A New Year Dawns

   It's that time again when we celebrate the passing of the old and the dawning of the New Year. 2013 was a great year in many ways. My sister visited for a week and we had a wonderful time. I had five books published between January and November and one book became a bestseller at All Romance eBooks. I wrote my very first paranormal--In the Spirit--a genre I never thought I'd write (and had so much fun writing). My book, Unconditional, received a quote from one of my favorite bestselling authors, Kris Radish. That was a big highlight for me. I flew to Arizona and traveled with two of my best friends for a week to Las Vegas, Sedona (my favorite place in the U.S.) and back to Tucson. I still have a job, which is a blessing in itself. I had some health issues present themselves, but with determination and care have gotten things under control--and lost a whole size in the process. I finished three more books and have two of them under contract for the coming year. I broke off my long-term relationship with Lady Clairol and went au naturale--and I like it. I still have Binky in my life, and that is pure gift every day.

   It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating the start of 2013. Wow, time is moving so fast. Frighteningly fast. Rather than think about regrets from 2013 or make 'resolutions', I prefer to think about the things I want to accomplish in 2014. Resolutions sound too absolute, too much like things I MUST do. I prefers plans, things I HOPE for.

   I plan to self-publish a novel in the spring and see how that goes. I've started to organize a Street Team (lots of room if you'd like to join. Just email me.) I'll be changing the focus of this blog in 2014. For the past two years, the focus was on presenting authors on various aspects of writing. In 2014, the focus will be on women and women's issues, though I'll tie that all into my writing and the women who carry my stories. I might introduce you to a new author here or there, as well.

   I'm already planning a late spring trip to Pennsylvania to visit family and friends and hopefully have a book signing or two. I've already begun plans for a trip to Florida for the fall. It will hopefully be a chance to see old friends and meet new ones. In any case, it will be an adventure. I want to attend at least one writer's conference and a writer's retreat during 2014. I need to rub elbows with fellow writers.

   When time seems to pass so quickly, I think it's important to embrace every experience and opportunity and to live each moment fully and with intention. I intend for 2014 to be a year filled with life, with love and laughter and truth and honesty and friends and family and energy and fun and hope. I wish the same for you.

                                                                                                                     Linda

   

A Christmas Message From Binky

'Twas the week before Christmas and all through the house

Linda vacuumed and dusted while Binky did grouse.

The bathroom and kitchen were gleaming and clean.

The tables and desk held a bright, shiny sheen.

Even the litterbox got a good scrub,

Linda stopping a moment to give Binky a belly rub.

Tomorrow Binky's Auntie Sue Ann will arrive

She's not a cat lover, but they both will survive.

With Sue Ann in the bedroom and I on the blow up

Binky will fret with confusion and eventually throw up.

But then she'll adjust and curl up at my side 

In time for Santa's magical ride.

The morning brings presents and surprises for all,

Even she who disrupts my sleep with cat calls.

She'll check out the tree, sniff her toys, play with paper.

That about sums it up--Binky's big Christmas caper.

Binky suggests that if you need a little break from the holiday preparations or a way to unwind, settle down with a nice cup of cocoa and your very own copy of

Reinventing Christmas, a sweet Christmas romance.

Available at Amazon.com

and in Trade Paperback at 

Champagne Books

Jeanne Arnold - How I Became A Writer

I'm very pleased to round out my series on How I Became A Writer by introducing author Jeanne Arnold.

~ * ~

Up until a few years ago, writing a book was not a factor of my reality. Barring college art history papers on the Baths of Caracalla and Roman Art and Architecture, or a resume, I had not typed a word of nonfiction, plot or anything resembling a chapter since high school. Yet it has recently occurred to me that I’ve always been a writer. I started life with a crayon in my hand. I drew everything that came to mind. I drew stories. I drew characters. I drew scenery and events and themes and emotions. As a first grader, I declared I was going to be a picture book illustrator and imitated all of my favorite book artists. I grew older and became let down by middle grade novels with sparse pen and ink illustrations. I wanted to be the artist, the creative hand who drew on the pages what I imagined in my mind.  In high school and college, my writing emptied out of a paintbrush in watercolor illustrations. Detailed faces and landscapes came out of colored pencils and charcoal. I spent a good portion of my adulthood doing portraits and random freelance design. Until one day my characters demanded voices, conversation and personalities. Now they grace the pages of my stories. 

It was a chilly winter day in 2010 when I first set my laptop on the kitchen table and watched the white backyard become striped with sled tracks and footprints. After a stretch of reminiscing and daydreaming, I began typing the story of how my husband and I met in high school. My tale of a seventeen-year-old girl blindfolded for a psychology experiment, being teased by her secret admirer in the art room, morphed into a young adult novel full of magical realism and teen romance. There was no method to my writing and I found myself pouring the words onto the pages. Something wonderful overcame me and in a handful of weeks I finished my first novel. Within a year I wrote a handful of books and signed with the Belcastro Agency where I began my journey to publication. I’ve penned several young adult novels and there are many waiting for their turn inside me. My upcoming young adult romance STUBBORN is available from Champagne Books on January 6^th followed by THE HAUNT OF THIRTEEN CURVES in June. My writing gives me the most creative satisfaction, an outlet, completeness. So for now, the paintbrushes are stashed away and the laptop is my canvas.

Bio:

Jeanne Arnold is an author of young adult romance. At a young age she found her creative outlet in art, and for years her fictional characters came to life in drawings and paintings, until they demanded a voice. Now they grace the pages of her stories. Jeanne shares her time with her fictional teenage counterparts and her human family in Central New York.

STUBBORN blurb:

With a train ticket, a bad attitude, and an unfortunate scribbling of obscenities across her forehead, seventeen-year-old Avery Ross is tossed out of the frying pan and into the fire when she’s sent from New York to the vast oil field region of North Dakota.  When a green-eyed boy with a sultry Texan accent comes to her defense, Avery has no clue that his actions will lead her into a passion-charged summer, full of temptation and loss.

Defiant and relegated to work at her aunt’s boarding house, Avery discovers a connection between her aunt and the striking boy. He and his brothers are seeking revenge for the wrongful death of their sibling, and Avery becomes entangled in their battle over oil rights, loyalty, and love.  Avery falls for the brooding, younger brother, Gabriel Halden, against her aunt’s forewarnings and creates more tribulations than any of them could anticipate.

STUBBORN will be available in e-format on January 6th, 2014 at all major online retailers. You can follow Jeanne Arnold online at:

Website: www.jeannearnoldbooks.com

Blog: www.jeannearnoldbooks.com/blog

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Jeanne-Arnold-Books

Twitter: twitter.com/jeannesbooks

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/jeannesbooks

Tumblr: jeannesbooks.tumblr.com

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/jeannesbooks/boards/