#ACXChallenge

Have you ever had a story idea rattling around in your head and then all of a sudden, the scene just comes to life? Its happened to me twice. ? When I saw the ACX  Challenge to write and/or narrate a scene in which a bell ? is a character, I sat down and wrote a scene. Here’s the narrated version and I’m fired up to find out what happens next.

Enjoy Hells Belles, an original scene of what I plan to to turn into a paranormal cozy mystery. ?

 

The dead are waiting

What readers are saying about the Dori O. Paranormal Mystery Series:

Book One: Lost in the Light

★★★★ “Full of mystery, emotion, and a plot that keeps the readers on their toes, I couldn’t peel my eyes away.”
★★★★ “This book captivated me. One of my favorite mystery reads of the year, and one to get your to-read list!”

Amazon & Audible
iTunes
Barnes & Noble
More

Book Two: Girl in the Mist (novella)

★★★★ “I loved the ghost aspect of the story…well thought out and shocking!”
★★★★ “…the emotional power kicks in, along with a mystery that held me spellbound.”

Amazon & Audible
iTunes
Barnes & Noble
More

Book Three: Lost in Whispers

★★★★“The best book in the series so far!”
★★★★“An eerie, absorbing journey.”
★★★★“I could hardly put it down after starting it. Love the strong badass women characters. This book had it all; romance, action, & paranormal activity. Can’t wait to see what Dori does next!”

This title is currently under review and will be republished in Fall 2020.

Mary at Wondercon 2019

This is my very first Wonder Con signing and if you’re planning to be there, come say hi!

I’ll be in the Broad Universe Booth #902 signing at 10 a.m. on Saturday March 30th. If you’re not an early riser, I’ll be there all day Saturday and Sunday managing the booth. I can’t wait to chat with you and sign special edition print copies of Lost in Whispers + Girl in the Mist and Lost in Whispers.

Here’s our booth line-up so you can stock up your TBR pile!

  • D.D. Croix writes YA fantasy set in Queen Victoria’s court about a misfit maid with a magical pet dragonfly. Sort of HARRY POTTER x DOWNTON ABBEY
  • Angela Shelley writes middle-grade fantasy featuring a necromancer girl sent on a quest by an artifact-hunting wizard where she must learn magic to battle an undead sorcerer, monsters, pirates, massive storms, and zombie chickens.
  • Jennifer Lynn Wines wrote a young adult paranormal mystery feature a teenage girl who must solve a century old murder.
  • Paranormal romance author and self-proclaimed “Smut Mongering Minx” Cynthia Diamond offers stories full of humor and adventure featuring strong women, passionate men, and worlds where consent is always sexy.
  • Join paranormal and sci-fi romance author Tessa McFionn and discover worlds where heroes do exist, heroines are quite capable of rescuing themselves, and where love truly conquers all. Time to believe in magic.
  • Eddie Louise writes Steampunk mad science. Think Frankenstein meets Quantum Leap.
  • Zenobia Neil writes about the mythic past and Greek and Roman gods having too much fun.

Schedule

Lost in the Light audiobook finals in ABR Audiobook Listeners Choice Awards

NEWS

Lost in the Light is a finalist in the Mystery category for the 2018 ABR Audiobook Listeners Choice Awards!

This is such an incredible moment. I started from scratch not knowing if I had the chops to narrate an entire audiobook or figure out how to produce it. But thanks to all of the tools provided by ACX, my podcast listeners as well as my background in high school theatre, I pulled it off!

Seriously, to be included in the finalist category is an honor.

Thank you and congratulations to my fellow nominees.

What to do when you don’t make your goals

Last Saturday, at the monthly OCC RWA meeting, we held a drawing for everyone who entered goals three months ago. I did not accomplish my goals. Bummer, but you know, stuff happens.

If I were my 20-year-old self, I would’ve shaken out the hair shirt and really worked myself over for not working hard enough.

Age can mellow you out, especially if you’re a Capricorn like me.

Here’s what 23 additional years of life experience has taught me when it comes to not making my goals.

Examine. So why did you not make your goal? Were you too ambitious in your planning? (Pausing to raise my hand.) Did work/family/emergencies take you off the path? Examine what happened from the time you set your goal to the due date.
Do the math. How much did you accomplish in that time: half of the book, ¾ of the book, nothing? Even if you only got five pages written, give that some love. As a recovering hair-shirt-Capricorn baby, I can tell you that appreciating what you’ve accomplished is far MORE productive. And us Capricorns, are all about productivity.

If you have no idea what this whole Capricorn riff is all about, check this video out and then return to the next suggestion:

Reset. Okay, so back to the math. It took you three months to complete 150 pages when you needed to complete 300 to make your original goal. The deadline for your new goal – because you’re not giving up – should be three more months from now. Or, if you really freaked out, give yourself more time.

If you really want to go deep, I highly recommend The Chunky Method by Allie Pleiter. In her workshop and book, she helps you to determine what kind of writer you are, how productive you really are and then gives you the formula to determine when you’re most likely to successfully complete a book. I always thought I was a sit-in-the-chair-until-I’m-done-or-dead kind of writer. I was in my 20’s, but now I can last about 15 minutes before I need to get up and move around. By accepting that reality rather than trying to fight it, I’ve become much more productive and my yoga has gone up a level because I intersperse writing sessions with exercise.

You freaked out big time. Hey, it happens to all of us. My inner critic can wake me up in the dead of night. I’ve persisted through her schoolyard taunts for decades because those fears were embedded way too deep. I recently undertook Nancy Levin’s audio book, Worthy. Her book focuses on self-worth issues tied to money and abundance. All I can say from the experience is: wow. I dredged up fears and confidence issues that I spent way too many years denying. Through listening to the audiobook and doing the exercises, I’ve released old abundance myths and replaced them with new abundance truths and it has affected every area of my life, especially my writing. I also have the tools to face fears and recognize excuses – they never really go away, but I have gotten better at recognizing them when they show up – and keep moving closer to my dreams.

Get to work. Ever since last week’s meeting, I’ve made headway in reaching my goals. I’m beginning to suspect that I need to be better at tracking my progress and keeping a journal of what I’ve accomplished so I know where I need to pick up in between writing sessions. If I practice what I’ve just preached, I will achieve my goals of publishing Girl in the Mist audiobook and Lost in Whispers by November 2017.

I’ll let you know one way or the other!

What are your goals for the next three months? What do you do to stay on track? Share in the comments.

NaNoWriMo Tip 2: How to Make Your Goal

I should’ve added, “How to Make Your Goal Without Losing Your Mind.”

So this is by no means the absolute, fool-proof, 100% guaranteed list of how to achieve your NaNoWriMo goals. It is what works for me and I share this with the goal that it might stimulate you to come up with ways that will work for you.

Here we go:

  1. Understand how you write. I’ve been doing this writing thing since 1994. One would think I had it figured out. But life changes. The demands on your attention and energy change. You develop back problems and the old eyes stop working the way they used to. I was trying to do the same old routine: sit my behind down for an hour and write without a break. I can tell you what that accomplished: a page or two of work and way too much Facebook scrolling, sharing, liking and commenting. I read and practiced The Chunky Method and it changed my writing life for the better. I learned that I have an optimal 15 minute attention span. So I set my stopwatch and within an hour I work in 15 minute segments. And guess what? I write like the damn house was on fire in those 15 minute sessions! Do I say and not as I once did: rather than write the way you think you should write, embrace your work style and make it work for you!
  2. Give yourself a break. Oh I just heard that groan. I’m a mama so I also caught that eyeroll with the eyes on the backof my head, too! But seriously, give yourself a break. Even if it’s just to stand up, do some wrist circles or scream into a pillow, moving re-energizes the body and mind. My personal favorite is to do the dishes. Maybe it’s the flow of the water but it just gives my mind a release and then those characters start up again and I’m ready for my next 15 minute session.
  3. There will be days you can’t work and that’s okay. This is a judgment-free zone. Life happens. Kids get sick. You get sick. Someone at work gets sick and you have to pick up the ball. On days when I can’t write (and boy do I get a grumpy!), I remind myself that the world is always there. Because really, where the hell is it going to go? What will the characters do without you? I find that the simple statement, “The world is always there,” lifts the stress off my shoulders and prepares me to jump in mess up my characters’ lives even more.
  4. Meditate. Dude, this changed my life. I’m telling you the truth. A short prayer followed by a ten-minute session of quiet gets me in the world and ready to go. I’ve now started meditating after my writing session to transition into family time or work. I highly recommend davidji‘s Sweetspot Online Community for free meditations. He brings ancient meditation techniques to the modern world and he’s a funny guy. Plus Rocky the pug may have a crush on Peaches the Buddha Princess.
  5. Turn off social media. In fact as soon as finish reading this, do yourself a favor and turn off your browser. Set your mobile to Airplane mode, throw the wireless thing-of-boob out the window and get writing!

NaNoWriMo Tip 1: Goals

Today is the start of National Write a Book Month. Does the idea of writing an entire book in 30 days intimidate you as much as it itimidates me?
 
If so, consider setting a specific goal between November 1 and November 30th. Here are some that have served me in past NaNoWriMo’s:
  • Write the first five or ten chapters
  • Revise Act I
  • Write a novella or short story
 
The more specific I am with a goal, the more likely I am to accomplish or exceed that goal. For this year’s #NaNoWriMo I’ll be editing Act III of Lost in Whispers. Nothing more, nothing less. And I know there will be changes that will require me to back to Act I and Act II in December so that the book makes sense. But my goal is not for Act III to be perfectly publishable. It just needs to get done so I’m closer to my final goal of getting this book in its very best form to you in March 2017!
 
But if you really want to write that book in 30 days, go for it! I’ll post some tips to make it as productive as possible tomorrow.
 
If you’re NaNoWriMo-ing this month, please share your goals and stay in touch with your progress!