Posted in authors, Baer House Inn, blogging, books, Fiction, fingers, goals, grammar, humor, inspiration, Jansen Schmidt, motivation, On Common Ground, On Hallowed Ground, reading, resolutions, success, words, writers, writing, tagged candles, comfortable, crafts, desk, desk chair, fountains, gentlemen's parlor, incense, ladies parlor, music, office, office space, office supplies, parlor, parlors, private space, scents, sherry, tea, whiskey, writing space, zen on December 9, 2019| 3 Comments »
I kind of have an office now. Sort of. For the past couple of years I’ve been writing either in the kitchen or the basement, neither of which are really conducive for writing. It’s been working, but it’s not comfortable. Or pretty. Sometimes you need pretty.
Posted in authors, awards, blogging, books, Family, Fiction, goals, grammar, Jansen Schmidt, reading, romance, short story, social media, success, words, writers, writing, tagged #amwriting, #writerslife, awards, classes, cliches, computer classes, different, education, learning, membership, seminars, story tropes, tropes, unique, webinars, workshops, writing awards, writing classes, writing groups, writing organizations on October 21, 2019| 4 Comments »
As a writer I’m always challenging myself to learn new things so that I can keep things fresh in my writing. I have this fear of running out of clever new ideas or that somewhere down the road my books might end up coming out looking suspiciously like some of the other books I’d previously written. Or worse yet, like someone else’s book. This popular saying come to mind, “There are no new stories, just new ways of telling them.” I’m not sure if that’s true or not, but most people in the business of writing tend to feel that way. (more…)
Posted in blogging, Family, Fiction, health, humor, Jansen Schmidt, reading, Uncategorized, weird facts, writing, tagged awake, Google, health, insomnia, medical, medicine, music, night, nighttime, normal sleep, not sleeping, random, sleep, terror, WebMD on August 26, 2019| 6 Comments »
Do you ever wake up at night and wonder why in the heck you woke up? I sure do. Quite often. A couple of nights ago, my eyes were closed, it was dark, I thought I was asleep but it dawned on me that I was thinking random weird thoughts and wondering why in the world a certain odd song was playing over and over in my head, followed by “and why in the heck am I even awake?” (more…)
Posted in authors, blogging, Disney, Family, Fiction, friends, humor, Jansen Schmidt, laughter, reading, trivia, Uncategorized, weird facts, words, writing, tagged astrology, birthstones, Donald Duck, Elvis Presley, facts, history, John Wayne, June, Mythology, national nude day, nude, rock and roll, south, southern, summer, trivia on June 10, 2019| 10 Comments »
Yes, it’s HOT!! The long hot, sweaty days of summer have arrived. I know, I know, it’s still officially spring, but tell that to the weather. There is no mercy here in Vicksburg after about 11:00. June has come in with a vengeance. (more…)
Posted in April, authors, awards, blogging, books, Fiction, friends, goals, grammar, humor, Jansen Schmidt, reading, romance, success, words, writers, writing, tagged awards, contest, finalist, literary award, On Common Ground, please help, please vote, RONE awards, vote, vote for me, western romance, western writers, WILLA Awards, winners, winning, women writers, Women Writing the West, writing contests, writing groups on April 29, 2019| 4 Comments »
That’s right folks, I could very well be a winner in not one, but two contests. A couple of months ago, I entered my book On Common Ground in the Willa Contest. What is the Willa Contest you ask? I’ve never heard of it, you say. Well, neither had I. Here’s the blurb from the Women Writing the West (WWW) website: (more…)
Posted in April, authors, blooms, books, desert, deserts, Fiction, Jansen Schmidt, love, reading, romance, travel, Vicksburg, weather, writers, writing, tagged American Indians, Arizona, book launch, books, characters, Indian reservation, Native Americans, research, romantic suspense, sequels, suspense on April 8, 2019| 4 Comments »
Spring is finally here with warm gentle breezes and blooming flowers everywhere. While the Mighty Mississippi River is still REALLY high here in Vicksburg, things are starting to feel cheery and optimistic. The winter doldrums are waning. Birds are building nests, bees are pollinating and life in general looks bright. (more…)
Posted in Amazon.com, authors, blogging, books, Family, Fiction, goals, grammar, humor, Jansen Schmidt, reading, resolutions, short story, social media, success, writers, writing, tagged advertising, authors, books, computers, Facebook, Facebook ads, marketing, marketing plan, novel, photos, photoshop, pixels, sales, software, technology on February 11, 2019| 7 Comments »
So I’ve been spending a LOT of time lately learning how to market my book. For those of you who are not writers, let me just say that when you write “the end,” you’re only about a third of the way done with that story. Next comes rounds of editing and proofreading to get it exactly right and then comes the selling part. This is the hardest, yet most important part. After all, what good is a really good book with an amazing cover if nobody knows how to get their hands on it? (more…)
