TODAY IS RELEASE DAY!

When I started writing a novel (that no one will ever see) years ago, I researched the publishing industry and totally chickened out. I thought there was no way I was going to be good enough. The prospect of one day walking into a Barnes & Noble and finding a book I'd written on the shelf seemed an impossibility.

But the thing is, if this form of creating is inside of you, it finds a way out. You have to write. You have stories to tell. You suck it up and do the work because you love it and can't imagine your life without this part of you. You long to create characters and stories that someone else can connect with. To share a little piece of what's inside your head, even if just for that one person that needed to hear what you had to say. You get better by doing. By reading. By listening. By seeing. By not quitting.

Starting today I'm going to be able to walk into a bookstore and find a book with my name on it, with words I've written inside, and this is so huge I can't even fully process it. From this day on, I'll always be a published author. Like, what?! ALL THE MUPPET FLAILS!!

And I owe a million thanks to my critique girls, Katie M. Stout, Kristi Chestnutt, and Kim Franklin, and to readers Amy Sonnichsen, Cari, and Mari. My amazing agent Marietta B. Zacker, and incredible editor Caroline Abbey. Laura Whitaker and everyone at Bloomsbury! My supportive and loving family and friends, in-person and online! My journey here wouldn't be the same without each of you.

Colosseum at night

In Wish You Were Italian, Pippa makes a list of ten goals for her summer in Italy:

• Don’t get arrested
• Don’t make a fool out of myself in public
• Get my picture taken at the Colosseum
• Find random souvenir for Morgan
• Get a makeover
• See Pompeii
• Swim in the Mediterranean Sea
• Have a conversation with someone in only Italian
• Eat a whole pizza in one sitting
• Fall in love with an Italian

If I were spending an entire summer in Italy (hey, it's fun to dream!), here are ten things I'd want to do!

• Take an official tour of the Colosseum, including the scary bottom level
• Go to the catacombs
• See Pompeii
• Eat gelato at least twice a day
• Paint on location instead of later from a picture
• Take a gondola ride in Venice
• Stay at a bed and breakfast in Tuscany 
• Learn to make authentic pasta from scratch
• Rent a bicycle and ride around a quaint village
• Learn to speak enough Italian to get by without relying on English

Hubs and me eating gelato in Corniglia, Cinque Terre

 

Painter in Florence | Bikes in Florence

What would you do with a whole summer in Italy?!

If you'd like a signed copy of Wish You Were Italian, my local indie bookstore ships! Click THIS LINK to order, marking any personalization details in the order comments. 

Clearly Great at Follow-Through

I'm one pound heavier than I was January 1 of last year (also the heaviest I've ever been), so clearly I'm great at follow-through when it comes to goals I set for myself. I keep repeating all of these excuses as to WHY I'm a failure. 2013 sucked linty toes. It put me through the emotional ringer. I made bad eating choices. I was lazy too often. My body is still adjusting to what it's been through. I am predisposed to be thicker.

Blah blah blah. Cry me a river.

2013 is over, and we're not going to whine about how terrible it was anymore. We're moving forward, with fresh motivation. New goals. And this year, things will be different. They'll be great.

What I've got my sights on this year:

-Feel better about myself, which includes dropping at least 15lbs.
-Write two books (one YA, one MG--currently drafting both simultaneously GASP)
-Soak up every moment of the debut author experience
-Have a rockin' book launch party
-Meet lots of new writerly and readerly folks
-Read at least 30 books
-Get better at follow-through
-Talk less, love more

Wishing you and yours an amazingly fluffy squishy lovey 2014!!

New Year, New Goals

Every year I say I won't make resolutions because I'm afraid I won't stick to them, but I do have some goals in mind this year. And the best motivation to stick to them is proclaiming them publicly! So here goes...

1. Writing: For the month of January, my goal is to write 1k words a week. I know most of you can write that in an hour, but my average is in the 200's per hour, so I have to be realistic and set a goal I can actually reach. Next month I'll see if I need to stick to it, or if I can push myself more.

1-2. Finish first draft of WIP by the end of April.

2. Health: I start every year with good intentions, but somehow over the last six years, I've put on 30+ extra lbs. Pathetic, yes. BUT the scale is finally starting to go backwards, and with the clean slate of 1.1.13, I'm happy to say I'm making major lifestyle changes. I haven't had bread, pasta or sweets since LAST YEAR!! So what if that was only four days ago, it's happening and I'm doing it! I'm staying strong until the weekend of my 30th birthday at the end of February (there will be cupcakes!), then picking back up again.

3. Fitness: No longer a paying gym member, I've devised a home workout calendar I may actually stick to. It's a hybrid of Turbo Fire, Hip Hop Abs, free weight workouts clipped from magazines, and I've started power-walking two miles a day (while listening to audiobooks! I'm not a great book 'listener' so half the time I don't know what's going on, but it's a nice distraction from the reality that I'm getting exercise haha). I've printed it all out on a calendar and check off each day. Great motivation to see those check marks!

4. Selflessness: Maybe it's a symptom of being an only child, but it's extremely easy to be me-focused. And the fact that this is the fourth goal I thought to type and not the first proves that I need to work on it. I want to be more considerate, pray for the needs of others above my own, and learn to help where I can.

5. Thankfulness: I am so so so fortunate for the health of my family, to be surrounded by people I love, to be able to drive a functioning vehicle to the grocery store any time of day or night and hoard food under a protective roof with heat, air conditioning, and plumbing. I take all of this for granted far too often. There should be no complaining, only thankfulness.

Of course there are lots of other things I'd love to happen this year, but those are the biggies that I have control over. Are you setting any goals for 2013? How are you staying motivated to stick to them?

I don't think I'm gonna make the goal...

I was supposed to read 50 books this year for my Goodreads challenge. Apparently I've only read 38 as of right now, and I'm "8 books behind". I don't think I can read 8 books in less than a month. This was a goal I really thought I could hit. Once Autumn rolled in and photography picked up, everything else fell behind.

My WIP has been on the backburner too, which makes me sad. I was so sure I was going to finish it in June! Then July! Okay, maybe August... October? End of the year...? To my critique girls, I really do appreciate the pestering for more pages. Even though I'm slow getting them to you, knowing that you are that engaged in my story that you keep asking for more, inspires me to work even harder to finish this sucker for you! I'm taking at least January off of photography and I'm buckling down to get my story finished and edited.

How have your 2011 goals been for you this year? It's so funny how fired up we are every January, only to let ourselves down by June. By October we've probably completely forgotten everything we set out to do. Does that happen to you too, or is it just me? (Please say it's not just me! ;)

I'm not waiting until January 2012 to get my act back together. I'm taking control again right now! Or... maybe Monday.

KIDDING! RIGHT NOW!! I pledge to myself to at least write one chapter in my WIP by the time the weekend is up!! Wow that felt good.

LET'S DO THIS

Are We Living Up to Our Potential?

There is something about this time of year (ahem. the very beginning of one) that makes me look at everything I've done (feels like a lot), everything I've wanted to do (even more), and everything I'm not doing (way too much).  Do you ever feel like you are capable of so much MORE than you're actually doing, but aren't really sure how to go about doing said "more"?

Inside me, I feel like I can be a published author.  I can SEE my pretty hardback on the YA NEW RELEASES shelf.  I can see myself on a book tour meeting new faces and getting wrist cramps from signing books (mine!).  

Inside me, I feel like I can be a wedding photographer.  I can SEE all the pretty brides in their pretty white dresses in all the photos I'd be editing.  I can see that one amazing shot I caught by accident making it on the cover of ... some magazine that has wedding photos.

Inside me, I feel like I can have a tight little body like Buffy and Veronica Mars.  I can SEE myself shopping for smaller clothes.  I can see myself fitting in them.

So what am I doing to get myself out of the way???  Here are some things I've been trying--maybe it can help you get yourself out of your way too.

1) Don't expect it all at once, or soon--progress takes TIME.  It's a PROCESS (unfortunately).  I can't query before my book is done being written!  I can't put my butt in smaller pants until my butt IS smaller (I know some people don't wait, but I'd like to).

2) Write things down--I have a list I keep at my computer that I can see daily to remind me of everything I'm working for.
a) Write 1000 words per week (minimum) with the goal to
b) finish Anemone and query it;
c) do something active daily (and I write ALL THIS down in a little notebook along with everything I put in my mouth) and so far this year I have kept up with it;
d) study spanish (I have Rosetta Stone for both Spanish and Italian... why not DO IT?);
e) Find someone to be a second shooter with at a wedding--this takes the major responsibility off of me as I'm learning.  The pictures I take would essentially be THEIR'S, but I'd learn a lot and wouldn't have to edit a thing.

3) Don't give up when results don't slap you in the face!!! This is my biggest issue... the follow through. We live in a world of microwaves and fast food--instant gratification.  The process of reaching our long term goals don't work like that (hence the word LONG).  Find a process that works for you and stick with it.  

We owe it to ourselves to make 2011 OUR YEAR--to get out of our own way and make things happen.  We can live up to our own potential.

What are you keeping yourself from doing, and how can you change that?  

New Goals and Funky Moods

I apologize to the handful of you who enjoy the usual Fanged Friday edition to this blog, but I'm just not feeling it today. I enjoyed the episode (I enjoy any episode where Damon shows intense emotion and I am just WAITING for the day when he grabs Elena and kisses her and she LIKES it! lol.), but I'm just in one of those FUNKS.

This funk has been going on for several days - and I'm not sure if it's related to the things I've cut out of my diet (cheese, most chips, excess breads, tortillas, excess sweets, etc.), just being frustrated with my lack of progress in the weight-loss department in general, my writing anxieties, or all the rain we've been getting. Maybe it's a combo.

I'm kickin it up a few more notches, and setting more goals. Goals with no expiration dates.

In the weight loss world: I really need to be more positive. I've had a crappy attitude recently, very negative. A lot of people who are overweight struggle to get that last 10-15 pounds off, right? Well, what happens for those of us who are starting at that last 10-15 pounds? We can't get it off either!!! If any of you have any miracle solutions (cutting certain things out, eating certain other things, hours of exercise per week, etc) that worked for this, please share. I've gotten a personal trainer, I've cut down my calories, cut out certain foods as listed above... And I've lost 2 pounds. TWO POUNDS in two months. Can I tell? No. Did I recently just purchase the largest pants I've ever purchased in my life? Yes. Was I dangerously close to having a meltdown in the dressing room? Yes. I need help.

In the writing world: I've been ignoring my completed novel, Between the Letters, and I am feeling it. We've all heard about how many novels authors write before they get one published, and since this is my first - it took me four years, and I pretty much learned to write while writing it - I've convinced myself it wasn't going anywhere, and I ingored it. This is no way to be. It's a good story. I've been told it's a GREAT story. I owe it to my hard work to see it through to the agent rejections. And here is my plan:
It's roughly 30 chapters, most of them between 5-10 pages long. Each day, I am focusing on one chapter at a time, revising, making sure the verbs are ACTIVE, editing, giving my MC more personality, filling in gaps, deleting the crap.... I finished the prologue and chapter 1 lastnight, and I'm once again falling for my story. I think the 1 chapter a day pacing will keep me sane, and within a month, it should get to where it needs to be to submit. I'm starting to perk up already.

Anyway... sorry for the rant. I'm open to suggestions in the weight loss dept. Funny that once upon a time, I saw myself as the motivator for this. Yeah, that didn't last very long. lol!

*Please don't misunderstand - I'm a very thankful person. Thankful for general health, family and friends... freedom. I do understand that I am blessed at this time in my life, so please don't take offense to this post of a funky mood.

Happy Olympics and Valentine's Weekend!

Let 2010 Begin!

Even though my track record for resolutions isn't that great...I sort of can't help but outline a few things here in writing to help me focus.
I really do want to only read one book at a time, which I plan on instituting (after I finish the five I'm currently reading).
I also would like to finish writing a second book. We'll see if the sequel to Between the Letters or the magical realism piece gets finished first. Maybe it will be both this year?! But just one would be a great accomplishment.
It would also be ideal to land an agent this year. I'll keep trying until I have 200 rejections.
Losing 15 pounds sounds GREAT. And while it may be reachable, how many years have I been trying to lose, and have only gained since landing a cubicle job? Exactly. So, the goal this year is to make better choices, exercise more consistently, and feel better about myself. No pound numbers in the official resolution. Just get healthier, and the rest will follow.

As an aid to this goal, I will be posting weekly health tips that I run across. I will try to get these up on Mondays to help start the week out right. But since today is the start of a new year, I have to share one today! And, I know that every tip has a conflicting opinion, but what it comes down to is finding that solution that works for YOU. This one comes from SELF Magazine:

"Divide it up. Exercisers who did two half-hour stints of moderate cycling with a 20-minute rest in between burned 10% more fat afterward than when they cycled straight for one hour. The repeated bouts triggered a release of hormones that helped metabolize fat more efficiently so that fat supplied a greater percentage of the total calories used later."

While I don't love cycling, I imagine any straight up cardio like the treadmill or elliptical will suffice. After reading this, I thought, well that's great, I'll do 2o or 30 minutes of elliptical, 20 minutes of weights, and then 20-30 minutes of the bike or treadmill. But then I found THIS:

"Lift First. If you tone and do cardio in the same session, start with weights. Participants in a study who did a total-body strength workout 20 minutes before cycling burned 10% more fat than those who simply cycled without weight training. Lifting taps those hormones that guide fat into the furnace. The reverse - doing cardio, then weights - doesn't."

Now I don't know who has 2 hours to spend in the gym to space all this out, but it does help to give an idea of the order to do things, and how to mix it up. Try intervals, do LOTS of stretching after muscles have been warmed up, and after the workout to alleviate soreness.

2010 is brand new, with no mistakes in it! Happy New Year!