Saturday, April 27, 2019

Saturday Seven ~ April 27th 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? – A terrific post by Astounding Author Kristen Lamb ~ Three Ways We Sabotage Our Own Success & How to Change https://tinyurl.com/y5pn562f ~ the focus is writing, but the blog is meant for anything. Dieting, projects, life! She is always such an inspiration and so relatable. Love it! Highly recommend you check out this post and her blog in general.

·        What am I Listening to? –   Funny enough, my own book. Last week’s Saturday Seven was canceled due to my fevered effort to finish Finders. Now I am editing and using something new! My soft edits completed (Grammar, spelling, etc.) I am currently listening to the manuscript via MS WORD. Text to Speech used to be a thing you had to purchase but it is included in MS WORD (under the Review Ribbon), and the voice is actually pretty natural sounding. I HIGHLY recommend listening to anything you write. It points out errors and phrasing you would not otherwise detect.
     
·        What Quote am I pondering? – “Free will” is one of the most precious gifts we have. To give it over to peer-pressure, psychics, or a dependency on drugs and alcohol is dangerous and incredible waste.” ~ Lorraine Warren, Ghost Tracks: Case Files of Ed & Lorraine Warren ~ So very true! My drug of choice is sleep, and even that is horrid. If you want something go get it! Do not let anyone stand in your way! Special Note ~ Lorraine Warren passed away in her sleep last week at age 92. She is now waltzing with Ed in Heaven! ~ God Bless you Lorraine and Ed Warren and thank you for fighting the good fight!

·        What am I Researching? –  This week was all about architecture. One of the last things I do in a manuscript is to add the descriptions of local. Like an ominous church standing on the top of a hill. And then once in the church what are all of the rooms called, like Vestibule, Nave, Sacristy and Sanctuary. Also comes in handy when you are writing an action scene where your characters are split into different areas. You’d think I would remember this stuff from six years at Catholic School? Apparently not. Lots of fun!

·        Yummy Meal of the Week – Pot Roast ~ a family favorite! Garlic, Onion, Soy sauce all thrown into a pot with Sweet potatoes (or red potatoes), carrots, & celery. Slow cook for 8 hours and viola, a perfect meal and leftovers for a week! Add some BBQ sauce and bread --a yummy sandwich has emerged!

·         What did I Learn? –  I learned the comma, and I am not friends. Seriously, I edit and find that I put commas where they are not needed and am missing commas where they are required. Good lord, thank goodness for Grammarly! Also, this time around I am an and lover. Went back and fixed all of them but jeez! I think it is my fear of fragmented sentences which makes no sense at all, but that is the source – I think.

·         What am I Watching? –  Easter Sunday I watched a Live streaming Easter Pageant through Victory Church here in Tulsa. It was very professionally done – like Hollywood approved—pretty authentic. The Way of Sorrows and the Crucifixion was brutal, bloody, and dramatic. All in all, well done and I was impressed.



      I am on tour again promoting the Dead Air Chronicles! Lucky random commenters have a chance to win free books and there is a $25 Amazon Card grand prize! Check out the tour dates through May 18th and I hope to see you there!

**Special Announcement**
I will be featured on an upcoming Podcast!
Write away Podcast host Natalie Lockett is interviewing me on Creativity and Story Ideas
Check it out on May 1st



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