WriterRecharge

#WriterRecharge 2015 – Wrap-up

WriterRecharge 2015

First of all, THANK YOU so much to everyone who participated and to the lovely Sara Biren, Katy Upperman, Alison Miller, Liz Parker, for letting me co-host this year’s #WriterRecharge…it’s time for the wrap-up!

#WriterRecharge Wrap-up

READ/REREAD
I want to schedule some more reading time…When I used to commute, it was easy to read LOTS of books in the train and I want to read at least 4 books this month, including a book that my husband recommended based on a show he heard on NPR: Ghost Boy  –> I did schedule more reading time but not enough to fulfill this goal. However, on the positive side? Plato The Dog is now more adjusted to our home so I should be able to get some more reading done. HALF-YAY!

STRETCH 
Continue learning Photoshop. I’ve been teaching myself a few tricks but I’d like to explore a bit more and become familiar with more of the features available. –> I’m having LOTS of fun with Photoshop. Love it. ALL-THE-WAY YAY!

SELF
Working out again. It’s been forever since the last time I worked out. I hurt my ankle, then got a bad cold and now am just lazy. Time to get my butt moving. I need to work out at least 3 times a week in February (not counting walking Plato the dog). –> Definite yay! While I didn’t get as many “formal” workouts as I wanted, I still did pretty well in this area!

CONNECT
Writer’s Retreat. I still cannot believe that on this Friday, I’ll be heading down to West Virginia with some amazing writers for a weekend retreat (so looking forward to meeting all of them in real life :)) –> Yay, yay, yay! This was really amazing and refreshing and everything Can we go back?

FUN 
Plan a few outings with the husband: going for walks, maybe the movies and I think, I think he’s taking me to a nice restaurant on Valentine’s Day (he hinted upon it several times) 🙂 so I’m looking forward to that. I’d also like to start taking more pictures again. –> This was a definite yay too! 🙂 While the nice restaurant changed into Waffle House (common decision and fun one too), we did go on some walks and spent some quality time together. Plus I got to take more pictures 🙂

11012184_791891730848827_1400457153626513206_n

Did you participate in Writer Recharge?
Don’t forget
 to visit Sara’s blog to link your wrap-up post! And thanks again SO MUCH for participating!

On top of it, because Sara is all kind of awesome, she has put together an adorable and oh so practical care package (pictured below and including: a cream scarf, a mug, Earl Grey tea, Pink Pineapple nail polish, Beachy nail polish, a 4-pack of Always Anna notebooks, and notecards).

Anyone who has participated in #WriterRecharge via Twitter or their blog will be automatically eligible. Winner to be drawn March 6th!

Recharge Prize Pack

Advertisement
WriterRecharge

#WriterRecharge 2015 – Update Three

WriterRecharge 2015

IOnce again hosted by Sara Biren, Katy Upperman, Alison Miller, Liz Parker, and me, Writer Recharge is your chance for a four-week jump start in the middle of a cold, dreary winter. Set goals for yourself, check in once a week, and connect with other recharging writers

#WriterRecharge Update Three

READ/REREAD
I want to schedule some more reading time…When I used to commute, it was easy to read LOTS of books in the train and I want to read at least 4 books this month, including a book that my husband recommended based on a show he heard on NPR: Ghost Boy  –> I read a few words of GHOST BOY…more this week for sure, and I’m deep into THE HIT LIST. Next on my list? MORE THAN COMICS by Elizabeth Briggs (which comes out today).

STRETCH 
Continue learning Photoshop. I’ve been teaching myself a few tricks but I’d like to explore a bit more and become familiar with more of the features available. –> I am now more familiar with some of the Photoshop features…but still haven’t made a full cover.

SELF
Working out again. It’s been forever since the last time I worked out. I hurt my ankle, then got a bad cold and now am just lazy. Time to get my butt moving. I need to work out at least 3 times a week in February (not counting walking Plato the dog). –> Ended up taking Plato the Dog of longer walks than planned (in the snow, so definitely a workout) and also worked out one additional time. A YAY again this week. 

CONNECT
Writer’s Retreat. I still cannot believe that on this Friday, I’ll be heading down to West Virginia with some amazing writers for a weekend retreat (so looking forward to meeting all of them in real life :)) 

FUN 
Plan a few outings with the husband: going for walks, maybe the movies and I think, I think he’s taking me to a nice restaurant on Valentine’s Day (he hinted upon it several times) 🙂 so I’m looking forward to that. I’d also like to start taking more pictures again. –> I’d like to take more pictures this week. Let’s see if I can make that happen. Hubby will be very busy at work so…

Participating in Writer Recharge? 
Head over to Sara’s blog to link your update post. 

Uncategorized

Celebrate great books and you could win a KINDLE :)

Release Day Party

I am so excited for two wonderful friends who are publishing their books on Monday. If you like New Adult contemporary romance, those books are for YOU.  No kidding, the writing is flawless and engaging, the characters jump out of the pages and you’re going to LOVE the stories. To celebrate their releases, Elizabeth Briggs and Riley Edgewood are hosting a FACEBOOK party on Monday, February 23rd with tons of amazing authors and pretty awesome prizes, like a KINDLE. You can find all details and RSVP to the party here.

SURF & SURRENDER (A SUMMER LOVE NOVEL #2)
(Available February 23rd, 2015)

She wants to forget he ever existed. He’d never give up her memory. 

Quinn Westwood is completely over Sawyer Carson. He broke her heart years ago and disappeared from her life without a word. So yeah. She’s over him. Never even thinks of him. In fact, she’s spending her college summer break surfing and lifeguarding in the Outer Banks, while nursing a bruised heart from a differentrelationship gone wrong. She doesn’t have room in her mind or heart for Sawyer–until she runs into him at a beach bonfire and the sparks that fly between them are way hotter than the flames heating the sand.

Sawyer never got over Quinn. The only thing stronger than what he feels for her is the secret keeping them apart, but sharing it would destroy more than just his life–it’d ruin hers, as well. Still, he can’t seem to keep away from her, can’t seem to keep his hands off of her soft, tempting skin. Especially since she has even less self-control when it comes to reigniting the physical side of what made them perfect together.

But secrets have a way of slipping out, and when Sawyer’s is revealed, it threatens to shatter everyone involved. He’ll have to face walking away a second time, and Quinn will have to decide if fighting for him is worth it when the fallout could affect more than just her heart, but also those of the people she loves most.

MORE THAN COMICSMORE THAN COMICS (CHASING THE DREAM #2)

They’re friends online – but can they be more in real life?

Writer Tara McFadden has been friends with artist and drummer Hector Fernandez for years, long before his band became famous on reality TV – yet they’ve never met in person. They finally have a chance to connect offline when they’re both sent to Comic-Con to promote the graphic novel they collaborated on.

Hector’s secretly been in love with Tara for as long as he can remember, and once they meet, she sees him in a new light. All the years of longing lead to an incredible night of passion after one of his concerts, but neither is sure if their online relationship can translate into a real life romance – or if this will ruin their friendship forever.

Over four crazy days at Comic-Con, Hector and Tara must decide if they want a future together. But when their story seems to be over, it’s up to Hector’s entire band to make sure he and Tara get their happy ending.

Buy it now:

Amazon | Barnes & NobleiTunes 

Google PlayKobo | All Romance

Order A Signed Copy

WriterRecharge

#WriterRecharge 2015 – Update Two

WriterRecharge 2015

IOnce again hosted by Sara Biren, Katy Upperman, Alison Miller, Liz Parker, and me, Writer Recharge is your chance for a four-week jump start in the middle of a cold, dreary winter. Set goals for yourself, check in once a week, and connect with other recharging writers

#WriterRecharge Update Two

READ/REREAD
I want to schedule some more reading time…When I used to commute, it was easy to read LOTS of books in the train and I want to read at least 4 books this month, including a book that my husband recommended based on a show he heard on NPR: Ghost Boy  –> I finished reading LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT and it was AMAZING! Now I will be starting GHOST BOY (almost did last week but then didn’t happen.)  

 

STRETCH 
Continue learning Photoshop. I’ve been teaching myself a few tricks but I’d like to explore a bit more and become familiar with more of the features available. –> Hmmm…I was supposed to learn how to make a full Photoshop cover. Didn’t happen. Doh.  So…trying to do it this week.

SELF
Working out again. It’s been forever since the last time I worked out. I hurt my ankle, then got a bad cold and now am just lazy. Time to get my butt moving. I need to work out at least 3 times a week in February (not counting walking Plato the dog). –> Walked the dog a lot and did one 30 minutes workout. So, I am counting this as a YAY. For this week, let’s do two 30 minutes workout, especially since I am not going to take Plato The Dog on loooong walks with this cold. He doesn’t like it much and I’m ready for Spring.

CONNECT
Writer’s Retreat. I still cannot believe that on this Friday, I’ll be heading down to West Virginia with some amazing writers for a weekend retreat (so looking forward to meeting all of them in real life :)) 

FUN 
Plan a few outings with the husband: going for walks, maybe the movies and I think, I think he’s taking me to a nice restaurant on Valentine’s Day (he hinted upon it several times) 🙂 so I’m looking forward to that. I’d also like to start taking more pictures again. –> We changed our Valentine’s Day plans and instead of going to a nice French restaurant, we drove 30 minutes to go to a Waffle House. It was fun 🙂  I’ve also been taking some pictures. Our dog is a good model, now if I only can make him realize I am the pack leader, it would be good.

2015-02-14_1423957586

Plato

Participating in Writer Recharge? 
Head over to Sara’s blog to link your update post. 

WriterRecharge

#WriterRecharge 2015 – Update One

WriterRecharge 2015

IOnce again hosted by Sara Biren, Katy Upperman, Alison Miller, Liz Parker, and me, Writer Recharge is your chance for a four-week jump start in the middle of a cold, dreary winter. Set goals for yourself, check in once a week, and connect with other recharging writers

#WriterRecharge Update One

READ/REREAD
I want to schedule some more reading time…When I used to commute, it was easy to read LOTS of books in the train and I want to read at least 4 books this month, including a book that my husband recommended based on a show he heard on NPR: Ghost Boy  –> I am really starting this week, getting Plato The Dog acquainted and comfortable in our home kept me quite busy last week. And I was going through a bit on a reading slump. But I just cracked LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT by Dahlia Adler open and I AM LOVING IT. This week, I am also going to start reading GHOST BOY.

Dahlia's book

STRETCH 
Continue learning Photoshop. I’ve been teaching myself a few tricks but I’d like to explore a bit more and become familiar with more of the features available. –> I haven’t opened Photoshop last week. This week’s goal? Learn how to make a full cover.

SELF
Working out again. It’s been forever since the last time I worked out. I hurt my ankle, then got a bad cold and now am just lazy. Time to get my butt moving. I need to work out at least 3 times a week in February (not counting walking Plato the dog). –> I have decided to count walking Plato The Dog, when it’s over an hour. Last week, I took him for long walks (60/90 minutes…). This week, I am planning of doing two 30-minutes workout on top of those long walks.

CONNECT
Writer’s Retreat. I still cannot believe that on this Friday, I’ll be heading down to West Virginia with some amazing writers for a weekend retreat (so looking forward to meeting all of them in real life :)) –> I want to go back. This weekend was truly inspiring and fun and refreshing and amazing. And the company was all those things too and more ❤ 

Retreat

FUN 
Plan a few outings with the husband: going for walks, maybe the movies and I think, I think he’s taking me to a nice restaurant on Valentine’s Day (he hinted upon it several times) 🙂 so I’m looking forward to that. I’d also like to start taking more pictures again. –> I started taking pictures again this weekend. And it was definitely fun and inspiring too. Trying to tell a story via the lens.

Statue

Participating in Writer Recharge? 
Head over to Sara’s blog to link your update post. 

WriterRecharge

It’s time for #WriterRecharge 2015…

WriterRecharge 2015

It’s February, which means it’s time for Writer Recharge!

Once again hosted by Sara Biren, Katy Upperman, Alison Miller, Liz Parker, and me, Writer Recharge is your chance for a four-week jump start in the middle of a cold, dreary winter. Set goals for yourself, check in once a week, and connect with other recharging writers.

This year, we’ve come up with a few categories you might want to consider when making your goals. You can choose a goal (or goals) for one or some or all:

  • WRITE/REVISE – Choose writing goals for the month.
  • READ/REREAD – Read a book that’s been on your TBR forever or reread something that had a great impact on you.
  • STRETCH – Do something outside your comfort zone, from reading a genre you typically avoid to trying a new food or rock climbing when you’re afraid of heights – that kind of thing.
  • SELF – Do something good for your mind or your body.
  • CONNECT – Find a way to make a difference in someone’s life. Make a connection, via social media or in person. Initiate twitter writing parties, have a real-life write-in with writers in your town, or offer to critique or beta read someone’s work.
  • FUN – Make a goal to do something super fun and exciting that you can look forward to.

How Writer Recharge works:

  • First week of February: Post your goals for the month on your blog, website, or Twitter. Use the hashtag #WriterRecharge. Link your blog post on Sara’s blog.
  • Every Monday in February: Update your progress via your blog or twitter. Link your blog posts on our Monday posts.
  • Throughout the month: Use the hashtag to connect with other writers, have writing parties, and cheer one another on!
  • Friday, February 27: Post your final update via your blog or twitter.
  • Anyone who uses the hashtag or links their blog posts will be entered to win a fabulous prize package at the end of the month.

My goals – On my side, I will be focusing February on a few of the categories.

READ/REREAD
I want to schedule some more reading time…When I used to commute, it was easy to read LOTS of books in the train and I want to read at least 4 books this month, including a book that my husband recommended based on a show he heard on NPR: Ghost Boy 

STRETCH 
Continue learning Photoshop. I’ve been teaching myself a few tricks but I’d like to explore a bit more and become familiar with more of the features available.

SELF
Working out again. It’s been forever since the last time I worked out. I hurt my ankle, then got a bad cold and now am just lazy. Time to get my butt moving. I need to work out at least 3 times a week in February (not counting walking Plato the dog).

CONNECT
Writer’s Retreat. I still cannot believe that on this Friday, I’ll be heading down to West Virginia with some amazing writers for a weekend retreat (so looking forward to meeting all of them in real life :))

 

FUN 
Plan a few outings with the husband: going for walks, maybe the movies and I think, I think he’s taking me to a nice restaurant on Valentine’s Day (he hinted upon it several times) 🙂 so I’m looking forward to that. I’d also like to start taking more pictures again.

We hope you’ll join us for our annual Writer Recharge Challenge – here’s to a productive, rejuvenating month!

personal, Query, writing

Happy Dance Monday

I simply cannot wait until my Happy Friday post to share some of my weekend smiles…

First there was this:

Evening with friends – bringing them some French wine 😀

Then this:

A little bit of sport. Hubby and I are not that good but we have fun!

 But especially there was this:

Yay! I was one of the lucky three winners of the query contest of Taryn (Queroine extraordinaire as I now like to call her or as she puts on her blog: writer, reader, lit agency intern, and freelance editor). Her comments as I mentioned on Friday were spot on. The winners get to send her 10 pages for her to give feedback on.

I sent those pages to her on Saturday morning and have already had two dreams about her answer to them…Yes I may be a tad nervous.

AND! (yes there is an AND :D) I also edited/revised my novel this weekend based on Jaime aka Amazing CP’s suggestions and comments. I added several scenes and changed the ending a little bit. I am currently reading it on my Kindle and I think, I really think that it will soon be ready for beta-readers!!!

So tell me, how was your weekend?

Happy Friday

Happy Friday #22 – Wordbuster and other stories…

Yay, it´s time for Happy Friday 😀 Looking forward to know what made you smile this week!

Writing: I am steadily moving forward, I am almost at 30 000 words and already have the next scenes in my head.

Critiquing: You have no idea how lucky I am to read Jaime´s manuscript. I can´t wait for her to snag a wonderful agent and get this baby published so I can gush about her writing with you (and about hmmm a certain someone in uniform…). Plus, we just got our own theme song now which let´s face it, makes us super cool 🙂

Reading: I just started THE NEAR WITCH by Victoria Schwab and I got pulled in with the first sentence: It starts with a crack, a sputter, and a spark.

Randomness: My Mother-In-Law was here this week so we enjoyed some nice family time altogether which included a very fun weekend. Oh and I also tried another yummy dessert from Katy´s deliciousness pinterest board aka Banana Caramel Cream from Glorious Treats. 

So, tell me, what made you smile this week?

Hmm margarita
Jenga fun!
A walk in Mainz…
Banana caramel YUM!

Blogging

A blast from the past

Thank you again so much Kat for this award! I am now going to be able to showcase some of my past posts which can fit the seven provided headlines.

Let me tell you something, it´s really not that easy but it´s fun to look back 😀 I have been blogging since September 10th, 2011, so not a year yet but keeping this blog updated is really amazing. Not only did I meet wonderful people, I am also having a blast with it!

Most Beautiful Piece
This one is beautiful to my heart because this is the post with which I shared a few pictures of my wedding.
Published on 29th December 2011
Most Helpful Piece
My hubby wrote that one and many other writers commented how they would share it with their significant others. Reading it always makes me smile.
Published on May 3rd, 2012
Most Popular Piece
If I am looking at the one which received the most comments (almost 100! well counting my replies I think but still :D) , it would be the flash fiction I did for the Campaigner Challenge. It was also the first flash fiction I ever wrote.
Published on February 20th, 2012
Most Controversial Piece
 The one where I wonder about vocabulary and how going through revising makes me think about the words we use in our YA novels.
Published on March 5th, 2012
Most Surprisingly Successful Piece
I was overwhelmed by the positive response and by the amount of comments this one post received. This is the one where I reveal my first name and no longer go by “commutinggirl” only.
Published on January 11th, 2012
Most Underrated Piece
I really enjoyed writing this piece but it was published before I had a lot lot of followers…And  I do still ask myself the same question from times to times…
Published on November 14th, 2011
Most Pride-Worthy Piece
This one is more a pride-worthy moment captured in a post :D…it´s the post I published after finishing the first draft of my first WiP…
Published on January 15th, 2012
And here now the seven bloggers I pass on the award to because I cannot wait to see what they come up with 😀
  •  Jaime Morrow (YA Writer and Reader + wonderful Critique Partner)
  • Katy Upperman (Musings of An Aspiring Young Adult Author)
  • Jessica (Jessica Love – Writes, Reads, Rocks)
  • Rebecca Behrens
  • Alison (Left Brained by Day – Write Brained, all the time)
  • Tracey (Words on Paper)
  • Christa (Christa rambles and writes)