When it rains it pours.

Well, we're on the 18th day of the month and I'm no where near the finish line for NaNoWriMo. I do believe I will fail in my 50K words this year. :(  I've had so much to deal with lately I knew it would be near impossible to take on the challenge this year. But that's me, I jump in and see what happens.

As I've already posted about, my mom was diagnosed with lung cancer last month, and since then it has been a wild ride of nonstop doctor appointments, chemo treatments, and scheduling/filling/picking up scripts for all her prescriptions. Plus my "regular" life of raising children and caring for my household (dogs, cats, chickens, & even a husband!). And now, my paternal grandmother is at the final stage of her life. It won't be long before she'll be gone, and I've only known her for two years.

Yeah, it has been rough around here. I feel like I'm being pulled in more directions than my body can actually manage to be pulled in. There have been days where all I want to do is scream into a pillow and punch a wall (but I haven't...yet).

Not to mention, the longer I go without writing, the more frustrated I become. Frustration has become my middle name. :(  Writing is my break from the real world, a time to enjoy a fantasy world, and a way for me to vent without it actually being all about ME.

I texted my husband the other day on a particularly hard day and said, "I don't know why I even bother anymore."  To which my supportive man replied, "Because you love doing it."  And he was right. I do love writing! I love creating worlds from nothing. I love seeing what kinds of troubles my
characters will get into. And I especially love my readers!

I have been trying to hold onto his words: Because you love doing it. I needed that reminder. I needed that second of remembrance to feel connected to my day job. Even if I haven't been able to work like I'm used to. Writing is one of my joys and I certainly don't want to lose that.

So I'm going to resign myself to being a "loser" of NaNoWriMo this year. That's just the way it has to be. I don't have enough hours in the day to even come close to catching up and still do everything else I'm responsible for.

I will continue making handwritten notes while I'm sitting beside my mom watching poisons being pumped into her body to combat an enemy far worse. I will continue to type snippets into my cell phone notepad while I'm waiting for one of my kids to come out of school at pickup time. And I will continue to feel extremely frustrated about not having the hours and alone time to bring those notes and snippets onto my manuscript's pages. One way or another things will get done, even if it isn't on my timetable (and obviously it's not). I just have to remind myself to breathe, not panic, and just move along until things calm down enough to get back into my routine.

Mom is improving tremendously. She's beginning to take care of herself more and we're hoping it won't be long that she'll be able to take care of her own house again. Until then, I'll try not to scream into a pillow and punch a wall.

NaNoWriMo has arrived, again!

Here it is, ladies and gents! National Novel Writing Month has arrived yet again. Every year thousands of authors, would-be authors, and interested parties join the masses in an attempt to crank out at least 50,000 words in only 30 days. They don't have to be good words, nor do they have to ever see the light of day, but you are supposed to have 50,000 of them before December 1st rears its ugly head.

Even with everything going on in my life right now (i.e. Cancer Sucks!!), I have great intentions to make that 50K mark by the end of the month. I've done it several times over the years and I know I can do it again. Not to mention, I really need to get this novel's first draft done before the end of the year. It's driving me crazy that I haven't been able to finish it already and I refuse to let 2015 go by without a finished book under my metaphorical belt (I rarely wear belts).

If you're on NaNoWriMo and would like to connect, here's my page link: http://nanowrimo.org/participants/christiesilvers

Feel free to add me as a friend & maybe we can keep each other cheered on. Though it's unlikely you'll hear much cheering while everyone is banging their heads on keyboards trying to remember what a sentence is.

My WIP for this month is Bloody Sorrow (tentatively titled), and is the first book in the new series I'm working on. I'm not very far into it so adding another 50,000 words will definitely help the situation... A LOT!

Fingers crossed & high fives to everyone participating. Remember that there are no losers when you're actually writing. And that's what this month is all about... writing 'til your fingers bleed and your brain has turned to mush. LOL.  Oh, and you only need 1,667 words a day to reach the 50K mark. I know you can do it!


P.S. I adjusted the word count bar on the right of the page to reflect the words I've already written and added them to the 50K I have left to write.   ------->>>>

The Lure of Werewolves

Copyright  © Christie Silvers

What is it about werewolves we find so intriguing? Is it that they can change forms and run in the wild, shirking their responsibilities in the human world? Or is it the total hotness of most werewolves in their human form?

Maybe it's a combination of both! Or neither.

I think some of the lure comes from the enjoyment of fear. Some people absolutely love being scared (think Halloween haunted houses), so the idea of a big, strong, scary beast excites them. Granted, we don't want to be torn to shreds by those monstrous claws, but the thought that it could happen pumps up the adrenaline.

And then you have the people who would love to become the werewolf. Strength and vitality top the list of werewolf attributes, as well as heightened senses. When you life is filled with other people making decisions for you, bosses who don't appreciate you, and even strangers annoying the piss out of you, plus all the death and disease in the world, why not become a creature stronger, more confident, and who will live longer, knowing everything that's going on around them?

What is it about this creature of the night? Would you really want to be tied into a wild rampage every time a full moon rolls around? What about the bad tempers? Sometimes it sounds a lot like massive PMS!

So tell me, all you werewolf lovers out there, what is it about these creatures that appeals to you? What do you think makes them so desirable?

Bad News on the Homefront

Last week my mom was diagnosed with lung cancer that has spread to her liver. It was a devastating blow to all of us. She has been a smoker for 40 years now, so it wasn't a surprise that we would be dealing with this sort of situation at some point in the future, but I certainly wasn't expecting it right now.

She went to her GP last Monday because we thought she'd picked up a bug or had a nasty sinus thing going on. He threw antibiotics at her and scheduled her for a CT scan on Wednesday. By Wednesday she was so sick, weak, and dehydrated I had to take her for the scan. Later that night, after my sister & I discussed it, my sister took her to the hospital. They admitted her right away and started pushing I.V. fluids. Thursday the doctors wanted to see Mom's CT scan results to verify what they thought they had seen on a chest x-ray.

There is a mass in her right lung about the size of a golf ball and a couple of spots on her liver.

Friday morning she had a biopsy of the lung mass and then she went home Friday evening. Even though the doctors said it is cancer, they are waiting on the biopsy results to verify it is cancer. That result should be back today. By the end of this week we *should* know what KIND of cancer it is, and thus, what kind of treatment plan will be initiated.

Tomorrow, Mom is scheduled for a PET scan. This scan will tell us if there are more cancer spots anywhere else on her body. The oncologist seems to have a plan in place for her, and she's feeling pretty optimistic, so hopefully together they can beat this.

What I'm up to right now.

Fall has finally arrived here in North Georgia. Or at least it feels like it. The mornings are in the 50's and the afternoon/evenings are in the 80's. It's absolutely perfect! I open the windows and it cools the house all day long. I love it!

This is the second week of school for my younger two girls, and the oldest has been in college for a month now. Everyone seems to be settling in quite well. My house is quiet and MUCH cleaner. LOL. I've used the last week and a half to get my house back in order from the chaos that is summer break.

Now.... NOW.... It's finally time to get back into MY world. It's time to knock out a couple of books, plan some giveaways, prepare for my next conference, and submerge myself into my fictional worlds. I've missed them so these last four month!

On the personal front, this is the time of year when I schedule all my yearly check-ups. Yesterday I had my very first dermatologist head-to-toe look for suspicious mole activity. The doctor removed three of them. Eek!! I should hear back about the biopsies in the next two weeks. My grandmother passed last year from melanoma so me, my sister, and my mother figured it was time to have a once over. It just happened to be my turn yesterday. I now have Band-Aids on my left shoulder, left thigh, and right hip. Two of the three are places that never even see the sun!

Work-related, I have lots planned for the next few months. I have blog posts planned for you, a few newsletters, and of course opportunities to win goodies and free books. Stay tuned for more to come!  :)

Off to College We Go

Today is move-in day for my oldest daughter. We're heading out in a few minutes with two car loads of her stuff, driving an hour south, and hoping it won't take too long to get her settled into her dorm room. I get to meet her roommate today, and hopefully her roommate's parents. Phone numbers will be exchanged and there will be lots of pictures before I leave her there.

I find it reminiscent of her first day of kindergarten. Lots of smiles, laughter, hugs, talking it up, and then saying good-bye. On that day, I made it all the way to my car before the tears began to flow. I'm anticipating the same scenario today. *Sniff, Sniff*

I don't know where the last 18 years have gone. It seems they flew by in the blink of an eye. When they're little you never think they'll be grown so quickly. All you worry about then is if they're eating enough, are they wet, why are they crying this time. You don't really think that the years will be gone in no time at all and you'll be driving them to college.  Eek!

I'm grateful she's ambitious enough to know what she wants to do with her life, and I have no doubt my determined, stubborn child will accomplish anything she wants to do.  I'm also thankful she's only moving an hour away! LOL. Mommy can go visit any darn time she wants to! :P

She's giving me that look now, so I better get off here and start driving. I'll come back this evening and update this post with pictures, as well as on my Facebook page.

Happy Friday!


EDITED TO ADD PIC 8/16:

I'm on vacation this week!

© Christie Silvers 2015
I'm finishing up P.M. Terrell's Exit 22.

It has been six years since my last family summer vacation. We had several years where we were caring for Tim's elderly parents, and then their passings. It took a while to get all that stuff in order. Kids stuff, work stuff, job changes, and even my own work events. Finally, FINALLY, we had a good year, Tim has vacation days again, and I'm determined to take my oldest on one more vacation before she leaves for college next month.

So here we are, toes in the sand and hoping the sunscreen holds out. Yet knowing, unfortunately, it won't. LOL. My 10 yr old is building sand castles and pushing my patience on the allowed distance she can go out to sea. My 15yr old is jumping in the waves and then tanning on a beach towel.

My 18yr old is sitting in the condo, probably watching some sort of anime on her laptop. *Face Palm*

I'm reading, people watching, and just enjoying the peace, waves, and sunshine. Meanwhile, the hubby is swimming in the ocean, causing panic when I look out and don't see his head bobbing. All in all everyone seems to be having a good time (even the condo-bound 18yr old), and that's all that matters to me.

I'll be heading home Friday, so until then be prepared to see lots of beach pictures floating around my social media pages. :)

Characters: Getting to Know Marcus Vroc

Copyright: Milica Sekulic

Ahhh, Marcus Vroc, with his long, white hair and steel-colored eyes, he manages to carry his tall & wiry frame with the air of solid stone. He is one nasty vampire, and yet Liz can't get him out of her mind. He entices her at every turn while he's alive, and torments her dreams after his death.

Marcus is the first supernatural creature Liz ever meets. He's the cause of her car wreck and manages to take out several people at the hospital in order to get to her. Luckily, he didn't make it that far before Rick swooped in and took Liz home. At that point, Liz still didn't know what was going on, so she had no idea Marcus was a vampire, only that this preternatural creature intrigues her.

Liz soon discovers that Marcus has a nasty past filled with murder and conquests. He is her birth father's lackey, sent to collect her for Gregory. Instead of taking her by force like he intended, he quickly sees that a smoother, gentler way might just be better for him. He's soon in Liz's head, as well as her head.

But then he pushes her too far and brings Rick into play. That's the last straw for Liz. You don't put her friends in danger's path!

Marcus Vroc may be dead by the end of book one, but you will still see plenty of him throughout the rest of the series.  As a matter of fact, you'll see a lot more of him in the upcoming Book 7 late 2015 or early 2016.

If you've read book 1, let me know what you thought of Marcus Vroc. What would you like to see from him in the upcoming book?

Read the Liz Baker Series Free in June

During the month of June I'll be running a promotion that will make it possible for each and every one of you to read the entire Liz Baker series for free. You're probably asking, "What do I need to do?"

It's really easy, and something you're probably already doing on a regular basis. Here are the steps:

1. Be a subscriber to this newsletter! Click here to sign up.
2. Leave a review for any Liz Baker book(s) you've already read.
3. Email me with the link to your review & the title of the next book you'd like to read. (Ex: I've already read book 1 & here's the link to my review on Amazon. I'd like to receive book 2 next.)
4. Repeat steps 2 & 3 to receive the next book. Lather, rinse, repeat!

It's very easy. You can leave reviews on any of the book sites that sell/share my books. Amazon -- B&N -- Kobo -- Smashwords -- GoodReads -- CoffeeTimeRomance

You do not have to have read any of the Liz books to get started. Just email me to let me know you'd like to start with book 1 and I'll get it to you.

This promotion will run from June 1st through June 30th. That gives everyone an entire month to read, read, read. What better way to start the summer vacation season?

Characters: Getting to Know Annalise Baker

Image by Teresa Laing @ sxc.hu

I started this blog series a while back and haven't kept up with it, sooooo here's a new one.

Annalise Baker is Liz's mother. She is descended from very talented and powerful witches, but never seemed to have any powers of her own. Powers seem to skip generations in Annalise's family.

Annalise and Liz's step-father, Matthew, had a rough marriage both before and after Liz's conception. She finally divorced Matthew after 15 years of marriage and terrible abuse and torment.

When Adele, her best friend, drags Annalise away from home for a girls weekend, she meets Gregory. She quickly falls for him and unexpectedly falls into his bed. Thus, the conception of our hero.

When a gypsy soothsayer informs Annalise and Adele that the fate of her new daughter is in peril, the scared mother does the only thing she can to ensure a long life for her child. After several years of slowly dying from cancer (presumably), Annalise Baker passes on to the afterlife. This is where we meet Annalise.

In spirit form, she advises, informs, and helps our hero understand the new world she has been thrust into, and in the process finds her soul mate.

We hope Annalise and her soul mate are living out their happily ever afterlife!

New Series Coming Soon!

Copyright Finerain @ Sxc.hu

As much as I love my Liz Baker series, I have this deep down desire to start on my next series. I've had this one on my mind for about a year now, with several handwritten paragraphs, descriptions, and characteristics of my heroine ready for my attention. Once a story idea hits me it doesn't give me any relief until I sit down and write it. This time is no different.

I haven't worked out the details or plot 100%, but I have the general gist of things. The main character is Penelope. She just so happens to be immortal. She has an annoying younger sibling who follows her around the world causing havoc by their recklessness when all Penny wants to do is lay low in between kills, but not too low because she still has to make a living. Oh, did I mention Penny is charged with killing monsters? Yeah, life is a bit complicated for this 100+ year old woman.

I'm still playing with a title, and have a few options lined up, but not satisfied enough to go ahead and name it. I'll let you know when that happens.

I'll be fleshing out more details over the next week or two, and then jumping into full on first draft writing. That usually takes me a month or two (if everything goes smoothly on the home front), and then it'll be time for several rounds of edits and rewrites before cover design and file formatting. I always get excited when we get to that point! :)

So just a heads up for anyone falling behind in the Liz Baker series: Penny and Liz *may* have a meeting sometime in this new series, and if you're behind in the Liz series you may get some spoilers. Eek! I wouldn't want you to be spoiled.  ;)

Best wishes & lots of love!

What's next for the Liz Baker series?

I've had a few emails from readers asking when the next Liz Baker book will be released, so I figured I'd touch base with you guys on this series.

If you're up-to-date on the series, you know there are currently six books and one short story available. Liz has been up to her ears in monsters, demons, friends, family, and two horrible fathers, but that doesn't stop her. She keeps right on moving forward and attempting to create the life she wants. The next book will be no different in that respect.

And yes, there is another book coming out, two or three more actually. Her birthday is coming up in the next book, and thus a very elaborate party at Adele's estate (will it ever not be Adele's estate?) with hundreds of guests, a lot Liz has never met, and some she's only heard of.

If you read book 6, you know the ending leads to more trouble (when do they not), right after Liz gets rid of her longtime enemy. Christmas has come, gifts were exchanged, everyone seems to be settling in at the estate, but of course it can't last long. If it did there wouldn't be a story to tell. ;)

As for the series on a whole, I know I have two or three more books to go. I have their ideas in my head with snippets of notes on paper. I, however, don't know what will happen after those two to three books. If only I could see the future (boy, wouldn't that be awesome sometimes).

So don't worry Liz Baker fans, she will return for at least a few more books. And who knows, you might even catch a glimpse of her in the new series I just started. More on that at a later date.

If you aren't up-to-date on the Liz series, stop by and snag the ones you need before book 7 comes out later this year. They are available on Amazon, B&N Nook, Smashwords, Kobo, CoffeeTime Romance, Lulu, any bookstore can order a copy, and you can get autographed ones direct from me.

Spring has finally sprung!

My cherry trees are bloomed out beautifully.

Spring is my favorite time of year. After the nastiness of winter, everything comes back to life. Blooms abound and everything turns bright green. And if you look out the window in front of my desk you'll see a yard full of dandelions (my own fault since the kids & I love blowing the seedlings all over the place). It's time to think about the upcoming vegetable garden, spend time clearing away the debris left by winter storms, and relishing in the warmer, sunny days. Plus the kids have Spring Break next week!

With the new sprouts of life outside, I feel uplifted and ready to tackle new projects. I have two books I'm working on for 2015, plus several blog posts ready to go out on schedule. I also have one daughter graduating from high school in less than two months, and then preparing to leave for college in the fall *Sniff, Sniff*

In between all of that, I have two hogs going up for slaughter, and possibly adding a few new chicks to the coop, and a rental house to paint. Oh, and my middle daughter will be getting her learner's permit in July and will want to start driving. ACK! I told their dad he can do it this time around. I don't think my nerves can take it so soon after the last one.

Spring has definitely sprung, and my to-do list grows even longer. However, I'll get to enjoy the warm weather while whittling away at my tasks.

I hope your day is as beautiful as my cherry blossoms. <3

Look right next time!

The week after I returned from Book 'Em NC was a cold, cold week here in north Georgia. On the morning of March 6th, the temps were in the low 20's as I took my younger daughters to school. I have a particular route I take on school days. First to the elementary school, then to the high school, I circle around and come through town, before heading back down my road. It makes a big circle back to my house.

On this morning, a woman pulled out in front of me about a mile from my house, only five minutes after I had dropped off my 14 year old. I was only feet from the woman when she barreled across in front of me. My van smashed into the right front fender of her car, spinning it around so the tail end hit the back corner of my van. I crashed into the ditch on the right, and her car landed in the ditch on the left.

This was before the time changed, so it was dark out and everyone had their headlights on. There was no way this woman could have missed me if she had simply looked to her right. Ta-Da! There I was!

Standing out in the cold, we had multiple sheriff cars, a firetruck, EMTs, state patrol officer, and two wreckers pile up in the small area we'd crashed. My BFF drove by taking her kids to school and stopped to come hug me and make sure I was okay. My husband works an hour away, but he made to my side before my mom did (who was 5 minutes down the road).

I was beat up pretty bad. Both knees hit the dash and were soon swelling and bruising. I had bruising down the whole left side of my left leg, my left arm must have hit the door because it was bruised up, I had a bruise from my left shoulder, across my chest, and down to my right hip. And finally, I had such massive bruising across my lower abdomen from the lap belt that I developed three hematomas. Thankfully, after several x-rays, none of these were serious injuries. Nothing was broken. Yay! Of course I looked like someone had taken a baseball bat to me, and the next day I felt like I'd been hit by a truck.

On the upside, the safety features in my vehicle did what they were supposed to do, and no one was seriously injured. Thank goodness!

Here it is three weeks later...

I have my new car (see pic below), the bruises are all gone, the hematomas have shrunk down to only one small one, and the knees are feeling better with each passing day. I'm grateful it wasn't worse, and that my kids were NOT in the van with me at the time. The accident was ruled the other woman's fault and all my medical bills were covered, as well as the cost of my van, and a week in a rental car.

One funny side note: the claims adjuster for my van told me I was so nice to him. He said most people he talks to are just nasty. I told him there was no reason for me to put that kind of negative karma out into the universe, especially since he wasn't the person who pulled out in front of me. And then he upgraded me to a bigger rental car because the kids and I didn't like the tiny Nissan Sentra they'd originally put us in. Wow!  :)

My new 2013 Ford Escape w/only 12K miles!
MUCH newer than my totaled minivan. LOL.

The I <3 Books sticker I have to have on all my vehicles.
Now it's officially mine!

Book 'Em NC 2015 was a hit!

Before the doors opened to
the public. More pics on
Facebook.

Well, I did it! I made it home from my annual trip to Lumberton, NC for the Book 'Em NC Conference & Book Fair. There were more than 3,000 people in attendance, and my sales showed it. Yay!

Before I left, I was painfully close to running out of books. Eek! You might think that's a good thing, but it's actually very scary when you still have time to sell even more. I guess the only time you should run out is the last minute, right before the doors close. Now that would be perfect!

I met new friends, new readers, and excitedly caught up with old friends and fans. It was a lot of fun. I even did something I'd never done before.... a panel talk!  O...M...G. I thought I'd pass out from nerves before 2 P.M. arrived. Thankfully I didn't, and once I got in there and the discussion started the time flew by. I was shocked when the moderator said we only had 2 minutes left of our 45 minute session. And we actually went over by 5 minutes. The topic was "Creating Other Worlds" and I had a lot of fun answering both the moderator's questions and questions from the audience.

Overall, it was a great weekend, but I'm glad to be back home... until the next one.

I have two books planned for 2015, the first of which will be the start of a new series. I already have several notes and snippets written for this books, but now it's time to jump straight into the writing, feet first. Later in the year will be the 7th book in the Liz Baker series. I'm excited to see these two come to life and find homes with my fans/readers. I hope you'll enjoy the new series as much (or more) as the Liz series. I think it'll be a fun one to write.

Now I'll get back to putting my house in order after the kids had it to themselves for nearly three days. Ugh. And they claimed they cleaned, too.  Uh-huh, whatever you say. Teenagers! LOL.

Can you take a moment to vote?

Happy New Year, readers, friends, and family! I hope 2014 ended happily for you and that 2015 brings new joys and adventures in your life.

I ended 2014 by celebrating my oldest daughter's journey into adulthood. She turned 18 on December 30th and her one request was for a Chuck E. Cheese party. And boy did I comply! LOL. She was so embarrassed, but it was exactly what she asked for. :P

The new year brought on a desire for change, so I've spent the last week painting my house. Fresh, clean walls in a new, bright color makes the house look so nice. Granted, the color I chose looks a good deal brighter on the walls than it did on the sample card, but it's growing on me.

With the new year brings another voting opportunity at Preditors & Editors. Over the years several of my books have placed in the top ten, and I'm hoping this year is no different. To Kill a Demon has been nominated for best cover, and boy does it have a beautiful cover. Currently it's listed in 10th place, but it fluctuates (it was in 6th place a few days ago). So if you can find a moment, please stop by and give it a vote. Be sure to use a valid email address because they will send you a vote verification link. http://critters.org/predpoll/bookart.shtml

Next up for me is the annual Book 'Em NC event in Lumberton, NC. I attend every year and enjoy seeing all the authors new and old, as well as my beloved fans in that area of the world. This year I'll even be sitting on a panel (Eek!) about creating fictional worlds. But more about that next month. :)

Happy New Year!