or sign up here.  Use Control, Click to access the link.

I have an in depth interview on my Smashwords Author page. You can read it here.  Don’t see information about me you’d like to know? Leave me your question in my comments and I’ll try to answer it.

The Challenge: A Gulliver Station story released March 23rd! I’m pretty excited about it. You can buy at: Apple, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, or Smashwords today!

Kobo: Both A New Start and The Challenge are up on Kobo. I’m linking to The Challenge on this blog but you can check my author name for other books available on each of the above links.

As of this writing Apple still doesn’t have The Challenge up so I’ve linked to A New Start. It may be up by the time you try it.

Goals for 2014

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In a short form, my goals are very similar to the ones I set up in 2013. I made specific goals by month and after I did them, realized there was a lot I didn’t put in there.

I didn’t mention getting into better shape. I’m good at sitting at the keyboard and getting my words in for the day. Not so good at getting out of the chair and moving. I know that regular exercise, not just once per week, will make me a better author and person. The same dedication is required and I know I’ll feel so much better for it.

More travel is a goal. Last year hubby and I did only a couple of small trips. I’d like to do a few more, time and money being the critical items here. Travel expands the mind, opens one up to new ways of thinking. Camping especially. The quiet of mountain, wood or ocean, time away from electronic devices, is critical. I need more of that.

I must make more time to connect to family. I lost a family member during the Christmas holiday and the funeral was a few days ago. It’s so easy to say I’ll call them, or message them, or text them, or visit them tomorrow. Don’t wait. Do it today.

Don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter where you’ll get first dibs on any promotions, book announcements, and other information. Go to the button on the right side of the blog or go to my Newsletter tab to sign up. http://conniesrandomthoughts.us7.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=8c24bb15bdf9245512f722298&id=0a097feea0

I have an in depth interview on my Smashwords Author page. You can read it here: https://www.smashwords.com/interview/conniecockrell  Don’t see information about me you’d like to know? Leave me your question in my comments and I’ll try to answer it.

Links to Christmas Tales will lead you to my author page on each site where my other published work is available:

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/christmas-tales/id761282885?mt=11

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Tales-Connie-Cockrell/dp/1494200570/ref=la_B009O6199C_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1385963121&sr=1-4

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/christmas-tales-connie-cockrell/1117497310?ean=9781494200572

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/christmas-tales-3

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/379010

A Year in Review 2013

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It feels like 2013 has been a wild ride, as far as my writing is concerned. I’ve taken several writing classes this year and I can tell my story telling has improved considerably. I’ve settled into blogging twice per week, on Monday and Friday. That rhythm works for me and I don’t feel like I’m spamming my followers. So here’s how I did.

As far as I can tell I wrote a Flash Fiction Friday story every week and updated my Blog and Facebook Fan page (both titled ConniesRandomThoughts) weekly.  I added a monthly blog post for the Forward Motion site called Merry-Go-Round blog. My post is the 18th of every month. I missed one of those as well.

I started the Y2N class (2 Year Novel) with Lazette Gifford and kept up the weekly lessons until November when the National Novel Writing Month and then the holidays knocked me off track. I’m behind about 8 lessons right now so it’s still possible for me to catch up.

I outlined short stories for May Story A Day challenge. The challenge for this year was to write ten short stories. I managed six last year. I finished the May Story a Day challenge with 12 stories. Not every one of them was a gem but I’ve set them aside to fix them up and publish them. On short stories, I’ve been writing them all year in addition to the Flash Fictions and novels.

In addition, I began revising my November 2012 NaNo story, TriPoint Station. I had to rename it: Gulliver Station, Hard Choices and began outlining the first book in the series, Gulliver Station: A New Start, in Scrivener. The series continues with The Challenge, drafted in July and Revolution, drafted in November.

I struggled with Scrivener. I’m still a beginner and am pretty sure I’m not using a fraction of the tools available to me in the program.  Other programs I’ve learned this year are Gimp and SketchUp. The last two I use to make my own book covers. Thank goodness my husband loves to take pictures. His pictures are used on my covers.

I also wrote, How To Design an ebook Cover. That became my Vision submission for August. My submission in December to Vision was, Gerunds, the -ing words. Funny story. The Gerund article came about through a short story critique. One critiquer mentioned that I used too many gerunds. High School English class was a long time ago. The research I did to fix that problem became the article. Thanks to the critique, my writing is now stronger.

My goal for 2013 was to publish 4 books.  I epublished, A Trio of Animal Tales in January. Recall revision was finished in February! I decided to self publish. I published it May 27th. I continued to revise stories for a collection I called Halloween Tales and wrote a fifth one so there would be 5 stories in the book. Release was the 30th of September.  I released Christmas Tales November 17th. It was a little stressful, releasing a book in the middle of NaNo but I managed to get it done.

My story After The Storm was rejected by Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show magazine so I submitted it to Asmiov’s Science Fiction and Fantasy magazine, where it was rejected also.  I entered a Scribophile contest with Generation Bug and was not selected as the winner but I had enough confidence in the story to enter it in the Writers of the World contest for the 3rd quarter. I did not win. I sent Where the Brown Things Are to WotF (World of the Future: a science fiction magazine that has a quarterly contest to select the best stories for the mag.) I wasn’t supposed to find out until January if I won but they worked fast and I found out I was not accepted in December. Sigh. I’ll try and write something to submit in January. I submitted a story, The Reunion, to a contest held by the Southwest Authors. I found out in October that I did not win that one either. I still haven’t heard back from the Tucson Festival of Books (The Reunion) or the Arizona ONE-BOOKAZ Goes Digital eBook Writing Competitions  (Generation Bug) on my submissions. I’m going to cross my fingers. I also have Someone Else is Living Here out to the Writer’s Digest Short Short Story Competition. I’ll hear from them in February 2014.

On a positive note, I submitted a short story, Dogs and Cats, to the Forward Motion site, http://www.fmwriters.com/zoomfm/, for their 2013 Anthology, Cats Eyes. The story was accepted and came out in September. https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/books/book-detail-page?ie=UTF8&bookASIN=1493638475&index=default

My story, Just Add Copper, was submitted to the How To Think Sideways Anthology, The Adventure of Creation, and accepted in June. The anthology was published in mid-August. Some great short stories in various genre’s by some great authors. http://www.amazon.com/Adventure-Creation-Foreword-Sideways-Anthology/dp/3956810007/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1378051491&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Adventure+of+Creation

I participated in the April Camp NaNo and wrote the first draft of Gulliver Station: A New Start. I’ve signed up on a different site, http://julnowrimo.com/ for my July efforts. Several of my Forward Motion friends love the site so I thought I’d try it out for the next book in the Gulliver series. The big news in November, was of course, National Novel Writing Month (NaNo for short). I drafted out the last of the Gulliver Station series, Revolution.

I signed up for and completed a Holly Lisle Flash Fiction course. That generated 5 flash fiction stories for May Story a Day. Lazette Gifford’s SciFi Class was not announced, so that goal was deleted. I  listened to a webinar with Guy Kawasaki, hosted by CreateSpace. The seminar, How to Sell More Books with Social Media ran 1hour and 13 minutes. It’s on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=135KGCLqC6Q The third class of the year was, Mugging the Muse by Holly Lisle, https://howtothinksideways.com/. I learned a lot about myself and how to write better. If you’re a new writer or an experienced author, check out her courses. Some are even free! The fourth class was on marketing for my books. I looked at some free training video’s by Jeff Walker, recommended by Holly Lisle. I was not able to take his course. But, based on the free information he published, Holly put together an author-centric, free, self-monitored course on marketing. Which resulted in a Holly Lisle class she calls, The Ugly Baby Workshop, a marketing type course. One of the items in that challenge is to release a book. My Christmas book was that project. The course is about how to do a new product launch, so the book and the below domain name are part of that launch.

I joined the July promotion on Smashwords.com with my book, Recall. It was a month long promotion, free to download. It was downloaded a lot, which was encouraging. The hope was they’ll like the book enough to come back and buy one of my other books. At the end of December, I haven’t seen that happen. Something to consider for 2014.

Using the Guy Kawasaki information from July, I began a marketing campaign to post regularly, twice per day on Twitter (@ConnieCockrell) and Google+. That’s been going well. I find something fun or interesting or cute or about my book(s) or someone else’s book coming out and post. In December I began making a late night post, 9 or 10pm that may reach the Asian market. Who knows if getting my name out there will generate sales, but a Google+ and a tweet only take a minute or two. I’ll see over the next few months if anyone from the Asian region begins following my blog or Facebook page.

Based on the marketing classes I took some steps to improve my professional presence. I took the plunge and bought a domain name and set up my own publishing house: 2ndWindPress.com.  What was exciting was filling out the on-line form. It asked for my organization and my position. I, with more than a bit of a thrill, typed in 2ndWindPress and Publisher. I know, I’m easily entertained, but my heart actually beat faster.

I went to the local Chamber of Commerce and got my Doing Business As (DBA) form. How did this affect me? I have a nifty logo and publishing house name to add to the spine of my books. It sets me up as a professional. It confirms that I’m serious about my writing and getting my books published.

I made quite a few changes to my blog as part of my new marketing plans. I changed the background color from boring gray to a more festive Autumn color. I added some new links to friend’s blogs and a sign up for a newsletter for my fans. Followers get first dibs on any promotions, book announcements, and other information. They can go to the button on the right side of the blog or go to my Newsletter tab to sign up. To make that happen I had to sign up for Mail Chimp.  I also updated my Google+ page and my Twitter account. If you aren’t a follower or friend on those sites I’m looking to build my communities there as well.

Late in November I took on a Chuck Wendig challenge on his blog, www.terribleminds.com. Participants write a 200 word section of a story each week. The first week you create your own 200 word beginning and post it. The next week one or more participants pick a beginning not their own and add another 200 words. By the end of week 5, each participant will have worked on 5 different stories in 200 word increments, making a 1000 word finished story. I participated each week. I posted each story on my blog in the Friday Flash Fiction spot. I plan on going back to the Chuck Wendig site and find the completed stories I contributed to and post them on my blog in January.

This has been a long post. I’m actually surprised at the number of classes I’ve taken (5) and stories and books written and released. (1 novel and 3 collections published and over 96 stories and novels written). It’s been a full and fruitful year. I hope yours was too.

I wish you all a very happy, productive New Year!

Don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter where you’ll get first dibs on any promotions, book announcements, and other information. Go to the button on the right side of the blog or go to my Newsletter tab to sign up. http://conniesrandomthoughts.us7.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=8c24bb15bdf9245512f722298&id=0a097feea0

I have an in depth interview on my Smashwords Author page. You can read it here: https://www.smashwords.com/interview/conniecockrell  Don’t see information about me you’d like to know? Leave me your question in my comments and I’ll try to answer it.

Links to Christmas Tales and which will lead you to my author page on each site where my other published work is available:

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/christmas-tales/id761282885?mt=11Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/christmas-tales-3

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Tales-Connie-Cockrell/dp/1494200570/ref=la_B009O6199C_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1385963121&sr=1-4

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/christmas-tales-connie-cockrell/1117497310?ean=9781494200572

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/christmas-tales-3

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/379010

Working, Working!

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I managed to get the garden cleaned up in time for Saturday’s birthday party for my hubby. Too bad the weather didn’t cooperate. We had 20+ people in our very small living room and kitchen. Didn’t matter. We all had fun and hubby got a great birthday party, Yay! Here’s a picture of the Santa Hat brownies I made for the event.  Image

Sunday we had a quiet day. I had a chance to start developing my book covers for the Gulliver Station series. So far I have draft pencil drawings. Don’t give me too much credit. The drawings look like a 3rd grader did them. However, I chose my font and made note of what goes where. The text, most of the back cover, title and author name is finished on the cover. I spent 3 hours on the background and it’s only partially done. I’m still learning Gimp, so everything takes forever. On the plus side, many of the elements for this book cover can and will be used on the subsequent covers. I love reusable work.

I have a Chuck Wendig challenge, number five of five to complete, and will post it on Friday, as my Friday Flash Fiction. I’m also going to try and post the completed stories I participated in. That may take a few Mondays or maybe special posts. I’m still behind on my 2 Year Novel Course. Sigh, I’ll get to it, I promise. I want that story for my 2014 Christmas book. I need to begin revision on The Challenge. This is the second of my four novel series about Gulliver Station, a SciFi series about a space station. I’m working toward an end of March release for the second book. Book 1, A New Start, was passed to my beta readers Saturday. Stay tuned. Will I make my January release date?

Finally, please have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I appreciate all of my followers for checking in with me each week. I appreciate your support and comments on my posts.

If you’re still looking for a Christmas gift, check out my Christmas Tales. Links are below. In each of those markets you can find my other books as well. Hope you enjoy.

Links:

Don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter where you’ll get first dibs on any promotions, book announcements, and other information. Go to the button on the right side of the blog or go to my Newsletter tab to sign up. http://conniesrandomthoughts.us7.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=8c24bb15bdf9245512f722298&id=0a097feea0

I have an in depth interview on my Smashwords Author page. You can read it here: https://www.smashwords.com/interview/conniecockrell  Don’t see information about me you’d like to know? Leave me your question in my comments and I’ll try to answer it.

Links Christmas Tales:

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/christmas-tales/id761282885?mt=11Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/christmas-tales-3

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Tales-Connie-Cockrell/dp/1494200570/ref=la_B009O6199C_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1385963121&sr=1-4

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/christmas-tales-connie-cockrell/1117497310?ean=9781494200572

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/christmas-tales-3

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/379010

Merry Go Round Blog Tour: Favorites

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The Down the Street Art Gallery, December 2013

The Down the Street Art Gallery, December 2013    Photo by Randy Cockrell

Right off the top, Christmas is my favorite holiday. I decorate the outside and the inside of the house. I bake cookies, my favorite is called Mexican Wedding Cakes, and make candy. My favorites there are toffee, peppermint patties, and chocolate truffles. Yummy.

Pasta is a big favorite of mine. Saturday is designated Spaghetti Night at my house. I make the red sauce from scratch and cook it all afternoon. That is unless I make Spaghetti Carbonara. That is a big favorite but all of that egg, cream, cheese, and bacon make it a health hazard. So I keep that dinner offering to about four times a year.

I have a favorite genre too. That’s SciFi for sure. Fantasy runs a very close second. The ability of a book or a series to transport me to another world is the best feeling ever. I know it’s a good book or series when I reach the end and I’m flipping those last pages looking for more. The story will stick with me for days, and I wish I were in that world for real.

I like this time of year. It’s a time for reflection on what’s happened over the course of the year. Did I meet the goals I set? Have I made progress in my endeavors? Even better, it’s a time to plan for the future. What can I change to reach my goals in the new year? Should I set different goals for myself? Should I ease up a little and make more time for smelling the roses?

How about you? What are your favorite things? What are you proud of from this year’s activities? What do you plan on doing differently next year?

The Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour is sponsored by the website Forward Motion (http://www.fmwriters.com). The tour is you, the reader, travelling the world from author’s blog to author’s blog. There are all sorts of writers at all stages in their writing career, so there’s always something new and different to enjoy. If you want to get to know the nearly twenty other writers check out the rest of the tour at http://merrygoroundtour.blogspot.com!  Up next: Jean Schara!