The Secret to Success (IWSG edition)

Priorities. How do you make sure you get the most important things done in a day?

The IWSG question this month got me thinking--and not just about writing. The question is:

How do you find the time to write in your busy day?

I read this excellent article that wasn't even about the same subject. The primary idea behind the article was how we become products of our environment. The way it struck me, I started thinking about my surroundings. What things am I exposed to just because they're happening, and which elements do I try to control? Am I giving things passive permission to my brain--like a TV show, a radio song, or a debate because someone else is engaging in them around me? (Or because I didn't bother to silence those distractions?)

We all take the path of least resistance, but that doesn't mean we have to take whatever is put in front of us. We can create our own "path of least resistance" to our ultimate goals. It will take some work to shape the path, but once it's there, it's there.

So for me, writing in the day isn't a question of FINDING TIME, it's a question of MAKING TIME. And with 4 kids (1 a toddler and two full time home schooling students), I MAKE TIME. (Is it any wonder I write about time manipulation? LOL.)

What is hindering your productive time?

BTW, next week is my COVER REVEAL for TIMELESS (3rd book in my Maiden of Time series). Are you as excited as I am? (You know it's going to be epic.)

Two weeks ago, Mark Noce shared two truths and one lie with us. Anyone who guessed the lie correctly was entered to win a PRINT copy of BETWEEN TWO FIRES.

The game:

1. I once ate a package of plastic C4, thinking it was chocolate (it was nighttime people).
2. I take a car, two trains, and walk a mile-and-a-half in order to get to work each day.
3. I may actually be related to the second-most-prolific man in history (King Niall of Ireland).

The lie: #1. As fun a story as that would be, it's a total fib.

Way to guess everyone! And the winner is:

...DRUM ROLL...

Quanie Miller!

Congrats, Quanie!

And now, how about ANOTHER truly great book up for grabs? (And yes, I read and reviewed this one. It is excellent.)

He came looking for a ghost. Instead, he found a girl. 

Tucker Boone is a war-hardened Marine on a ghost hunt. Fresh out of the corps, Tucker learns he has a missing half-sister, Maddy. The only clue to her whereabouts is a cryptic note…I’ve gone Mad, Mags. Tucker agrees to search for her and heads to Ocracoke, North Carolina where a ghost named Mad Mags is said to haunt the ancient graveyards dotting the island.

The note doesn’t bring him any closer to finding Maddy, but it does offer him a diversion to the doldrums of civilian life—his new island neighbor, Josie McCoy. Tucker is drawn to her quiet spirit. There’s something special about Josie…a connection he can’t quite explain.

By summer’s end, he’s mixed up in deception, murder, and the love of a lifetime. Logic tells him to head home and forget the truths he found on the island. But can he walk away? Josie offers him more than love; she offers him hope. When the clues pile up and it looks like she can never be the girl for him, he has to make a choice—play it safe and break her heart, or risk everything for a chance at being swept away.

Get Your Copy HERE.

Ready to meet the author?

Elizabeth Seckman is a wife, a football mom, and a believer in dreams. She is a multi-published author and the best-seller on her street. There may not be any other writers on her street, but that doesn’t matter. She still outsells them all. 

She doesn't have a favorite cheese, but loves them all equally, even with jam. And she would eat cheese anywhere, be it land, sea, or cheesy air. Hold the questions, but never the cheese. That you pile on as high as you please!

Elizabeth gave me two lies and one truth to test your "lie detector" skills. Those who figure out either lie will go into my magic hat for the chance to win an eBook of SWEPT AWAY. (Open internationally.)

You have until Tuesday, September 13 at 2 p.m. EDT to guess. Be sure to come back for the answers on September 14, 8 a.m. EDT.

TRUTH OR LIE

1. My first week of college, I got the flu and threw up in the elevator. Fortunately, everyone on the elevator just thought I'd been drinking and didn't make a big deal of it.
2. When I was a little girl, my sisters tried to turn me into a beauty pageant queen, but I'd never walk on a stage.
3. The first time I took my driver's test, I backed into a police officer (barely bumped her...no harm done!) and failed the test.

Oh, and it's not too late to sign up for the cover reveal of TIMELESS. (But almost.)

So sleuths, which is the lie? Do you love romance stories? What is your great distraction?

8 Reasons Women Kick Trash

Do you occasionally disappear from reality? Yeah, that was me the last couple weeks. I handed in a manuscript to an editor, critiqued 2 books, survived 2 weeks without my helpful kids around, and last minute got an acceptance letter for a specialized school for my very DIFFICULT child. Needless to say, it's been a very full 3 weeks, but I missed everyone. A ton!

So, I welcome you back with a few chuckles:

1. Men think they're tough, and we allow them to delude themselves.

Because we're awesome like that. ;)

2. Have you seen how many things women take on...and accomplish...simultaneously?

3. Cognitive processes. Women's brains don't function in a straight line. Thus the possibilities are infinite rather than linear. =)

Source

4. We really do hold all the power.

5. Truth, men: Isn't an angry woman more terrifying than an angry man?

Be honest here.

Source

6. We can be adorable WHILE being terrifying.

7. No matter how you try to spin it, women have a ridiculously high pain tolerance.

That goes for more than just physical pain. See, it's a darn good thing we're so nice about it.

Most the time.

8. Because a woman can get through PMS and not do this.

Source

As fun as all that is, women have the most influence in the world. They're the shapers of reality. Builders of the future. Think about that next time you're tempted to put one down, eh?

(Men, if it makes you feel better, I'll type up a post for you soon. 

And it will be awesome epic. With CHEESE.)

Three weeks ago, Carol Riggs shared two truths and one lie with us. The winners were entered to win an eBook of BOTTLED.

The game:

1. Carol loves to swim; it’s one of her favorite things to do in the summer.
2. Carol has been married three times; her current husband is her third.
3. Carol has never gone skiing before, downhill or cross-country.

The lie: #1. Carol couldn’t care less if she didn’t swim in a pool or other body of water for the rest of her life. Occasionally she does go swimming, but she doesn’t like to put her face in the water, and she gets a bit nervous when her feet can’t touch the bottom!

Way to guess everyone! And the winner is:

...DRUM ROLL...

Sandra Almazan!

Congrats, Sandra!

And now, a book I'm SO stoked about (because I read an early draft and it's well worth getting excited over!): 

Saxon barbarians threaten to destroy medieval Wales. Lady Branwen becomes Wales’ last hope to unite their divided kingdoms when her father betroths her to a powerful Welsh warlord, the Hammer King.

But this fledgling alliance is fraught with enemies from within and without as Branwen herself becomes the target of assassinations and courtly intrigue. A young woman in a world of fierce warriors, she seeks to assert her own authority and preserve Wales against the barbarians. But when she falls for a young hedge knight named Artagan her world threatens to tear itself apart. Caught between her duty to her people and her love of a man she cannot have, Branwen must choose whether to preserve her royal marriage or to follow her heart. Somehow she must save her people and remain true to herself, before Saxon invaders and a mysterious traitor try to destroy her.

Get Your Copy HERE.

Ready to meet the author?

Mark Noce writes historical fiction with a passion, and eagerly reads everything from fantasy to literature. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, he’s an avid traveler and backpacker, particularly in Europe and North America. He earned his BA and MA from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, where he also met his beautiful wife. By day, he works as a Technical Writer, having spent much of his career at places like Google and Facebook. In addition to writing novels, he also writes short fiction online. When not reading or writing, he’s probably listening to U2, sailing his dad’s boat, or gardening with his family.

His debut novel, Between Two Fires, is being published by Thomas Dunne Books (an imprint of St. Martin's Press and Macmillan). It is the first in a series of historical fiction novels set in medieval Wales.

Mark gave me two truths and one lie to test your "lie detector" skills. Those who figure out the lie will go into my magic hat for the chance to win a PRINT copy of BETWEEN TWO FIRES. (Open internationally.)

You have until Tuesday, September 6 at 2 p.m. EDT to guess. Be sure to come back for the answers on September 7, 8 a.m. EDT.

TRUTH OR LIE

1. I once ate a package of plastic C4, thinking it was chocolate (it was nighttime people).
2. I take a car, two trains, and walk a mile-and-a-half in order to get to work each day.
3. I may actually be related to the second-most-prolific man in history (King Niall of Ireland).

Oh, and it's not too late to sign up for the cover reveal of TIMELESS.

So sleuths, which is the lie? Who is your favorite TV/movie heroine? Are you a fan of historical fiction?