Monday, November 25, 2019

NaNoWriMo Monday - Don't Give Up! (I won't!)

Happy Monday Everyone – Yes I am WAY Behind

This month is National Novel Writing Month, aka NaNoWriMo! While NaNoWriMo is not for everyone, the novel-writing challenge is a terrific time to get organized and do some serious puking.  

This past week was challenging to say the least. While I accomplished a whole bunch of awesome stuff my NaNoWriMo challenge was not included in the mix.  I wrote thousands of words in my head, but none of them reached the laptop.  I am not giving up.  I still have 5 days to complete my goal-- yes, this amounts to 10K a day give or take but I can do it. 

Determination is key and so is making every moment count. This mean scheduling and making it happen.  Truth is, folks, life happens. Babies are born, children get sick, and unexpected need this now projects arise however, if you are committed to your goal whatever it may be you will make it work.

Ways to catch up –

Sprints – Set your clock for 10, 20 or 30 minutes and dump, write like the wind

Utilize all tools – dictate into our phone in the car, in the middle of the night, while you are waiting in line –people may think you have lost your marbles but who cares?

Old fashioned- Write on a napkin, write on your hand, write on the back of a place mat, carry a notebook in your pocket or purse.


Stay focused and determined and you will prevail.
Remember, NaNoWriMo is not just about the word count is about testing your limits and seeing what you can accomplish. Learn from the experience.          

If you chose to participate in NaNoWriMo this year, feel free to send me a buddy request. I would love to see how you are progressing and be your cheerleader! Here is my information. I will be updating my progress every Monday!

Hope to see you there and good luck, Warriors!



Come Find Me!

Don't have a Kindle, no problem. I've got you covered! Read eBooks on your phone, tablet and computer no Kindle Needed!


Saturday, November 23, 2019

Author Amy Romine ~ Saturday Seven ~ November 23rd 2019

Happy Saturday, what have you been up to this week? Here is a rundown of highlights for the week. I hope you find them useful in your life! My goal as a person and a writer are to always Pay-It-Forward, so please let me know how I can help you. YES, YOU!
Enjoy your weekend & this post! Amazing things to come!
~Amy


What am I Reading? -  It seems every time I make a dent in my list, I add more books! Have to say, I kinda love it! Christmas Hostages (A Mission Justice Book) by Elizabeth A.Wilson, ~ A reluctant speaker at a pre-Christmas elementary school assembly, FBI Special Agent Lucas Shaw feels the eyes of hundreds of children pleading with him for protection when South Mountain Militia storms the building. Scrambling against a ticking clock, Lucas must find a way to get the children and faculty to safety, a daunting task for a single armed federal agent against a small army of gunmen. As if the pressure of his task isn’t bad enough, his day is about to get even worse. Fighting for her life when captured by a gunman, Lexie North manages to escape only to collide with Lucas — a man who has every reason to hate her. With danger closing in on them, rescuing the hostages and ultimately their own survival depends on their ability to work together. But can they put aside their past to do it?

Rapid Release by Jewel Allen This one was recommended to me and an interesting idea if you can pull it off. - When novelist Jewel Allen's earnings tapered to a buck per month for each of her 11 books on her backlist, she knew she had to change her self-publishing model. Applying the principles of rapid release, where an author publishes fast to keep readers’ interest before the dreaded 30-day cliff, she started a to-market series and recouped five times her investment in 30 days. She repeated it, not just once, but six times on her way to energizing her publishing career.

What am I Listening to? –  To be honest, Talk Radio, I am a politics junkie. Government soap operas are so fascinating (LOVED West Wing BTW), so I have been tuning in to listen in on the rhetoric and hysteria. Very interesting.

What Quote am I pondering? –  “If someone asked me to define Hell, I would say ~ being separated from the ones you love the most.” ~ Unknown

What am I Researching? –  Publishing Houses and where I want to go with all these ideas I have. What is the end game? Do I even have one? I found out I do.
·         Develop a resource for all authors to achieve their goals.
·         Create a national support network for authors of all kinds to connect based on giving and not receiving. Reciprocity, confidence building, encouragement and real life tools to help them move forward
·         Continue writing the books I love and setting an example for my children to follow
·         Sharing what I’ve learned about balanced living, following their passions and living their best life
·         In the end, writers shape the world, past, present, and future. I am a writer.

Yummy Meal of the Week – This week had to be Chicken and Dumplings YUM!

What did I Learn? –  I am grateful for the only person or obstacle standing in my way is myself.

What am I Watching? – My son and I watched a new show on Netflix. Unfortunately, we only made it through one episode. It is called Daybreak – a biochemical weapon that turns the adult world into ghoulies (brainless human-eating monsters). All that is left is anyone under 18. Interesting premise. Watching the show, it is Ferris Bueller’s Day off meets Zombie Land (Matthew Broderick is in the show, he plays the Principle of the High School). I am not going to spoil anything, and I may just not have been in the mood, but...eh not overly impressed. I will give it three episodes, though, just to be fair.
  
That is all for this week, my lovelies!
I hope you have an amazing week, and I will talk to you all next Saturday!

*BONUS Content ~

Have any thoughts on my week’s activity or want to make a recommendation? Drop me a line or a tweet. One lucky commenter will win a free Romine book of their choice! Never want to miss a blog post or a Saturday Seven? Join my mailing list, and I will be happy to send it straight to your inbox!

Happy Holidays! ~

The Prophet and the Snow Angel, my Christmas release is coming Dec 6th! It is available for Pre-Order Now. Pre Order a copy before Dec 6th, and I will send you a Swag Grab Bag full of goodies! Just send me an email with your name, address, and date of purchase. 😊


Come Find Me!

Don't have a Kindle, no problem. I've got you covered! Read eBooks on your phone, tablet and computer no Kindle Needed!


Monday, November 18, 2019

NaNoWriMo Monday - The Keys to Success ~ Outline, Write, Edit, Repeat ~ November 18th 2019 (WC 9593)

This month is National Novel Writing Month, aka NaNoWriMo! While NaNoWriMo is not for everyone, the novel-writing challenge is a terrific time to get organized and do some serious puking.   When I say puking, I mean words, plot, and character exploration.  The whole point of NaNoWriMo is to stop the excuses and write. Even if you don’t have the plot or characters figured out just yet, go ahead and start writing.  As the brilliant Margaret Atwood said, ~ the best way to learn how to write fiction is to write fiction. ~ Truer words have never spoken.

I am participating in NaNoWriMo this year. My current project is entitled Stupid Car, and I’m at 9,593 words (as of 11/18/19).  According to the NaNoWriMo site, I will be finished on Jan 31st, 2020! Yes, I’m a little behind, but I plan on making up the difference and hitting my 50K goal on November 30th as planned. 
UPDATE - The plan is to push out 10K a day and finish this book. There is honestly so much going on right now personally, and professionally I need to get it done. There are many advantages to typing The End or in some cases, To Be Continued…  One of them being, you can move on to the next project. 

Author Bob Mayer has a great system in place for moving through his projects. He is Outlining Book A, Writing Book B, and editing Book C-- all at the same time. He times them together so when one moves forward, they all move forward. This takes discipline, balance, and scheduling.  He is my personal writing icon as he, in my opinion, has a great working system I would love to emulate.  In the spirit of Bob’s system, I am writing Stupid Car, editing the Prophet and the Snow Angel, and, I am outlining Finders 2.

I have the plan, now I just need the drive and the discipline to make it happen. What is going on in your world? Have you met the 50K goal yet?  What happens once you cross the finish line?  If you would like to learn more about  Bob Mayer, check out his books, one, in particular, is  The Novel Writers Toolkit – From Idea to Best Seller.                                                                                                                                          
If you choose to participate in NaNoWriMo this year, feel free to send me a buddy request. I would love to see how you are progressing and be your cheerleader! Here is my information. I will be updating my progress every Monday!

Hope to see you there and good luck, Warriors!



Come Find Me!


Don't have a Kindle, no problem. I've got you covered! Read eBooks on your phone, tablet and computer no Kindle Needed!


Saturday, November 16, 2019

Saturday Seven ~ November 16th 2019



Happy Saturday, what have you been up to this week? Here is a rundown of highlights for the week. I hope you find them useful in your life! My goal as a person and a writer are to always Pay-It-Forward, so please let me know how I can help you. YES, YOU!
Enjoy your weekend & this post! Amazing things to come!
~Amy

What am I Reading? -  By TBR pile is HUGE, but I am working on it. Reading fiction, Antique Trove by Gabriella Bradley & Taryn Jameson. Reading and learning, I am engulfed in 2K to 10K by Rachel Aaron in honor of NaNoWriMo (yes, I am participating this year!) and Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss. (Links Below)
What am I Listening to? –  I listened to a podcast by Speaker Hub about Speakers and Podcasting. The interview was with Mary Drumond on World of Speakers. Very interesting interview. If you are thinking about becoming a speaker or a podcaster definitely worth a listen (link  below)

What Quote am I pondering? –  Everything Happens for a Reason ~ yes, I use this one a lot, but I keep coming back to it. This past week there were several experiences where outcomes would have been much worse if things had not gone wrong. Annoying cancellations turned out to be “thank God I was here,” and Laundry sucks turned into a new author coaching client. Life takes us in the direction we need if we let it.

What am I Researching? –  This week has been all about learning how to manage it all--From scheduling my life (which is very necessary) to finances and the future. Researching how to do things better, identifying what mistakes I am making and how to solve for them.

Yummy Meal of the Week – Pie Day! No, I did not make the pies, but they sure were yummy. With grown-up kids, Halloween is not as much of an event as previous years. A few years ago we decided to celebrate the holiday with pie! We all love pie, and it is euql if not a little less to a bag of Halloween candy.

What did I Learn? – I was fortunate enough to have a friend who is already using an app I am currently trying out, Google Keep. It is very cool and a great tool for people like myself and YOU to have a place to jot down ideas, take notes and get organized. You can color code or ag the topics and then search for them later. Loving it~

What am I Watching? –  This week Zack and caught up on our absolute favorite show, 9-1-1! We had four episodes to watch for this season so far, and the show always delivers. If you have not seen it yet, it is on Hulu, and I HIGHLY recommend it! ( this is NOT  Rescue 911 from the eighties, this is a current show. Mondays on FOX )

*BONUS Content ~
Have any thoughts on my week’s activity or want to make a recommendation? Drop me a line or a tweet. One lucky commenter will win a free Romine book of their choice! Never want to miss a blog post or a Saturday Seven? Join my mailing list, and I will be happy to send it straight to your inbox!

Check out a podcast I was interviewed on ~ Write Away Podcast - https://tinyurl.com/y6e7q4d3
Special Treat! ~ If you haven’t seen it yet, please check it out my trailer for my recent release Finders! http://bit.ly/2JZQIC2

Links
Antique Trove by Gabriella Bradley & Taryn Jameson -  https://amzn.to/33ppvAg
2K to 10K by Rachel Aaron – https://amzn.to/2Np7Djm
Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss – https://amzn.to/2PRWCJc
World of Speakers Podcast w/ Mary Drummond http://bit.ly/2K0zDrv
Google Keep – https://keep.google.com
Suspense for the Romantic Heart – http://amyjromine.blogspot.com
Writing Warriors United - https://tinyurl.com/yyhcz9wg

Writing Warriors United on YouTube - https://youtu.be/WgLouBBcves

Come Find Me!

Don't have a Kindle, no problem. I've got you covered! Read eBooks on your phone, tablet and computer no Kindle Needed!


Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Holiday Reads! ~ The Prophet and the Snow Angel

Blurb ~ 

Two Turtle Doves must save the throne of the most powerful church in the world before a terrorist act destroys it and all hope for Christmas.

When Navy Seal Team leader, Charlie Stein is paired with Operations Analyst Aria Lockett, he is annoyed. Having the burden of an Analyst on a field mission was not a headache he wanted to endure.

Operations Analyst Aria Lockett has been tracking The White Guard Terrorist cell for years. When they finally get a strong lead on an upcoming attack, she is ready to put an end to their terrorist reign once and for all.


With an imminent attack scheduled for Christmas Day in Rome, the pair must work together to thwart the threat. The unease between them quickly turns to trust and unexpected desire. When the terror cell is alerted to their plan, can they remain focused and save Christmas or will their growing feelings cloud their judgment and destroy the path of hope?

Excerpt ~


Stein watched the lightly freckled redhead look him over before diverting her eyes to her phone. She walked past him for he assumed privacy. He took a seat at the table where she’d sat, looking over the scattered documents, noticing her empty cup of coffee he grabbed it and moved to the coffee station, hearing pieces of her conversation on the phone.

“I'd like to restate our commitment to helping you find some answers. No, I understand the meaning of proprietary – do you understand the meaning of collusion?”

Damn

Stein filled up both cups of coffee, noticing she had cream and a hint of hazelnut from the smell of the cup. He bent opening the mini-refrigerator beneath the coffee station. A bottle of hazelnut creamer sat on the door. He added the cream, grabbing two filled cups and returned to the table.

“Correct.” Stein watched her brow furrow, before she swept her hand through her hair. “We need to know the specific chemical contents of those canisters.”
Stein put the cups on the table and removed his dress jacket, hanging it in the cabin closet before unbuttoning the top of his shirt and loosening his tie. She returned to the table, picking up the cup of refilled coffee, taking a sip while she listened to the person on the phone.

“Uh, no, I am in charge. What do you want me to say? We are talking about an imminent terrorist threat. Yes, well—I see. No, I understand…All right. Get back to me with the chemical breakdown of what…this is the number. And how long—I'll be expecting your call.” She hung up the phone and tossed it on the table. “Asshole.”

“Araena lawyers giving you a hard time?” Stein snickered.

“Yes, and imminent threat or collusion has no meaning – wait how did you know that’s who I was talking to?” Aria glared, picking up her cup of coffee.

“I recognized the photos. Araena Pharmaceuticals burnt to the ground last week. From the tidbits of the conversation – not that I was eavesdropping—those canisters are missing, or Araena is stating they were empty. Also, you wrote down the name Geoff Vlakin and underlined it twice. Vlakin was the only reported death in the Araena fire. My guess is mister Vlakin was the creator of what was in them – likely not a cure for Cancer—and has miraculously turned up somewhere in Paris.” He extended his hand, “Charlie Stein.” She took it with a firm grip.

“Aria Lockett.” She nodded at the cup in her hand. “Thanks for the coffee.”

“No problem.”

The cabin door opened, and a man stepped down the aisle, “Sorry, I’m late.”

“Wes Giddings, this is Charlie Stein from ST five.”

Stein rose extending his hand once more.

“You must be Wheeler’s man,” Wes shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“That I am.”

“Thanks for the heads up, Wes.” Aria flopped into her seat with a long breath.

“There was no time.” Wes shrugged and put his go-bag on one of the seats.
“Understatement of the year,” Aria muttered under her breath. Wes took a seat at the table on the opposite side of the aisle pulling out a laptop. The pilot came over the intercom announcing their departure.

“Wes, would you call Langley? We're waiting for Krandif's psych profile.” Aria glanced at Wes.

“He's an asshole. I'll save you the red tape.” Stein sat snacking on a bag of peanuts.

“Thanks. I'll go with the official version.”

“Ok. Officially, he's an asshole. What’s the connection?”

“Vlakin was spotted going in The Ice House two nights ago.” Aria handed him the photo.

Stein scanned the photo and then tossed it onto the table. “So, we are headed to Paris.”

Aria collected the photo, her face scrunched, placing it neatly on the stack of papers beside her computer. “If we can find Vlakin, we can find the canisters.”

“Krandif is an enabler, not a terrorist. Which is good, makes him predictable.” Stein slid into the seat directly across from Aria, still popping peanuts in his mouth.

Aria put her elbows on the table clasping her hands together. “He’s a criminal.”

Stein leaned across the table, meeting her gaze “But not a terrorist.”

Wes twisted in his chair closer to join the conversation. ”How do you know?”

“Krandif’s sole motivation is money, always has been, throw him enough cash and he’ll dig up his mother.” Stein rested his leg up onto his thigh and popped a few more peanuts in his  mouth before looking distractedly into the bag.

Bafoon

“Your area of expertise, Stein? Or so has the word on the Hill.” Aria’s focus went back to her computer screen.

Stein nodded his head. “You've been doing your research.”

“Dangerous times.”

“I'd like to know something,” Stein tossed the empty bag of peanuts on the table before putting his arms on the table and facing Aria. “How exactly does a top-rated field agent get stuck behind a desk?”

“A choice.”

“So, it's that simple?”

“It is to me, that simple.” Aria met his gaze. “You've done some research yourself.”

“Like you said, dangerous times.” Stein pulled his gaze away, uncomfortable with the warmth pooling in his gut. “All this data, charts and intel tell you nothing.”

Wes tilted his head, looking to Stein. “Why’s that?”

“In the field, the good guys, that's us, chase the bad guys, and they don't wear black hats.”

Aria glared at Wes and then Stein, “if you recall, I was a field operative. I do know how it works in the field.”

“Then you already know, the bad guys are, however, all alike. They mandate power and respect, and they'll pay top dollar to get it.”

“Not these guys,” Aria shook her head, straightening her back. “The White Guard has other motivations they don't care about money or respect. They believe killing innocent people is vindicated. For them, it is about rage, frustration, and hatred. An excruciating pain they endure and want to share it.”

“You see, that does me no good,” Stein shook his head, tapping his finger on the table. “Let's deal with the facts at hand. One week ago, a German scientist walked away with five large canisters of what we can only assume is a bioweapon. Krandif and Vlakin’s motivation is money.”

“I know that, Stein. I could care less about Vlakinor or Kardif,” Aria rose from her seat moving to the coffee maker.

“Then what are we doing going to Paris? What’s the point?” Stein stood challenging her eyes.

 Aria straightened her shoulders and stepped into his space, “the point is, I want to know who is buying the weapon to use it. Because that person is not interested in money, they have it to spend. They are interested in hurting a lot of people, and I intend to stop them.”


~

The Prophet and the Snow Angel is Coming Dec 7th from eXtasy Books!
We are going on tour, myself and 12 other amazing authors are going on a Holiday Tour starting Dec 6th - Dec 17th!




Come Find Me!


Don't have a Kindle, no problem. I've got you covered! Read eBooks on your phone, tablet and computer no Kindle Needed!


Monday, November 11, 2019

NaNoWriMo Monday!

This month is National Novel Writing Month aka NaNoWriMo! While NaNoWriMo is not for everyone, the novel-writing challenge is a terrific time to get organized and do some serious puking.   When I say puking, I mean words, plot, and character exploration.  The whole point of NaNoWriMo is to stop the excuses and write. Even if you don’t have the plot or characters figured out just yet, go ahead and start writing.  As the brilliant Margaret Atwood said, ~  the best way to learn how to write fiction is to write fiction. ~ Truer words have never spoken.

I am participating in NaNoWriMo this year. My current project is entitled Stupid Car, and I’m at 6,608 words (as of 11/11/19).  According to the NaNoWriMo site, I will be finished on Jan 22nd, 2020! Yes, I’m a little behind, but I plan on making up the difference and hitting my 50K goal on November 30th as planned. 

Of course, I may need to cancel Thanksgiving, but hey, it is just-food. The kids won’t care. (NOT!) Which brings me to my next point. There are two schools of thought when it comes to this event. Yes, it forces participants to hold themselves accountable and publicly expose their awesomeness or lacking. The NaNoWriMo Challenge can be cathartic and eye-opening.  Writers tend to get on board, get in their word counts, or give up. The other line of thought is every month should be treated like NaNoWriMo, and only amateurs participate. Not true (case in point).

My opinion, as irrelevant as it may be, is we all need a mix of both-- a swirling latte double-shot of both ideas. NaNoWriMo can be a jumpstart to a new project, the umph we need to go headlong, push through the defense and head for the endzone. No matter what. To prove to ourselves, we can do it. What we do with that information is the important part. Something I always tell my kids is I can only ask them to do their best. Whatever happens, whatever grade they get, whatever goal they do or do not meet, it is a learning experience, and to grow, we need to take the knowledge, put it in our pocket, adjust and move forward.
One of the wonderful things about NaNoWriMo is the tools available on the site. Like tracking when you are most productive. When are you at your writing best or worst? Do you write better freehand or on your laptop? Can you rearrange your schedule to push out those extra thousand or even two-thousand words a day if you need to?

All that said, I’m in it for the experience and the personal challenge? Can I do it? I wrote a 10K novel in a weekend. Certainly, I can push out a 50K novel in a month. Right?

If you choose to participate in NaNoWriMo this year, feel free to send me a buddy request. I would love to see how you are progressing and be your cheerleader! Here is my information. I will be updating my progress every Monday!


Hope to see you there and good luck, Warriors!





I love to hear your feedback! Leave a comment and let me know what you think and if the post was helpful! If you want more information, or assistance shoot me an email at writingwarriorsunited@gmail.com or ping me on Twitter @AmyJRomine.

Make sure you check out #writingwarriors & @writingcommunity on Twitter!
Also join us @ Writing Warriors on Facebook!


Come Find Me!

Don't have a Kindle, no problem. I've got you covered! Read eBooks on your phone, tablet and computer no Kindle Needed!




Saturday, November 9, 2019

Saturday Seven ~ November 9th 2019

Happy Saturday, what have you been up to this week? Here is a rundown of highlights for the week. I hope you find them useful in your life! My goal as a person and a writer are to always Pay-It-Forward, so please let me know how I can help you. YES, YOU!
Enjoy your weekend & this post! Amazing things to come!
~Amy


 What am I Reading? -  Currently reading Antique Trove by Gabriella Bradley & Taryn Jameson. I am halfway through and loving it so far! So many books t read, so little time! I am always looking for recommendations so drop me a line if you loved something!

What am I Listening to? –  My phone constantly dinging with alerts from all of the social media posting I have been doing and the reminders to do the posting etc. It has been a little crazy around here.

What Quote am I pondering? –  "Six months of focus and hard work can put you five years ahead in your life goals. Don't underestimate the power of consistency and desire"

What am I Researching? –  How to successfully market a book. I am living, breathing experimenting and thriving!

Yummy Meal of the Week – Chili! So YUMMY!

What did I Learn? – I learned passion and consistency is the key to everything. You put the positive passion out there and it comes back! Wahoo! I also learned I have more supporters than I ever imagined, and I am thankful to everyone!

What am I Watching? –  Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D on Netflix my son decided he wanted to start from the beginning, so we have been binge watching off and on for a few weeks now. Loving all of it!

That is all for this week my lovelies!
Hope you have an amazing week and I will talk to you all next Saturday!

*BONUS Content ~

Have any thoughts on my week’s activity or want to make a recommendation? Drop me a line or a tweet. One lucky commenter will win a free Romine book of their choice! Never want to miss a blog post or a Saturday Seven? Join my mailing list, and I will be happy to send it straight to your inbox!

Check out a podcast I was interviewed on ~ Write Away Podcast - https://tinyurl.com/y6e7q4d3
Special Treat! ~ If you haven’t seen it yet, please check it out my trailer for my recent release Finders! http://bit.ly/2JZQIC2




Come Find Me!

Don't have a Kindle, no problem. I've got you covered! Read eBooks on your phone, tablet and computer no Kindle Needed!