Cheesy Positivity

There are two equal and opposite sides to my personality – a cheesy hippie who wants only love and light, and a sarcastic cynic, who thinks the hippie is super lame.

But even though the cynic wants the hippie to be quiet, and stop being so uncool, the hippie does have a little something to say.

There’s a lot of negativity right now. Politics the world over. People are upset, many have good reason to be.

It’s one of the reasons I walked away from being a journalist. The overwhelming pressure of writing about negative things, being present for what would be someone’s worst day of their life. Letting the worst days for other people, become every day for me.

It’s easy to let this negativity infect every part of your life. I know people who have.

I’m not saying don’t push for change on the things that matter. And I’m certainly not going to suggest a solution to the political problems around at the moment – those are for other people to suggest these days, and I prefer it like that.

But I hope, amongst all of this, you can take a moment today. Each day. To remember what you’re thankful for. What was a success today. To remind someone close to you that you love them.

Right, my cynic is sufficiently embarrassed. The hippie is back in her cage.

 

(Book status: 3,200 words into first draft)

Review: Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart

After service in Vietnam, as a surgeon for the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in 1968-69, at the height of the war, Dr. Gordon Livingston returned to the U.S. and began work as a psychiatrist. In that capacity, he has listened to people talk about their lives-what works, what doesn’t, and the limitless ways (many of them self-inflicted) that people find to be unhappy.

***

In my continual quest to amass the biggest possible collection of secondhand books, this one was given to me. I fancied a palate cleanser between writing, so figured now was a good time to read it.

I’m not usually into non-fiction, or anything self-help, so I think it says a lot that I enjoyed it. It’s a collection of essays, and there’s genuine wisdom in each one. Every now and then it verges on platitudes, but I guess that’s a risk of the genre.

Four stars!

Celebrating with Caffeine and Sparkles

Wearing my favourite shoes today, because I just got my revised book back from the editor! And while there’s red pen decorating the page, it’s not too bad.

Now for the hard part – going through the changes, and getting it into final book shape…

 

Celebration and a Melted Brain

EDITING. The bane of any writer’s life, and yet it’s the part which turns a book from OK, to beautiful.

It also turns my brain from functional, to mush. (And my laundry pile into a mountain, but I digress.)

However – I’m finally done with my part of the editing process! It’s a blissful relief that I’m well and truly celebrating. I’ve handed it on to my editor, so now I sit and watch my inbox like a hawk until she returns it, covered in red…

I’m not sitting on my hands while I wait, though. Spare time means cover designing! I can’t wait until we’re done and I can show you the pretty results.

Of course I’ll be sharing it with my mailing list first – as well as the inevitable giveaways and special deals when the book is ready to be released! Sign up here if you haven’t already. http://eepurl.com/bwTdtD

Who else has reasons to celebrate? Share the happy with me, I want to hear about what’s happening with you!

 

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Celebration Time

The barista always knows how my day is going, based on order. Today I got a “long black? Congratulations!”

And congratulations is right, if I do say so myself. No need for a mood-boosting mocha today, because I finished the first round of editing for the current book. And damn, but I love this story!

Now only five more edits to get through…

 

(Are you on Twitter or Instagram? I love hanging out with fellow readers and writers. http://twitter.com/AuthorLibby and http://www.instagram.com/authorlibby/)

Bribing The Muse

 

The first round of editing is always a tough one. You find lots of silly mistakes, rushed conversations, cardboard characters… But that’s fine, that’s why we edit!

Except yesterday my muse ran away. One particular paragraph needed a major overhaul, and I was blank.

So I did what any good writer does, and set out to bribe her. I got a mocha, with marshmallows of course, and sat down in the sun to clear my head. Staring up at the blue sky through this tangle of branches, birds singing around me, my brain unfocused… I may have napped for a bit.

Today I sat down in front of the WIP, and the muse has returned. The troublesome paragraph was sorted in about five minutes flat!

So if all else fails, bribe the muse. Every time.

 

(I love hanging out online with fellow readers and writers. Instagram https://www.instagram.com/authorlibby/ and Twitter https://twitter.com/AuthorLibby)

Hitting A New Milestone

You know how it is when you’re addicted to a book you’re reading? You have stuff planned for the day, but even while you’re hanging out with friends or family you’re secretly looking forward to getting back home so you can read some more?

Well, here’s a secret; writing a book can be pretty much the same. Sure it’s hard work, but when you’re on a roll you begrudge anything that stops you! So, between Easter chocolate and hanging out with people this long weekend, I kept sneaking away for a date with my keyboard, sorting out the latest project.

And hey, you can’t argue with results, because I hit a new milestone.

Yep, past the 40,000 words mark, and past 100 pages. (That’s 100 pages of a Word doc draft, which is more than 100 pages of a printed book, FYI!) Not only is this past where I’d hoped to be by now, but it’s actually the longest book I’ve written so far.

Because of course, the Hawaiian Heartbreak trilogy book were novellas. Sure they can be read all together, making them slightly more than the length of your average book. But each novella is its own distinct story, with its own little life cycle.

Whereas this is one stand alone story, and it’s bigger from the start. Which is proving to be a lot of fun! And so we’ve raced to this little milestone, and I’m taking a moment to celebrate.

I don’t want to jump the gun, but we’re almost at the point where I’m ready to tell you what it is I’m working on. Of course, I’ll tell my mailing list about it first – it’s only fair! If you want to sign up, I also do exclusive giveaways there. You can sign up right here http://eepurl.com/bwTdtD

How was Easter for everyone else? Don’t worry, I don’t expect you all to be workaholics like me!

 

(If you’re on Twitter or Instagram, I love to chat. http://twitter.com/AuthorLibby and http://www.instagram.com/authorlibby/)

How To Be A Skinny Mini With No Friends

Happy New Year! This is typically when people think about goals for the year ahead, and I’ll admit I fall into that trap. But I like to set the bar low for any resolutions. Really low, so I’m almost guaranteed to feel smug by December.

So, none of this losing weight, or becoming neat and tidy. I would fail. This year I’m aiming to have matching underwear more often. Cross your fingers for me, I have a terrible track record at this!

The goal to lose weight must still be a favourite though, as all of the lifestyle sites I read are currently full of tips and tricks to lose weight without trying. Which is fine, but this one nearly made me choke on my coffee. Can you imagine trying to hold a conversation with someone doing these “hard to notice” movements?!

“So anyway, Claire, then I told my boss-”

*fingers tapping on the table*

“Sorry, am I annoying you? We don’t have to talk about work.”

“No, it’s fine, please continue.”

“OK… So I told my boss-”

*eye roll*

“Seriously, what have I done?”

 

I’ll stick with the gym, I think.

Goodbye To A Legend

Jackie Collins blazed a trail for so many women in fiction. She showed us all what it meant to be insanely successful, a brilliant storyteller, all while looking effortlessly glamorous. She’s an icon and a role-model for me, and I’m sure countless other writers.

Keeping her breast cancer diagnosis secret for so long must have been difficult. I’m sure there were times she wanted to lean on people she hadn’t told, but she was determined to be strong.  Facing it like that only increases my admiration for her.

I think the best way to remember her is through her own words. “I refuse to mourn people, because everybody dies.”

Her family’s asked that people wanting to remember her donate to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Organization (U.S.) or Penny Brohn Cancer Care (U.K.). A beautiful and fitting way to pay tribute to a trail blazer.

Flaming Fast Fingers

Two weeks after Hawaiian Heartbreak went live – I’ve finally finished the full draft of book two in the trilogy!

Now admittedly, I cheated a little bit. While Heartbreak was with my editor I started on the next book, and got pretty far into the draft. But at ten past midnight last night, the last full stop went into place. Nothing quite like that feeling of getting it all down!

So for all of you who told me off over the cliff hanger (I’m not sorry), you don’t have much longer to wait. Yes, I still have to do a lot of editing myself, and then it has to go to the official editor. But we’re all on track for a release hopefully within two months. Then you can stop being mad at me 😉

In the meantime, I’m spending today celebrating.