No Turning Back: Release Day!

I can't believe it's here! Release Day for "No Turning Back." 

Here's a summary:

Kaia Hart seems to have it all: a career as a successful architect, two perfect children, and a handsome husband, Patrick, but she’s haunted by an accident in her past.  On a business call, one day, she’s surprised to find Asher, her once-love, has moved to town and will be working with her.  In “No Turning Back,” Kaia faces nightmares from her past and big decisions about her future, as the two worlds seem to collide.  Will Kaia give up everything for Asher, or will she find comfort in the arms of Patrick?  

Add it to your Goodreads reading list:  http://bit.ly/1uLKvsG

Where can I buy this book? Glad you asked:

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1BDMdPf

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1Lurplw

Kobo: http://bit.ly/169NJ3D

Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/1EWHdJe

About the Author:

Lauren Greene was born in California, but raised in Alabama. After moving away and swearing she would never come back, she moved back to Alabama with her husband and her three children. Lauren currently works in the banking field.  Lauren has been writing since she was seven years old, and she's an avid reader.  "No Turning Back," is her first published work. Besides writing novels, Lauren also loves to write works of flash fiction.  You can find more of Lauren's writing on her blog and on Wattpad. 

You can find Lauren online:

Website: http://www.lululandadventures.blogspot.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laurengreenewrites

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1CKGGue

Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurenegreene

Google+: http://bit.ly/1DgXK9i

Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/user/LaurenGreene4

On Being a Self-Published Author

I'm not quite yet a self-published author, but I will be tomorrow.  And let me tell you, there's nothing easy about being a self-published author. In fact, (excuse my language) it takes a shit ton of work.  I have been promoting the heck out of my book. I've had friends set up twitter feeds.  People are reviewing my book.  I've been trying to get bloggers and websites to promote my book.  There is so much work.

I love to write. It's my passion. I'm not crazy about all the other stuff.  I read, about two years ago, an article about how much time and effort it takes to self publish. I think I brushed it off, put it aside, and went on thinking, "la la la," this will be easy. Well, it's not.

The thing about being an indie author, is sometimes you're not taken seriously.  I tell people I have two full time jobs: executive assistant and writer (I really have more than that because I'm a mother too). And it feels like it. I wake up every morning at 5:15 to: write, edit, send email requests to bloggers, reviewers, format, request covers, upload, etc. This is a time consuming job.  The people who don't want to invest the time into finding the right communities to be part of, into marketing and promoting the heck out of themselves, well, they need to find something else to do. I probably spend about 50% of my time on trying to market my book, and the other 50% writing or editing.

In a perfect world, I could wake up write, edit a little bit, send off to an agent, BINGO, get an acceptance and never look back. But that's not going to happen. Even if I do end up with an agent (one day), I still have to make changes to the book and self promote. Many publishers these days play a hand in the marketing and promotion of books, but they don't do it all.  The bottom line: If you want your book to sell then you have to promote it.  You have to have friends who will share your link. You have to have an active twitter account.  You have to have reviews on Amazon (this is key), Goodreads, and blogs.  Your name and the title of your book needs to be visible on the world wide web.

Anyway, after reading all of this you might ask why I do it? And the reason is simple: I love writing. When you find something you love doing, you might jump through hoops to be able to do it. Plus, I have met some incredible authors who are living the same struggle as I am.  If I had never taken on this endeavor, I would never have met these incredible people, maybe never known their books existed, never been able to help them just as they're helping me.  It's so worth it in the end.

If you would like to read an excerpt of "No Turning Back," you can check it out here: https://awomanswisdom.wordpress.com/2015/01/30/new-release-no-turning-back-by-lauren-greene/

You can buy it on Amazon. 

Check out my other social media:

Check out my Amazon Author's Page: amazon.com/author/laurengreenewrites

Read "The Devil Within" on Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/82001959-the-devil-within-chapter-one?utm_source=web&utm_medium=link&utm_content=share_reading&ref_id=40841265

Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laurengreenewrites?ref=hl

And follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurenegreene

Lost and Found

Have you ever felt lost then found? (Now I sound like Katy Perry, don't I?) Throughout life, I think we grapple with how to feel "found." Some people achieve this by looking to a higher being: God, Buddha, Mohammed.  Some people find themselves by realizing what it takes to be happy: for me, that's writing.

When I was little, I had this pink and blue blanket. I've been told it wasn't my first blanket, that I had a white whale blanket that was lost, and then it was replaced with this pink and blue blanket that had been given to me at birth by my awesome grandparents, Gigi and Gipop.  (Who knows how much of this is true: my Mom and Dad could tell you).  I carried this pink and blue blanket everywhere. There's something about my family: we're all attachment oriented. My kids have their blankies too, and they won't sleep without them.

Well, I was one of those privileged kids. My parents had a housekeeper.  We went through several housekeepers, some that I loved and some that I didn't. We had one who stole $100 out of the freezer (why was it in the freezer in the first place?), one that drank out of my parents' alcohol bottles and refilled it with water, but we also had one that would talk to me, watch Little House on the Prairie with me, and who I still think of fondly to this day. But on this particular day, we had a new housekeeper. I tucked my blanket underneath my pillow, and I went to school for the day: sixth grade.  I came home that evening, and when I went to my room I noticed my bed had been made. I never made my bed. I figured the new housekeeper must have done the sheets and re-made the beds, so I began looking for my blanket, and it was nowhere to be found. The pit of anxiety welled up in my stomach, as I marched downstairs to my mom.

"Where is my blanket?"

"Oh, Lauren, it must be in your bed."

"It's not there, Mom."

"Well maybe she threw it away, thought it was a rag."

"How could she think it was a rag. It's my baby blanket!"

"It is rather holey."

So I went dumpster diving, and guess what? The maid had thrown it in the trashcan, but luckily the trash wasn't to be picked up until the next day. It went through the washing machine twice, and my mom told the new housekeeper that the blanket was special and not to be thrown out.

The blanket still lives in the top of my closet, well-loved.

It's funny how we find attachment in objects, security needed so we can make that next step: be it leaving our mothers as kindergartners or writing our first novel.  Before the blanket, I used to carry around one of my mom's satin slips, because it felt like her and smelled like her.  She replaced it with the blanket, because carrying around her slip could have been considered inappropriate.

When I lost that blanket, and thought it was gone forever, I felt so lost and insecure.  I used the blanket when I was sad, anxious, feeling bad, and it helped me get through those moments.  In writing, I have used so many things like a baby blanket to get me through too.  And there's no problem with that.  I've found writer's groups, and I've depended on them, stroking them for information, having them help promote my upcoming book, and creating a network for asking questions.  We all have crutches, and for a long time I used my insecurity as a hindrance, until I realized I needed to replace my baby blanket with something real and tangible that could help me get past the insecurity I felt.  Because let me tell you: everyone feels insecure, everyone is afraid of criticism: it's getting past those fears that allows you to be successful.

The thing is there are always going to be people who don't like your book.  There are also going to be people who love it. And I'm betting every published book has a typo. I know I've found them when I wasn't even looking.  We are all human, and therefore we will always make mistakes.

So grab a hold of your baby blanket, and find what you love to do. Don't be afraid.  Find security in the little things to help you move forward.


Guess what I did yesterday? An interview on Bookreader Magazine. You can check it out here: http://bookreadermagazine.com/featured-author-lauren-greene/

If you liked this post, be fair and share! It helps an indie author out!

And by the way, Social Media has taken over the world: 

Check out my Amazon Author's Page: amazon.com/author/laurengreenewrites

"No Turning Back," is available for pre-order and will be out on January 31st! 

Read "The Devil Within" on Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/82001959-the-devil-within-chapter-one?utm_source=web&utm_medium=link&utm_content=share_reading&ref_id=40841265

Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laurengreenewrites?ref=hl

And follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurenegreene

California, No More

I've become a little obsessed with Flash Fiction.  Honestly, I think of it mostly as a writing exercise for me: a challenge.  I've always told myself I'm not a short story writer.  I'm a novelist.  I write long stories, about conflicted characters, and they are in no way funny. Humor sells, or so I'm told.  I have a really good sense of humor in real life.  I'm not sure why my books are mostly serious, but that's just the way they are.  In real life, I'm sarcastic and I'm fairly good at sticking in a little comment to elicit a laugh at just the right moment, sometimes an inappropriate comment. For some reason, that's hard for me to figure into my writing. I took a stab at it yesterday day, over on Alissa Leonard's blog:

http://alissaleonard.blogspot.com/2015/01/finish-that-thought-2-30.html 

I wasn't crazy about the first sentence prompt: 

None of us really believed in [UFOs] until the night [the cameraman] went missing.

Those little brackets mean the pronouns can be changed.  Thank goodness for that, because I am not a Sci-Fi writer (even less than I am a humor writer).  

So I went for it, and this is what I came up with. I'm sorry to my friends who live in California, nothing against you, it was just where the prompt took me!

California, No More

None of us really believed in global climate change until the night California went missing. I was sitting at my kitchen table, eating a piece of chocolate cake left over from Ethan’s birthday party.  It was a night like any other: my overweight tabby cat, Slippers, was sitting in the recliner licking her leg incessantly, as was her habit, and my husband was nodding away on the couch. 

I had heard on the news a few days before that the winter storm had been dumping buckets of rain on the West Coast.

“Four to five inches more and California might disappear altogether,” my brother-in-law had said.

My husband and I had laughed.  We didn’t believe him. We knew global climate change was just a liberal ploy.

   

The phone rang, and it was my brother-in-law, Pete.

“I’m wondering where we’ll be getting our stuff now that Amazon is in the Pacific Ocean,” he said.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, mouth half-full of cake.

“Turn on the news. California is no more.”

“Amazon’s in Washington,” I said.

“I’m not joking. California is in the ocean.”

“The next thing you’ll be telling me is that the planet Mars has disappeared,” I said, hanging up the phone and chuckling to myself.

He obviously had no idea what he was talking about: Amazon in Washington, seriously what was he talking about?

I put my dirty dish in the sink, and walked into the living room, running my hand across my husband’s sleeping face. I found the remote, stuck securely underneath him, and all he did was groan and turn away from me as I removed it from underneath his back fat.

I clicked the power button.

“Yes Scott. That’s right. It’s gone. There wasn’t even time to evacuate. Dropped off the face of the earth into the Pacific Ocean. No Golden Gate bridge, no Oakland Raiders, no more Napa valley.  This is a sad day for wine drinkers everywhere.”

My mouth gaped open in shock as I took it all in: Pete was right. I glanced back at my husband snoring away on the couch, and my cat looked up at me with her bright green eyes then went back to licking her leg as if nothing had happened.  

And by the way, Social Media has taken over the world: 

Check out my Amazon Author's Page: amazon.com/author/laurengreenewrites

"No Turning Back," is available for pre-order and will be out on January 31st! 

Read "The Devil Within" on Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/82001959-the-devil-within-chapter-one?utm_source=web&utm_medium=link&utm_content=share_reading&ref_id=40841265

Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laurengreenewrites?ref=hl

And follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurenegreene

Flash Fiction Fun

Every week, I participate in two flash fiction contests.  One is here: http://alissaleonard.blogspot.com.
The other is: http://www.microbookends.com.

I love these Flash Fiction contests for several reasons. First off, people it's like a creative writing assignment, with a very small (tiny) word count.  Secondly, it's so neat to read how other writers use the prompts. Given certain words and photo prompts, people can come up with so many different stories. 

Micro Bookends is always a challenge for me, because you have to get across the point of your story in 90-110 words. No verbosity there.  For this week's contest, I had to use the word, "club," at the beginning and, "foot," at the end.  The photo prompt was of a foggy cemetery.

So without further ado, here's my entry for this week:

Savior (110 words)

“Club it!”

“It’s already dead.”

The fog rose from the cemetery, and the boys stood there shivering in the briskness of the night.  Hendrick’s Spiderman pajamas were short-sleeved and goose bumps rose on his flesh. The boys had stumbled across the cat, laying under a cross that read, “SAVIOR.”

Brains spilled out of its head oozing like toothpaste from a tube.  Hendrick leaned down, the sickly sweet smell of blood reaching his nostrils made him want to gag.

“It’s still warm.”

Anxiety gripped the boys with its vicious claws.  Suddenly the shadows behind the trees did not look so innocent.

“Let’s go,” Hendrick said, kicking the cat with his foot. 

There's No Turning Back Now!

Yesterday was a monumental day for me.  Yesterday, I changed my life.  Yesterday, I did something I've been saying I was going to do for years.  Yesterday, I listed my book on Amazon for pre-sale.

You can pre-order it here: http://www.amazon.com/No-Turning-Back-Lauren-Greene-ebook/dp/B00SM94ENU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422013133&sr=8-1&keywords=No+turning+back+by+lauren+greene&pebp=1422013147725&peasin=B00SM94ENU

It's also now on Goodreads, so if you love it (which I hope you do), you can add a review.

Link to my Goodreads author's page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13113697.Lauren_Greene

The thing is, the day went by like every other.  I went to work, I went to Number Two's basketball practice, I came home and ate dinner with the family, then we all snuggled on the couch and watched an episode of "The Simpson's."  After the kids went to bed, I worked for two hours on sending another piece of work in for submission and putting, "No Turning Back," on Amazon.

People ask me how I do everything I do. I have a lot going on in my life: I work a full time job, take care of three kids, write, and sell Jamberry nails. I exercise consistently, and I have a social life too.

The thing is, when you have a dream you do whatever it takes to achieve it.  If you really want to succeed in life, then you have to work for it and stop waiting for it to come to you.  It won't ever come to you, if you don't put the effort into making it happen.  Three years ago, I was "woe is me". I wanted to be an author, but I didn't realize the work I had to put into it (and let me tell you, it's a lot of work but well worth it). To make it happen, I've had to spend countless hours writing, editing, socializing with writer's groups, reading about how to create an e-book (which I didn't have to do on my own thanks to +Dash McCallen), and figuring out how to get my name out there.  The book may sell one copy, or fifty copies, or it could be a bestseller.  I don't really care.  What I do care about is that I decided I was going to do this, and I went for it.  I stopped worrying about what everyone else thinks about me. I know there will be people who don't like my book, and that's okay.  I stopped doubting myself.  I started believing in the power of me, and that gave me the ability to live my dreams.

You can live yours too!

Check me out on Wattpad. 

Follow @laurenegreene

Undercover Heat by Tami Lund RELEASED Today!

Book Information

Title: Undercover Heat

Series: Tough Love #2

Author: Tami Lund

Release Date: January 19, 2015

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Crimson Romance

Pages: 185

Rafflecopter Giveaway

Three prizes (in one Rafflecopter):

1. The Resort series-5 e-books; the entire collection.

2. $20 gift card to Amazon.

3. Candy Crush e-book.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Summary

A year ago, agent Kyra Sanders almost closed the case of her career - almost, but not quite. Her boyfriend and colleague ended up cheating on her with the perp she was chasing, blowing the case and ruining Kyra’s belief in happily ever after. When she’s given a second chance to catch this crook, she’s determined not to let anything interfere.

Quinn Daniels is an FBI agent with a hell of a skeleton in his closet: his father was a career criminal. Locked up in federal prison, he still manages to torment Quinn, never letting him forget that he failed as a son and a human being. Hard-drinking, hard-talking Quinn vows to stay on the straight and narrow.

But when Kyra and Quinn are assigned to go undercover as a married couple, trouble - and desire - flares. Opposites may attract, but can they keep the heat between them undercover long enough to close their case?

Sensuality Level: Sensual

Goodreads Link

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23698442-undercover-heat

Buy Links

Amazon US: http://bit.ly/AmzUSUndercoverHeat

Amazon UK: http://bit.ly/AmzUKUndercoverHeat

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/BNUndercoverHeat

Author Biography

Tami Lund likes to live, love, and laugh, and does her best to ensure the characters in her books do the same. After they've overcome a few seemingly insurmountable obstacles first, of course.

Tami is multi-published, both self and with a few publishers, including Crimson Romance, Liquid Silver Books, and Soul Mates Publishing. Chances are, there is a new book coming out soon. Be sure to stalk her on social media, so you know when.

And most important, if you enjoyed one of Tami's books, please let other readers know by leaving a review on the site from which you bought it, or on Goodreads. Otherwise, how will they know which book to read next?

Social Networking Links

Website: http://tamilund.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5169798.Tami_Lund

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTamiLund

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TamiLundAuthor

No Turning Back: Cover Reveal

Kaia is an architect, married to Patrick, overwhelmed by a full-time job, her two children, and her failing marriage.  She's haunted by an accident from her past and by the man she left behind: Asher. On assignment, she is shocked to find Asher has moved to her town.  Working with him, the feelings that she pushed to the back of her mind, years ago, start to resurface.  In "No Turning Back," Kaia must make a decision between the man she married and the man she loves.  Who will she choose?

"No Turning Back" will be available on Amazon on January 31, 2015.  But you're in luck, because the cover is complete:

In the meantime, you can check out my other writing over at Wattpad.  "The Devil Within" is a dark coming of age story about William Hill, a nine year old who not only loses his mother, sister and brother, but has to contend with an abusive father who doesn't know how to face his grief.  You can read it by clicking here-->http://www.wattpad.com/story/26698809-the-devil-within.

Stay Tuned for teasers from "No Turning Back," and for other news about my writing.

Check me out on Wattpad. 

Follow @laurenegreene

Je Suis Charlie

I talk about writing a lot. I direct you to #Wattpad to read "The Devil Within," but as far as I can remember I've never given you a sample of my writing on my blog.

Today, I participated in a flash fiction contest over on Alissa's Blog. I found out about this flash fiction contest last week, from the #10MinNovelist group I joined. One of the people who beta read my book, "No Turning Back," Suzie Jay (@zeeyone3) was the judge.  I figured I'd give it a go.  And what I realized, in turn, is that there are a whole heck of a lot of people in this world who are way smarter than me: existentialist writers who love Flash Fiction.  And, wow, do I wish I could write half as well as they can.  But, still, it's fun so I thought I'd enter again. Especially, since I won the Special Challenge last week. In Flash Fiction, you're given a prompt, and maybe some special items you have to use in your work.

Well this week, the prompts brought to mind the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack.  As I read the prompt, I envisioned a can of tomato soup, fallen from the desk of a worker, mixing with the blood of the victims from the attack. I thought of the chaos of being there, and of how these people who were just going about their daily lives will never ever be the same. They'll never feel safe again, as long as they live.  And so, I wrote about it. Here's my entry:

No one expects to hear the world implode, atoms splitting, time melting, but here I am. I’m hiding under a desk; a vat of tomato soup comes crashing down from the desk of Stephane, the thick fluid mixing with the blood that is staining the carpet.  I look over to the copier machine, and I see one of my colleagues trying to slide behind the machine, looking for cover in vain. 

I look down at my own shaking hands, peering out through the seams of the desk, as I see the terrorist raising his gun at someone. I can’t see the victim’s face, but I hear his pleading, then his scream, and finally the sound of gunfire: I know someone else has died.  The moment is so slow that I know the hands on the clock must have stopped or melted away: 11:47.  I think about the dirty dishes in my sink that I didn’t have time to wash this morning. I think about my son who will be orphaned if I don’t come home tonight.   I cover my mouth to prevent the sob that wants to escape. I must keep quiet, so the masked men don’t find me. I must keep quiet, so I can go home to my house tonight, and wrap my arms around my son, whisper in his ears, “Je te aime.”

I gaze through the small cracks; from my position under the desk I can see the black boots of a man: the terrorist. He has the gun pointed downwards, and walks by my hiding place.  I crouch down lower, trying to make myself as small as possible, so he doesn’t find me.  The man walks away, and I hear him shouting something to someone else. Who is it? I don’t understand the words they are saying.  I hear their heavy boots stomping on the carpet, but my eye is trained on the tomato soup, mixing into the pile of blood 500 feet from where I’m hiding.

A few minutes pass, but it feels like an eternity.  I start to move a little bit, and I turn, still crouched underneath my desk to see a hand being offered from above.  My whole body is shaking, as I place my fingers into hers, and she pulls me up into an embrace.  We stay there, my co-worker and I, someone I barely know locked together in distress, crying in one another’s arms.  Our worlds will never be the same. 

When we pull apart, I see it’s the girl who was desperately trying to hide behind the copier. 

Tears are streaming down her face, a line of mascara creeping down her cheek, like the blood trail across the floor.

“C’est fini.” 

  

Check me out on Wattpad. 

Follow @laurenegreene

What's Your Purpose?

I've decided the way to be happy is to be purpose driven.  A few years ago, there was a popular book out called, "The Purpose Driven Life," by Rick Warren.  It was a Christian book, and I never read it, so I can't pretend to know what it was about.  But for some reason, since I heard about this book I've never read, I have thought about this: how do you live a purpose driven life?

What's your purpose for being on the earth?  Do you go through your days feeling lost and alone? Or are you one of these people who is always surrounded by others, knows exactly what to do, and is driven towards success?  For a few years, I really struggled with my purpose.  I didn't have many friends when I moved back to Alabama. I spent a few years sitting in front of the television, playing with babies, and eating my emotions away.  I would read stories of people who were wildly successful writers, and I would think, "How'd they do that? I could never do that."  But the truth is: anyone can become successful by actively setting goals and achieving them.

I finally figured out my purpose, and it is embedded in a lot of other aspects of my life, but my purpose for being alive is to write.  I'm driven to do it, and as such, it's the one thing I need to throw myself into wholeheartedly.  I write for myself. Sure, I'd love to become a famous author, and I'm trying.  TRYING. This is the thing I was missing before. I was all "woe is me, I will never become a writer." Well of course, I wasn't going to be a successful writer if I wasn't writing at all.  If I never even tried to promote my book.  If I sat on the couch, watching endless hours of television and not writing a word on my laptop, then I'd never get anywhere. If I couldn't bother to edit my book, because it was just to hard. If I didn't realize that achieving your dreams takes a lot of hard work, and a long time to accomplish.  These are all excuses we tell ourselves out of FEAR.  Fear of living the life we're supposed to live, fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of love: you name it.

The way to find your purpose is to find out what you love to do, and then DO IT.  Go for it, with all your heart!  Write every day if you're a writer.  Stop being afraid to do what you really want to do or what you really need to do for yourself. Stop blaming other people for your lack of success. Start looking at yourself and see how you can make your drams come true.  You miss out on a lot by being afraid: on life, on love, on finding your purpose.  Don't let that happen to you.

Check me out on Wattpad. 

Follow @laurenegreene

New Year, New Hair

New Year, New Hair.  I started out the new year, making changes, as most people do.  We all set forth with resolutions. I'll finally clean out that closet, even if it takes me a year (and it will, simply because it's not important to me).  I'll finally lose the fifty pounds of fat that's been hanging around my body too long.

Every New Year, people strive to make a new person out of themselves.. And why?  Because celebrating a new year is about celebrating life and renewal.  You have a whole year laid out in front of you, in which you can do ANYTHING.  You can write a book, or you can write 1,000 words a day like I'm doing.  You can get married, you could get pregnant and have a baby, you could get divorced, you could make new friends, take up a new sport. There are endless possibilities, which makes the new year such an excellent time to try to do something to better yourself and your life; to make you happy.

This new year, I started out with new hair, thanks to my Mom.  She bought me a blonde wig for Christmas that took me out of my comfort zone.  For a liberal, I'm very conservative.  I have always dressed demurely, and I've been comfortable with my own style, but this one was a shocker. I think it changes my whole look, and probably for the better based on all the compliments I've received. Here's a selfie:

I'm one of those people, who in a snap of my fingers, can change the way I look: alopecia has made me lucky in that respect. But sometimes, when you're trying to achieve goals, you do need to change it up. You need to, not necessarily change your hair, but to change what you're doing in order to achieve your goals: be that a mental change, a physical change or an emotional change.

I'm sure you've heard the definition of insanity about doing the same thing and expecting different results (it's all over the internet, just type it in and observe): it just doesn't work. Yet so many of us do that. We get stuck in our comfort zone, our routine, and we do the same thing over and over and then we berate ourselves with negativity wondering why we can't:get published, get that closet cleaned, be a better mom; you name it! And then we have the tendency to wonder why we can't achieve our goals, when we never really tried in the first place. Such is human nature. 

This year, try something different. Define your goals, then make a game plan to achieve them. Make your goals quantifiable so you can measure whether you are achieving them. For example, I will edit for 30 minutes a day is a much better goal then the overwhelming, "Edit," which has no conceivable beginning, middle or end, and to me looks like plain torture!  Don't give up if you fail the first time. Use that failure to help you learn what to do next time.  Failure is often the key to success, if you persevere, because it's like a teaching: telling you what you did wrong and guiding you towards success.  

If you don't like the way one wig looks, then try on another.  

*This post was inspired by a wonderful chat with @10MinNovelists on how to make definable goals and stick with them.  

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Undercover Heat Cover Reveal

The Tough Love Series by Tami Lund follows the lives of men and women in tough jobs who deserve to find their happily ever after, but often need a little help getting there. The first book in the series is Naked Truth, which was released in June.

Jack, from Naked Truth, is an FBI agent, a playboy, a man who is happy tasting the flavor of the month and not staying for breakfast. He’s perfectly content with his life and has no interest in finding his happily ever after. So when he is attracted to Kennedy at his partner’s wedding, he naturally takes the opportunity to seduce her. Now it’s time to focus on the next good-looking woman who comes along, right?

Ah, you don’t always get what you expect.

Kennedy was burned by her ex-husband—badly. She told everyone he cheated on her, because the truth—that he stole all of her money before disappearing out of her life—is far more embarrassing. For the last three years she’s struggled to pay off her debt, ignoring her libido and refusing to consider allowing another man to get close.

A one-night stand with Jack is the perfect way to break her sexual fast—until she discovers that he’s pouring her morning coffee and frying bacon.

While Jack goes undercover at a male strip club, the two begin an affair that distracts him from his job and puts their hearts—and Kennedy’s life—in danger. Now there’s only one way Jack can stop this killer, and it involves making that declaration they both swore they didn’t want.

On January 19, Crimson Romance will release the second book in this series, Undercover Heat. A year ago, agent Kyra Sanders almost closed the case of her career—almost, but not quite. Her boyfriend and colleague ended up cheating on her with the perp she was chasing, blowing the case and ruining Kyra’s belief in happily ever after. When she’s given a second chance to catch this crook, she’s determined not to let anything interfere.

Quinn Daniels is an FBI agent with a hell of a skeleton in his closet: his father was a career criminal. Locked up in federal prison, he still manages to torment Quinn, never letting him forget that he failed as a son and a human being. Hard-drinking, hard-talking Quinn vows to stay on the straight and narrow.

But when Kyra and Quinn are assigned to go undercover as a married couple, trouble—and desire—flares. Opposites may attract, but can they keep the heat between them undercover long enough to close their case?

Sound interesting? Check out the cover!

And while you’re impatiently waiting for Undercover Heat to be released, why not pick up a copy of Naked Truth, to tide you over?

Buy link: http://www.crimsonromance.com/contemporary-romance-novels/naked-truth/

Or Amazon, where it’s free through Kindle Unlimited: http://smile.amazon.com/Naked-Truth-Crimson-Romance-Tami-ebook/dp/B00KI2EYJS/ref=sr_1_5?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1419097024&sr=1-5

And if you want to pre-order Undercover Heat, here you go: http://smile.amazon.com/Undercover-Heat-Tough-Love-Tami-ebook/dp/B00R6TPT90/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1419096679&sr=1-1

And don’t forget to add Undercover Heat to your TBR list on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23698442-undercover-heat

Tami Lund likes to live, love, and laugh, and does her best to ensure the characters in her books do the same. After they've overcome a few seemingly insurmountable obstacles first, of course.

If you enjoyed one of Tami's books, please let other readers know by leaving a review on the site from which you bought it, or on Goodreads. Otherwise, how will they know which book to read next?

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Follow Through

It's 2015. Happy New Year! With a new year, resolutions always come.  Most people make a list of things they want to change in their life: exercise more, become healthier, lose 50 pounds, write a book, get published; and they don't follow through.

I've had a problem with follow through my whole life.  In fact, two years I wrote a book, talked it up, and then let it sit on my laptop.  The word(s) of my year is "Follow Through."  To follow through, you can't give up.  The words inherently hold the other three words: don't give up.  Don't think you can't. Instead think you can.  

I don't know about you, but for a lot of my life I've been scared to do things. I'm a capable person, but I always had this feeling I couldn't. I'm not smart enough to do that; I would never know how to start; What if I do that and it bothers people?  I had this little voice in my head just talking me down, sending negative feedback, that, unfortunately, for a long time I listened to.  Until, one day I didn't. One day, I thought, "Hey, if that idiot can publish a book then so can I?"  If that guy who used to weigh 300 pounds can run a 5k, then so can I!"  I changed the way I thought but letting go of the fear, which is so hard, but can be done with practice and by setting small goals and achieving them one at a time.

This year, I'm going to be busy, because I'm in a group to write 1,000 words a day.  I also recently joined Jamberry, and I'll have to put some time into that if I want to be successful.  I need to finish editing my book, so I can self-publish.  I also want to begin querying again, so I can add to my rejection pile.  All of that with three kids, a full time job, and a house to clean.  Everynote's daily checklist is becoming my best friend.

But all of this is to say though it may be overwhelming the way to get things done is to FOLLOW THROUGH.  Tell yourself everyday: I CAN DO THIS!  And realize that a way to a happy life is finding your purpose, your reason why for getting up every morning and braving the world.  For me, my purpose is writing, and I'll do whatever it takes to succeed.

Be your biggest cheerleader.  Get it done. Achieve your goals.  Be tenacious.

FOLLOW THROUGH!

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