Back to school celebration!

It's the first day back to school! Time for the 2011-2012 school year to begin. I hear the cheers of gleeful parents pushing their kids out of the house and cars with smiles on their faces and excitement in their hearts. "Have a good day, dear. I love you." Then they throw their hands to the heavens and scream, "WOOHOO!"

Or maybe that's just me. . .

After three months of summer vacation, several weeks of school preparation, and four school visits to two different schools last week, it's finally time for me to get back to MY work year. That's one of the best things about being a writer and stay-at-home mom; I can take off when my kids are out of school. However, I get antsy when I'm not creating on a regular basis. I miss my writing schedules, the worlds I work within, and conversing with my characters. That makes a new school year a time to celebrate. :)

So what do I have planned for my new work year?

• The third Liz Baker novel


• A new erotic novella


• A short Liz Baker story that will be given away on the website for free


• Preparing for & attending Book 'Em NC Conference & Book Fair in February


• Staying on top of the Turkish book releases

All of that on top of my regular mommy & wife duties: housekeeping, animal care, errand running, family member helping, school volunteer, and the many other things that I do on a regular basis. I also have some home improvements planned, but not yet scheduled.

If you're a parent with kids heading back to school, I celebrate with you! We all have different reasons for being excited, but that doesn't mean the excitement is any less. And if your kids are anything like mine, they're just as excited to be heading back.

Here's an exciting new school year for us all!

Official cover for Balans

It seems to have taken forever, but really it's only been a little over 2 months since I signed the contract to sell the Turkish translation rights to five of my books. And since they will be releasing them in Turkey in the order they were released here in the US, A Midnight Infatuation is first out of the gate.

Balans, the Turkish edition of A Midnight Infatuation, was suppose to be released in July, but we all know how the publishing world is full of pushed deadlines, late release dates, and downright frustrations. This was no different. I still don't have a solid release date (and this frustrates the hell out of me), but at least the cover is finally done.

I was sent the cover for Balans a couple of weeks ago, but my name was misspelled (missing the last "i" in Christie). I didn't think it would take too long to add that itty bitty letter, but I was wrong. Anyway, here's the completed front and back cover for BALANS.

I think it turned out amazing and was ultimately worth the wait. Next up is the big release date, which of course I'll let you all know about when I find out. :)

My Wall-of-Covers

Each time I have a new book release I order a mini-poster of the cover, frame it, and then hang it on my family-dubbed Wall-of-Covers. I hope that one of these days I'll have a private office filled with framed covers, but for now I just have a wall. ;)

Last weekend I'd finally gotten around to framing the posters for Dark Promises and Alex & Fiona Forever. So Tim and I thought it would be a good time to take all the others down, dust them, and rehang them. Tim grabbed his laser level and we went to work.

So here's a little glimpse into my wild world. As you can see, there's plenty of space for another row of covers. ;)