This Crazy Thing I Did & Book Review In God Is Our Trust

So, remember yesterday when I was saying how good I felt with the paper purging? (And when I found another $20 this morning I felt even better). Well, last night, I was on Facebook talking about it and this other author chimed in and said she had a bunch of filing/paperwork she needed to go through by Thursday, and she challenged me to get my last corner of my room AND my closet done by Thursday. If I do it, I will reeceive a free copy of each of her five books. And I agreed. (And if she finishes her goals, I'll give her free copies of some...

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Treasure Hunting

So, I realize you might be getting tired of hearing about my paper-purging efforts, but I had such a productive weekend. I sorted all the kids' papers, and we went through them together to see what they wanted to keep and what they didn't. It was hilarious! Old love notes, pictures and doodles they'd drawn, it was just so fun to sit and reminisce with them and to see how far they've come. Not only did we unearth those little sentimental treasures, but I also unearthed a $20 bill from an old birthday card, my daughter's social security card...

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First Page Friday

Another amazing First Page Friday is here. We have been getting some wonderful submissions. If you are interested in having the first page of your manuscript critiqued by a professional editor, please submit your double-spaced 12 pt. font page to juliecoulterbellon@gmail.com with First Page Friday in the subject line.Let's get right to it.The EntryShe Came From the Hillby Janice SperryClay skidded his bike to a stop and planted his foot on the ground before his heavy pack could knock him over. His friends were scattered in Alex’s yard – none...

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Know Your Audience--Writing Tip

We took six of our children to see comedian Brian Regan last night. I have to tell you, my sides still hurt this morning from laughing so hard. He is so funny! He takes something so ordinary and then shares his observations about it. Like marching bands. And riding on the back of a motorcycle. And airports.The thing I probably liked best about last night is that we were there as a family. I knew the show would be appropriate for any age and we had so much fun together. Then, in the car afterward, we could quote the jokes and laugh about...

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Word Count Wednesday

For those of you who are following my PaperWatch 2012, I am happy to tell you that HALF of my bedroom is now paper-free. HALF! I am so excited. It's taken me 25 days, but I'm so motivated to do the other half and I have to say, it's really done something for my peace of mind. It just makes me feel good.What also makes me feel good is the fact that I have rewritten and edited fifty pages of my manuscript this week and then I wrote a new chapter. It's really coming along and I'm so excited. I'm not quite at my goal that I set for January, but...

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Book Review: Family by Design

Family by Design by Heather Justesen piqued my interest from the very beginning. The heroine, Rena, was so easy to identify with, searching for love, dealing with tragedy, trying to find her way in the world. She's leaned on her best friend for years and once you meet him you can understand why. Yeah, I loved Tucker, the best friend and hero. I loved Tucker because he was willing to be vulnerable and flawed. I've read several books recently and watched a movie where the hero was just too perfect. Good-looking, great job, personality of a...

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The Dreaded Monday

Well, today is the dreaded Monday. After a wonderful, almost-relaxing weekend, I had to get up today and face the house, the paper, and the kids.So, you know what we did? We used the Flylady fifteen minutes and the two kids I have at home during the day helped me "clean" fifteen minutes in each room. Then, when we were done, we spent fifteen minutes playing a game and repeated. They shockingly both went down for a nap at the same time and I got some work done on my manuscript AND I went through an entire box of paper.It feels good. Sometimes...

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First Page Friday

So this week was a good writing week for me and as I was doing some research, I found this quote:"It's not what you go through that defines you; you can't help that. It's what you do after you go through it, that defines who you really are." - UnknownI think that is a great quote for both a character and a writer. Anyway, I hope you're having a good writing week, too! Let's get on to First Page Friday.The EntryThe Empress of EdomBy Kurt F. KammeyerHaganiel heard a voice speaking to him.“Haganiel, come forth!”He sat up and looked around. He could...

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Choosing Names for Your Characters

So, after reading Debra's comment yesterday about the name "Grace" being too common, I went into a bit of panic mode since that is the name of my heroine in my work in progress. I loved the name for this particular character, but if you will remember I talked about how I was torn between the names Grace and Claire, so I spent this morning taking Grace out and putting in Claire. I also changed the name of my hero because he had a "C" name as well and if the heroine was Claire, it didn't really fit with the hero's name anymore. But then, I had...

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Word Count Wednesday

The muse is back and with the help of all my beta readers and critique people, I have been using all my computer time for the last few days to revise and write. It's so wonderful and liberating! It's interesting to me how critiques can jump-start me. There was a time in my writing career where I never wanted anyone to see my work until it was finished, but now that I know how helpful critiques and honest feedback can be, I can't wait until I get it back.I have a bit of computer time left today while the kids are napping so I'm going to get back...

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Book Review: The Dark Lord

The Dark Lord by Karen Keegan was recently offered for free on Kindle and since it was advertised as a "clean" sort of romance, I downloaded it. I was intrigued by the back cover and the first few chapters really drew me in. Catherine has been more or less an indentured servant in her aunt and uncle's home in America. Her father, a Duke, is back in England dying, and he wishes to see her before he dies. He sends a representative, his ward, Viscount Jonathan Thornley, to retrieve her. Thornley has a reputation for being the "the Dark Lord,"...

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Martin Luther King Day

Most of you know that I'm a fan of Flylady and her principles have helped me get organized. She has a quote from Martin Luther King that she uses frequently to remind us that we have to take the first step."To take the first step in faith, you don't have to see the whole staircase: just take the first step." Martin Luther KingI like that quote not only in getting motivated for organizing, but in anything I do. When things seem insurmountable and the tasks before me are too hard, I think about this quote and I know I can take it one step at a...

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First Page Friday

Can you believe it's Friday already? And the start of a long weekend. I think I really need that and I'm looking forward to some down time. Let's get right to First Page Friday!The EntryRunawaysby: Anonymous Dean and Laura’s parents ran away on a Wednesday. When eight-year old Laura came to breakfast that morning, still in her pink flannel nightgown, only Dean was at the table. A bowl of cereal sat in front of him, but he wasn’t eating. Already eleven, Dean was old enough to stay up until Jack Paar’s Tonight Show came onto their new color television,...

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Do You Ever Wonder If It's Worth It?

"In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins not by strength but by perseverance." - H. Jackson BrownI've been thinking a lot about this quote lately, mostly because I'm not really where I want to be in my writing life. So many things keep getting in the way. If only I had hours and hours to just sit and craft my stories! But then I got to thinking that even my little nuggets of writing time have pushed me forward. I'm persevering because writing is important to me, even if it isn't the highest priority.So,...

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Word Count Wednesday

After the craziness of yesterday, I forgot to tell you guys about a writer's event I've been invited to be a part of this weekend. It's called "The Profitable Author Event," and it will be in Salt Lake City this Saturday January 14, 2012from 9 am – 1 pm at the Holiday Inn Express, 3036 S. Decker Lake Drive, West Valley City, UT. They're going to cover such topics as Book Publishing Secrets, How to Self-Publish on a Shoestring, How to Make Your Book a Bestseller, Do It Yourself Tricks and Top Ten New Author Mistakes to Avoid, just to name a few.I'm...

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Late Book Review--Miss Delacourt Has Her Day

I'm sorry that my post is so late today. I had some unforeseen things come up and I spent most of it running around to different appointments. Thank you to my faithful readers for being so patient with me.Today I'm reviewing Miss Delacourt Has Her Day by Heidi Ashworth. I am a big Jane Austen fan and I love the way this author's style is so reminiscent of hers. This is a historical romance through and through, but it does have a bit of adventure to it, in the fact that our hero Anthony is called upon to really work for the woman he loves.When...

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My Embarrassing Moment

For those of you on PaperWatch 2012 I have two bookbags full of paper still left to go through in my first corner. Which is good news because that means I've gone through five bags of paper already. So I'm feeling pretty good about that. On Saturday, I was reffing a girls' basketball game. The reffing staff was short-handed, so I was doing this game on my own. The first half started well and things were really moving, but the white team started doing some body slam fouls (you know, they're straight up and down and using their bodies to push...

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First Page Friday

I'm excited for a whole new year of First Page Fridays. We still have openings in February, so submit your first page now! (Directions in the side bar).Let's get on to today's submission.The EntryBucket List of Hopeby Debra Erfert“I changed my mind!” The tornado-like wind tore the panicked words from my lips the moment I spoke them. The plane’s open door, where the experienced skydivers already jumped from, looked innocent enough when six grown men sat between IT and me. But now the huge, gaping hole seemed monstrously evil. It laughed at me,...

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Writing Tip---Are You An Over-Describer?

I wish I could describe to you how amazing and wonderful it's been to get rid of two grocery bags full of paper. Paper that I'd been hanging onto for years, for no apparent reason. You see, I have two corners of my bedroom that have paper piles in them. And it is one of my goals for this year to get rid of all of that. It overwhelms me to look at all of it, (because there's a lot) so I've been following Flylady's advice of doing it fifteen minutes at a time. So every day, I get out a pile of it and go through it for fifteen minutes. And mostly,...

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Word Count Wednesday

Well, so far I'm doing great on my New Year's goals. I have been getting rid of a grocery bag full of paper every day, I've read two books so far this year, and I've been revising my manuscript. Because I'm revising and adding in a storyline, I haven't had a great word count, but I did add 1028 words to my manuscript. So I'm counting that as a success. There is just something so satisfying about revising and molding my manuscript. I really do love that part of writing.How did you do this we...

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Book Review: the Sweetest Kiss

The Sweetest Kiss by Marie Higgins is just that---a sweet regency romance. Our hero, Trey Worthington, has been told his entire life that he is just like his father. Unfortunately, his father wasn't an honorable man and Trey watched his mother suffer through a difficult marriage. So, not only does Trey believe he can never have a happy marriage, he's decided he will just never marry. He also carries a lot of guilt over something that happened to his younger brother. Yet, once our tortured hero is introduced to Judith, a young lady that he becomes...

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New Year's Resolutions

I know a lot of people don't like New Year Resolutions, but I love them. I try really hard to make my resolutions (or goals) manageable and yet something I need to reach for. Goals give me a direction in my life and are fluid enough that once I reach them, it leads to another goal. I am going to post five of my goals here so I have some accountability for myself. So here are some of my goals for 2012:Read 112 books this year.Write ten pages a week minimum on my work in progress.Organize my papers and pictures. Do one memorable family activity...

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