Facing an Empty Nest and (Hopefully) and end to Tests

Summer is taking a long time to arrive here. It's been cool and damp all spring with only the odd day of sunshine.

In the midst of finishing my draft of Book #9 and the start of summer vacation, my youngest son graduates from high school. It's been just he and I for the past three years since his older brother moved out and went to college. His oldest brother has lived 4 hours away for several years now. They have all become amazing young men and I'm excited to see what life holds in store for them.

So now, as I told a friend today, it will just be me and two cats. Apparently, I'm not officially a crazy cat lady until I have three cats, so I'm holding off on making that leap. I'm not ready for three fur babies just yet.

What I do have, are my books, my ideas for building my writing career and filling a few shelves with my own novels. I also have a great partner who encourages me every step of the way and attends a lot of writing events with me. I'm even getting him to take pictures now and then!

I still work full-time, which once my house is empty will get me out and around people. Meeting people and walking around town always inspires me. I've ended up with some great pictures and a whole shelf full of ideas to work on.

Over the next week, I have a series of medical tests to go through. Pulmonary assessments, endoscopy, colonoscopy, then... Life will change regardless of the outcome. Gluten and dairy-free will become a way of life - no cheating or I'll be sick all over again. I've decided I kind of like being able to walk and am tired of the stairs being a challenge everyday. I also like being able to breathe without puffers and not feel sick to my stomach or have swollen joints all the time.

So that's it.
This summer, my health comes first.
As well as getting my son ready for college...
Plus spending time with my honey...
And a thorough edit of Book 9...
Maybe even writing a new book...
It's going to be a good summer!

In other news:

I'm looking forward to building my writing career as well as adding some guest spots to my blog and finding some awesome writers for you to read. Watch for that this fall!

In the meantime, I'll pop on here from time to time and give you a taste of what's to come.

I'll also have to find a way to incorporate this cute little chair into everything

Gotta love garage sales!

February Round Robin Blog Fest

GOOD MORNING!!

Welcome back to another episode of:

My apologies for disappearing for the past couple of months, between getting Book 2 done for Gemma Halliday Publishing and a few other things, I've pretty much been hiding in a cave! I promise you, the results will be worth it!

If you are unfamiliar with the Blog Fest, grab a cup of tea and sit back to jump from author site to author reading their answers to the question: If you have (or even if you don't have) a bucket list, what top priority thing(s) do you want to accomplish?

This made me think of the movie The Bucket List, which I thought was very funny and stirred both my mind and emotions. Aside from the movie, I've been thinking about this question a lot lately. Every January in karate class, we set our goals for the year. The three basic ones include: Something karate based, something personal, and one other. This year, like every year, my goals include earning my next belt and getting a book published. I'm proud to say I exceeded my goals for last year. I had three books published, ran two 5km events, and earned my blue belt. This year may be a little more difficult.

This year's goals include earning my brown belt, publishing two more books and losing 20 pounds - sorry, Letting Go of 20lbs. With one book already off to my agent for submission to Gemma Halliday Publishing, I've started the fourth book in my Wild Blue Mysteries series for my other publisher Books We Love. I'm also at work on a short story for Gemma to put into an anthology this summer and we are doing a revamp of my Yin-Yang series to give it a different vibe and reach a wider audience. 

Eventually, I would like to start a whole new series of books once the Wild Blue Mysteries are done. The characters and settings are already waiting in the wings!

The physical side is where I'm running into trouble. Last year my goal was to run a 5km race. I ran one and ended up walking one. Something in my body has held me back to the point I struggle to walk some days and am in pain most days. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a whiner by any means. I've still done karate and yoga classes up until karate became too painful. Yoga helps alleviate the pain, but only for a while.

On the upside, I've been to my doctor. I have an anti-inflammatory and have had vial after vial of blood taken to find out what's going on. Then I can get my goal to become a black belt (eventually) back on track!

From here, you can jump over to visit Victoria Chatham and see what she's written on her list! Below is the list of all the writers on our tour. Feel free to check them all out and show them some love!

Stay warm,

Diane

Skye Taylor  http://www.skye-writer.com/
Fiona McGier  http://www.fionamcgier.com/
Marci Baun  http://www.marcibaun.com/
Diane Bator  http://dbator.blogspot.ca/
Victoria Chatham  http://victoriachatham.webs.com/
Anne Stenhouse  http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com/
Beverley Bateman  http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
A.J. Maguire  http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/
Rachael Kosnski  http://rachaelkosinski.weebly.com
Geeta Kakade  http://geetakakade.blogspot.com/
Kay Sisk  http://kaysisk.blogspot.com
Connie Vines  http://connievines.blogspot.com/
Judith Copek  http://lynx-sis.blogspot.com/
Rhobin Courtright  http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com/

A Surprise E-mail

While checking emails yesterday, I noticed one from Amazon to recommending books for me to read. When I opened it, I nearly fell out of my chair! Advertising for MY NOVELLA! I have no idea how many people this actually went out to, but what a great surprise. Of course, I had to share this with everyone I know.

The neglect of my blog lately has been for a good reason, honest. I'm trying to get a blog tour underway for The Bookstore Lady. What is a blog tour? In the old days, publishers used to send writers on the road to promote their novels and gain fans. Today, with so many books published as e-books (mine is through Books We Love) and in print, actual book tours still happen but a lot of writers also go to other writers, reviewers and sites to put up blurbs about themselves and their work. While it is a lot cheaper, you also have one or two days to attract people to yourself and to the other person's blog.

I am finalizing a list this week and will post next week where and when you can find me! No two blogs will be the same in this round. Site owners ask for many different things: a blurb about the book and a picture of the cover, send you a questionnaire about your writing style, how you write, about you in general, and so on. So far, I'm working on one of each!

The bigger news for me, is that I want to host other writers. I'm still working on some ideas for how and when, but if you are a writer who would like some promotional help - email me!! I'd like to start hosting writers soon!
Have a great weekend!

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Murder on Manitou Diane Bator   Price: $2.84