NaNoWriMo Time (i.e. Why you won't see me in November!)

NaNoWriMo

Welcome to NaNoWriMo Eve! We are hours away from one of the biggest writing competitions/challenges in the world (at least in my opinion).

I started taking part in National Novel Writing Month back in 2011. Four of my novels were NaNo novels! However, this will be my first year attempting the competition while also working a public job. EEK! I'm a little concerned, to say the least.

For those of you who may not know about NaNoWriMo let me share a little info. In this competition writers are challenged to write 50,000 words in only 30 days. That's writing an entire novel between November 1st and November 30th. Now, if you break it down, you're looking at 1,667 words per day... EVERY DAY.  And they will NOT be good words. LOL! You can't edit, research, rewrite, or in any way improve your story. It's all about getting words on paper (i.e. computer screen). November will be a month of simply pulling your hair out while attempting to remember words... any words... all the words!

Sooooo, if you start to wonder where I'm off to in November just remember that I'm probably chugging coffee, Diet Mountain Dew, and anything sugar-filled in order to scratch out some sort of decent wordcount after my day job, on a daily basis.

Feel free to send me any and all of the Starbucks White Chocolate Mochas! Hot or cold, I don't care. :D

Wish me luck, and I hope you all have a wonderful month. See you in December!!

I'm still alive... I promise!

Well, here I am again. Things are settling into a nice swing and I'm able to pick up a decent writing schedule. I'm still working on the 7th installment of my Liz Baker series and have hopes it'll be ready for release by the end of the year. Woohoo! I know a few readers have been chomping at the bit for the next book and I hope they'll love it just as much as they loved the previous ones. :)

The last few months have been insane. I thought things were calming down when the new year rolled in, but then my oldest daughter sprung the Army on us. She joined a few months ago and shipped out to basic training on May 15th. Nine days later, my middle daughter graduated high school, which was also the anniversary of my mother's passing. A week after that, the new graduate had orientation at the college she chose and we spent 8 hours there doing paperwork and going from building to building. In between all that, my middle daughter got her braces off (YAY!) and the youngest got hers put on (BOO!). I had to order senior pictures, print graduation announcements, throw a graduation party...all while panicking over the oldest being in basic training 14 hours away.

Sooooo.... yeah.... it's been crazy around here.

I'm still rockin' the day job and loving it. I adore my bosses and co-workers, and even most of the customers. LOL! It's fun and we laugh regularly. We all just have a good time together, and that makes for a wonderful work environment.

Aside from all that, I just hit my 1 year anniversary at the gym. I've lost a good bit of weight and just as many inches. I still have more to go, and it's moving slower these days, but I enjoy going to the gym and will keep at it. It's a great end to a busy day and helps me chill out with some mind numbing cardio or an hour of focusing on weight training.

Even with all that going on, it has finally settled again and I'm jumping back into my writing. Hopefully life will grant me a reprieve from the insanity for a while and I can get back on track. I miss my writing time and I'm excited about the upcoming books. And, I should mention, that personal office I've been pining over for years (regular blog readers will know) is finally happening next month! *Gasp* I'm actually picking paint colors and planning the layout now. *Faint*

Be on the lookout in the next few weeks for pictures of the office and updates on the writing.

Love to you all,

Happy 2018!

Well, we're almost two weeks into 2018 now, so how is everyone doing in the new year? Things are finally starting to settle down from the holidays here in the Silvers' household (thank goodness) and I'm seeing a light at the end of the insanity tunnel. I just have to claw my way past two birthdays next week (mine & my youngest daughter's) and then I *should* be able to get everything back to normal.

In the last few weeks I've come to discover that an empty nest is so much closer than I imagined. My oldest is 21 now and she's been out for a few years now, but coming up is my middle daughter's high school graduation. Once she moves on to her college life I will have an empty bedroom that will be confiscated and turned into my very own private office. Woohoo!

I can't tell you how long I've been dreaming, planning, and pining for my own writing space. And come July I will have it! *Gasp* I already know how I'm going to decorate it and how many book shelves it will have. I've also been doing a mock-up layout for the desk(s) and filing cabinets in my head. And then what color to paint it??? Oh my goodness, so many decisions to make.

On another exciting note, my husband finally got moved to day shift at his job. YAY!! That makes the household run so much better. No more tiptoeing around the house when he's trying to sleep. No more worrying that a ringing phone will wake him up. And...maybe the most important aspect...I'll have the house all to myself on my off days when he's at work. LOL!

Overall, 2018 looks like it will be an exciting year for me and I hope it will be for all of you.

Much love to all my wonderful readers & Happy New Year!