To Publish or not to publish?

I'm once again on the road to publishing. I say 'once again', because I've been writing for decades - literally - but other than fan fiction and some poetry, I always back away from publishing at the last moment. Why? I have no idea. My family insists writing is a hobby for me, an outlet, and publishing would make it 'work'. Everyone's a psychoanalyst!  However, to be fair, I do have an unusually large collection of composition notebooks, journals, and legal pads filled with poetry and prose (and ramblings) that I refuse to throw out or even box up and store. Hmm...could they be on to something? 

Although I do already have a collection of work, I've recently joined the Facebook group Romance in a Month - (thanks, Chicki Brown!) - a free online writing class that helps with the basics. It runs May 15th through June 15th, and if all goes according to plan, I'll have a finished story to share. We'll see. I'm a Kindle-girl and will publish there first, but still navigating through all the books sites - B&N, Kobo, Smashword, etc.

As the Queen of Multitasking, while I'm writing, of course I'll still be reading.

This might be more difficult that I thought.


 

It's A Start!

I've been putting this off for far too long. I registered here FIVE years ago with the intention of using this space to reach out to other parents for my regional PTA activities - but was kept busy by those same activities! So, now that my three children David, Andrew and Lindsey (whom, from this point shall be referred to as Havoc, Chaos and Mayhem) are all grownup and out up school, I can devote more time MY world and the things that annoy, frustrate, excite, bore, motivate, stimulate, and agitate me, or just plain make me LAUGH OUT LOUD! I've been told I have a "smart mouth", which of course, is not true, unless you choose to believe my parents, eight siblings, eleven ex-boyfriends, three children or my husband. I think they all over exaggerate and tend also to be overly sensitive. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it!)

Having an "empty nest" has given me more time to indulge in my hobbies without having to watch the clock. I love to experiment with new dishes in the kitchen, the more exotic, the better!  I cracked my first egg at the age of 5 to make my late father breakfast, and have been cooking and creating ever since. I'm also getting back into sewing, and trying my hand at designing. Okay, that part isn't working out as well as I'd like, but I have made some cute outfits for warm weather...which is just about year-round here in Tucson. Music is another lifelong passion. I've been a member of more school, community and church choirs than I can remember, and while I love to sing, I'd much rather LISTEN. I'm not a fan of the way society labels genres because my music tastes are all over the place. You'll find Beethoven, Chopin, Gladys Knight, Barbra Streisand, The Gap Band, The Eagles, Luther Vandross and Trace Adkins all on my Mp3 playlist. Except for Country, most of my music tends to range from the 90s backwards. With very few exceptions, I've found very little to get excited about in the music world. Think I hear the age bell ringing. But since I'm not spending money on music, it leaves me more to spend on my number one, all-time favorite pastime - BOOKS!

My Daddy taught me to read by the time I was four. I read anything I could get my little hands on - even if I didn't understand it. Sometimes, it even got me into trouble, but I learned very quickly not to read my sister's journal, and even more-so, not to talk about it to others. 

In an average month, I read 40-50 books. They're not all novels or bestsellers by well known authors, some will never make it to print, and some should never have seen the light of day (yeah, I said it - sue me), but I like to believe I'm fair and at least give an author a chance, especially a newbie or indie author.

There was a time when I could have easily (and quickly) said my favorite book genre was contemporary romance. Now, I have no idea. I'm all over the place with true crime, graphic, interracial, erotic, Amish, and omg, I've even read dystopian and paranormal and LOVED them! So, I literally must read book blurbs and reviews to decide if the book is "a go" or not. Bad reviews mean very little to me. I've read books that had dozens of bad reviews and ENJOYED the book; just as I've disliked stories that seem popular and much loved by many.  There is one small series that people still talk about almost daily, and the male protagonist is a favorite "book boyfriend". Personally...I disliked him, the heroine and just about every tertiary character in the book, BUT...I LOVED the story! Yes, I'm a bit different...or so I've been told. Reviews are opinions and we each have one. I don't care for "mean" reviews - what is the point? I've found many authors do not even reference their reviews, while some get upset if they don't get them. While I may not always agree with a book's premise, it could be because *I* am missing the author's point/plotline - or maybe, there just isn't one to be had. Who really knows?

I will publish...one day. Been working on a couple of things for quite some time, but I'm still in READER-mode - so back to the books!

Cya!