Check Out My New Blog!

Many of you are familiar with my boy blog, http://www.andthenihadboys.com/. As much as I've enjoyed writing for that blog, it's time to direct my efforts in another direction.

My book, I'm Outnumbered! One Mom's Lessons in the Lively Art of Raising Boys, will be published in Fall 2010.

In keeping with that, I've designed a new blog.

Come on over to http://www.outnumberedmom.com/ and check it out.

There's even a newsletter for moms to subscribe to.

Hope to see you over there!

A NaNo Report

That was me, pounding away, every spare second in November.

The problem was, there weren't many spare seconds!!

The bottom line? I pounded out a little over four chapters, and I know just where I'm going. I outlined and named twelve chapters and did lots of research that will play into the novel.

No, I didn't reach 55,000 words. (Surprise, surprise -- those who know me realize this is the busiest month of my year!)

But I have four plus chapters I didn't have on October 31st, and I made good progress. And this story and its characters have gotten under my skin. I can't forget about my characters, and I want to write them out of their predicament.

I'm glad I participated in NaNoWriMo, and, crazily enough, I'll probably do it again! And now I have another challenge, from a Kindred Heart Writer, to finish this novel for a contest in February.

I'll let you know how that one goes!

It's NaNo-ween Eve!

NaNo-ween Eve ... a scary time for all who wait with bated breath for the advent of November.

A few common fears:

What if I don’t write 50,000 words?
What if I chicken out halfway through the month?
What if my “novel” is a mess?

Take heart!

If you don’t write 50,000 words or chicken out halfway through, you’ll still be further along than you are right now!

If your novel is a mess, you have your work cut out for you. Look at it this way – you’ll have something to do between now and November 2010!

I’m actually looking forward to the adventure, the challenge.

Come along for the ride! Go to Nanowrimo.org and sign up today!

A Month of Writing

NaNoWriMo.

Never heard of it?

It stands for National Novel Writing Month. November.

I've signed up, and I'm going to give it a try. The goal is to write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November.

Call me crazy.

'Cause I am. It's likely the busiest month of the year for me...but I'm going to give it a try.

It's highly likely I won't make 50,000 words, but I'm going to give it a shot.

And at the end of November, I'll be further along than I am today.

Interested? Check out http://www.nanowrimo.org/. You just may want to join in the fun!

For the love of words.

In the Spirit of Columbus Day

In the spirit of Columbus Day, I’ve decided to share some of my recent discoveries in this venture called publishing.

I usually write about writing on this blog, and much of what I discuss has to do with fiction. I love to read fiction, and I would love to someday write some of my own. But for a number of years, the book of my heart has been a nonfiction work – a manual for mothers of multiple sons.

I developed a proposal for this book about three years ago and had several discussions about it with editors and agents. I kept refining the proposal and looking for the right place for the book. Once I found an agent, he queried a number of publishers, and one took the bait! (That was an exciting day!)

I signed a contract for this book in March 2009, and since then I’ve finished it, sent the complete manuscript off to my publisher, and heard back from them. What a journey it has been!

I’ve learned a lot about how this book publishing thing happens – and I’m sure there’s plenty more left to discover. First, my manuscript was reviewed, and I made changes based on that. I’m still making small, chapter-by-chapter changes and have recently corresponded with the marketing department.

We’ve had discussions on the title, the cover, how to list the book in a catalog, and how to market it. It’s all been very interesting, and I feel like a real part of a team with my publisher, Kregel Publishing.

One of my discoveries has been how to reach the audience for my book, and that will result in a redesign of my boy blog. It is now http://www.andthenihadboys.com/, but that will be changing soon, and I’m very excited about that. I’ll let you know when that happens, so you can check it out.

I’ll keep you updated. Just wanted to share my discoveries with you on this Columbus Day!

Check Out This Book Giveaway!

Interested in a free book?

Check out http://www.kindredheartwriters.com/.

We're giving away a stack of books,

and you get to choose which you'd like.

Help yourself!

HAPPY NATIONAL PUNCTUATION DAY!

Yes, it's National Punctuation Day!

Those marks you may love to hate but can't do without have their own day.

Yes, today is the day we CELEBRATE the

• comma
• period
• colon
• semicolon
• question mark
• quotation mark
• exclamation point
• parenthesis
• dash
• hyphen
• apostrophe
• brackets
• ellipsis

Which is your favorite and why?

My personal favorite is the semicolon. It is often abused, but when used properly, it lends a perfectly elegant sentence.

Want to know more about National Punctuation Day and the marks it celebrates?

Visit http://www.nationalpunctuationday.com/.

For punctuation set to poetry, see http://www.kindredheartwriters.com/.

And for a mom/English teacher's take on punctuation, see http://www.andthenihadboys.com/.

Happy Punctuation Day!