IWSG: Go on, Light Yourself on Fire

But don't burn yourself out.

I wish someone had uttered those words to me when I started into this writing gig, because they would have saved me a great deal of trauma.

We talk often about balance in this field, and when I first started out I was trying to do everything. I was on facebook all the time. I dabbled with twitter. I wrote like a fanatic, edited manically, critiqued anything people would let me handle, and read anything and everything about improving my art. I joined bloghops and contests. I attended conferences and and penned out every dream. I ran myself into the ground.

Years later, I've acquired a balance. We all have limits, and you must know yours. Mine now center around blogging once a week, writing daily, editing only in the daylight hours when my kids don't need me, critiquing at a pace that fits around my life (rather than the other way around), and participating in social media to taste. I still read like my life depends on it, but that reading has evolved more to fiction which I then review to support fellow authors. I don't participate in every cover reveal or blog tour because my blog is typically booked out 4 to 6 months, but given a chance to help, I do what I can--via a quick tweet, a share on Facebook, a book review, or a future feature date. We need to be generous to one another, but for heaven's sake, please don't kill yourself. No one wants that on their conscience.

Ready to guess the lie and win a book? 

Last week, the awesome C. Lee McKenzie shared DOUBLE NEGATIVE with us, along with two truths and one lie. Those who guessed the lie correctly were entered into a random drawing for the chance to win any one of her books: Sliding on the Edge, The Princess of Las Pulgas, Alligators Overhead or Double Negative.  

Lee's game: 

1. Lee's favorite sport is spelunking.
2. She irons her sheets.
3. She's going to Myanmar in November. 

And the lie is:

#1, and if you don't know what spelunking is, let me give you a hint: 

(Aka caving. I used to do this with my dad all the time.)

Way to guess those of you who got it right! And the winner is:

...DRUM ROLL...

Sarah Foster!

Congrats Sarah! 

And now to today's feature:

SO many lovelies to choose from...SF/F/Paranormal/Suspense...

R. Mac Wheeler has jumped out of planes, driven motorcycles like an idiot, shot zillions of guns (never with ear protection--what?), ridden helicopters, rappelled down cliffs, explored mine shafts, skied, kayaked, had surgery on both knees and shoulders, and moved across the continent.  You can bet he built all of those experiences in his writing.

A native Texan, Mac has called South Florida home since 1987 where he and his wife spend their free time laughing at their three goofy dogs.

A former computer programmer and project manager,  he now focuses full time on science fiction, fantasy, suspense and paranormal that leverages the quirkiness and emotions of real life more often than the far fetched. 

You might find him munching on a three Mexican cheese mix over Jacked Doritos, bean dip, and jalapenos, in front of a football game.

Mac 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 your choice of any of his eBook's. YIKES! 

You have until Tuesday, August 12th, at 1 p.m. EDT to guess--and be sure to come back for the answer on August 13th.

TRUTH OR LIE

1. Mac rarely steps out the door of his house without a camera in hand.
2. He has never taken a writing class.
3. He maxed out the 140 MPH speedometer on his GS 750 while racing down Mt. Franklin.  

Only one more week to sign up for:

DO IT! 

(There will be cheese--otherwise known as prizes for the amazing people 

who help with the tour...which may involve cheese, or other amazing things.)

Which is the lie? Have you ever lit yourself on fire (figuratively)? Did you know what spelunking is? Are you a thrill seeker like Mac? 

Because We're All Idiots...and like Free Stuff

Have you made any bad choices? Well no worries. Today I'm going to make you feel 100% better about yourself because chances are you've never done this:

Or this:

Or this:

This: 

Maybe this: 

Perhaps even this:

Or definitely not this:

See? Don't you feel so much better about yourself?

And now for THE NOT SO ACCIDENTAL BLOG TOURIST HOP. (OR SKIP TO AN AWESOME BOOK GIVEAWAY BELOW.)

This wandering tour is a quick flash of blogs by artists – writers, musicians, painters, photographers, and more. I was invited by Dianne Salerni:

DIANNE K. SALERNI is the author of The Eighth Day MG fantasy series (HarperCollins) and YA historical novels, The Caged Graves (Clarion/HMH) and We Hear the Dead (Sourcebooks). Dianne was a public school teacher for 25 years before leaving the profession to spend more time hanging around creepy cemeteries and climbing 2000 year-old pyramids in the name of book research.

Now, for my part in the tour …

1. What am I currently working on?

Surviving. Yuppers. Between houses, prepping for a blog tour & book release, and occasionally working on TIMELESS (book 3 in the Maiden of Time series) or a mini series... Oh yeah, and minding those things that eat my food and dirty my house. In some realms they're known as "kids."

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I'll refer you to one of my reviewers: "Certainly there is no new story under the sun, but some stories strike as original. Moonless is this kind of story ... The specific supernatural element is not really something I've seen before, though I'm sure some readers will draw a parallel with something. I have not seen it, though."

3. Why do I write/create what I do?

When life is unfair, I trap it in a book.

4. How does your writing/creating process work?

Dream. Write. Edit. Eat cheese.

Now I’m going to pass the blog hop torch to the next artist – who will participate on Monday, August 4. 

Nata Romeo a.k.a ArtistaDonna, is the author and illustrator of her first children's book titled Alphabet Wildlife A to Z.

Originally from Toronto, Canada, she now brews and sprinkles her art and stories from the Philadelphia skies. She dreams that her work gets swept up and tangled into a massive storm front so that her world can travel across the universe and beyond.

Ready to guess the lie and win a book? 

Last week, the hilarious T.C. Mckee shared THE BONE TREATY with us, along with two truths and one lie. Those who guessed the lie correctly were entered into a random drawing for the chance to win her eBook. 

T.C.'s game: 

1. When T.C. was seventeen, her friend stole 50 plastic Easter bunnies from a nearby neighborhood and stuffed them in the back seat of her car. They rode around with them for a week. Sometime she can still see their faces staring at her from the rear view mirror.
2. She reads the labels of almost all products and if she can't pronounce the name or doesn't recognize the ingredients, she won't buy it. Her house really is all natural.
3. It took her one whole year and seventy-seven days to write The Bone Treaty. 

And the lie is:

#3. Surprise!  

Way to guess those of you who got it right! (It was a tricky one.) And the winner is:

...DRUM ROLL...

Gina Stoneheart!

Congrats Gina! 

And now to today's feature:

Sixteen-year-old Hutch McQueen is a smart kid who can barely read. He makes one bad choice after another, trying to find a way to escape his rotten life at home and at school. Each time he gets into more trouble.

Get your copy HERE.

C. Lee McKenzie is a native Californian who grew up in a lot of different places; then landed in the Santa Cruz Mountains where she lives with her family and miscellaneous pets. She writes most of the time, gardens and hikes and does yoga a lot, and then travels whenever she can. 

She takes on modern issues that today's teens face in their daily lives. Her first young adult novel, Sliding on the Edge, which dealt with cutting and suicide was published in 2009. Her second, titled The Princess of Las Pulgas, dealing with a family who loses everything and must rebuild their lives came out in 2010. Her short story, Premeditated Cat, appears in the anthology, The First Time, and her Into the Sea of Dew is part of a collection, Two and Twenty Dark Tales. In 2012, her first middle grade novel, Alligators Overhead, came out.

Her favorite cheese Parmesan and ideally you'll find her munching on it in Venice. 

Lee 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 your choice any of her eBook's: Sliding on the Edge, The Princess of Las Pulgas, Alligators Overhead or Double Negative. 

You have until Tuesday, August 5th, at 1 p.m. EDT to guess--and be sure to come back for the answer on August 6th.

TRUTH OR LIE

1. Lee's favorite sport is spelunking.
2. She irons her sheets.
3. She's going to Myanmar in November.

You have one more chance to win today:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

LASTLY, sign up for my blog tour. 

DO IT! (There will be cheese.)

Which is the lie? Have you seen anyone make one of those bad choices--or something like them? Have you ever worked with a troubled teen? Do you like books that deal with deep issues?