Rest In Peace

Today I finally finished re-writing Living Soul, the sequel to Veiled, after I lost all my work to tiny rectangles!
Yes, rectangles.
A few months ago I was finishing up my work for the day when I accidentally took my memory stick out before it was all the way done saving, and it corrupted the file. It basically changed all my words (ALL OF THEM, about 23 chapters with roughly 10 pages in each chapter)into rectangles.
After I cried, I took the computer to the Geek Squad and they worked on it for three weeks, only to come up empty. They reset the computer to an earlier time, they cleaned up viruses, they worked on the file, they even sent the file to India of heavens knows where! Only to return my lap top with two recovered chapters, all compressed with no spaces or punctuation between the words. ...Basically a re-write.
After I ranted and cried and did all the expected things, I went back to work. Today I stand before you all caught up with a few extra sentences to boot!
So may that first version of Living Soul rest in peace somewhere in rectangular heaven, while the new version is safe and sound in several different places; including my super secret email account that no one knows anything about...until now.
Let this be a lesson to all you writers out there! Don't pull your memory stick out too quickly...or your words will die.

Character Giveaway!

I have no doubt that we are all quite the characters in real life, but have you ever been a character in a book?

I will make you a character in my next book "Living Soul" if you share a picture of your paperback copy of "Veiled" on Facebook to all your friends! So when you get the book, simply upload a picture of your copy or a visible Kindle version and collect 'LIKES' from your friends. The more Likes you get the better your chances of becoming a 'mystery' character.

I'll use your name, first and last (or just first) if you feel more comfortable.

Don't miss this ONCE IN A LIFETIME chance to be a real character in a book. You can brag about it and hand it down to your posterity!

So upload those pictures and start playing during the month of May. Whoever gets the most Likes wins!

Post your total Likes on my Author Page on Facebook and I will annouce the winner on Tuesday the 31st.!!!

Have Fun!

My Glory Day in the Hot Sun--Nacho Libre.

So as I was looking at my book on the Amazon page, I hoped to hear a great "AHHH" of angels, or clapping, or something! Instead I got to hear my kids fight about the last juice box and who should get it! I walked away from the computer and punched the whole on the juice box then proceeded to equally distribute the meager contents into three cups.

So if you were ever wondering what it feels like to be a published author--now you know!

Life goes on, kids are great reminders of that. But as I squirted that juice I was thinking how happy I was. But that happiness has come mostly from other things. Seeing my dream of writing a novel and being published has added to that happiness, but it hasn't been the sole source of it.

After the juice box incident I did exactly what this picture shows, went to the garden and drank a Mate with my husband. What we talked about was: The next dream!

Dreaming and working toward dreams or goals has added a great new dimension to my life. It has been hard, I've had to give up other hobbies and social events. But it has given me something I was missing. Don't get me wrong, I was happy before, but now I feel complete! Like when you make a cake, then you add the frosting or the glaze.

If I were to make a recipe for happiness, I would add one cup of God (service, prayer, scripture reading) and one of Family (the every day working, talking, feeding, cleaning, teaching stuff). Then I would shake in work (providing for material needs) and a pinch of Dreams or Goals.

Dreams are the zest of life, the extra flavor that makes the dish worth eating (often times you put it on top). When you make Lemon Cake, you scrub the yellow of the peel into the batter, being careful to not get the white part, because it makes it bitter.

Likewise, the taste of your life depends on a careful balance between the flavor and the main ingredients. I haven't always been the best at it, sometimes my 'cake' has been a little on the lemony side. But I have found that on the days that I'm happiest, I scrubbed that lemon very lightly.



Lemon Jell-O Cake

(From the Family Cookbook--by Rebecca Bell)

1 Small Pkg. Lemon Jell-O
1/2 C. oil
3 Eggs
1 Yellow cake mix
1 tsp. lemon extract


Icing:
1 C. powder sugar
Juice of one lemon
RIND OF ONE LEMON, GRATED!

Unveiling Veiled!

Okay...so that's me, the chicken. You can thank me later for not putting up a picture of a chicken with it's head cut off. But you get it right? I've had chickens before and they pretty much run around cackling aimlessly. In fact I have a pretty funny anecdote about me and my omega 3 chickens...but that's for another time. I actually have a reason, for feeling like this, several really.

Veiled has been approved and will soon be ready to be purchased. The actual release date will be a few days before the release party. All of which will be happening while I'm on vacation. My husband's work is taking us to Hawaii for a week and it falls on the release of my book, so while all of you feel very sorry for me and my dilemma, I am running around trying to get everything squared away!

Snorkel gear, bug spray, sun-tanning lotion, book release announcements, blog tours, book orders, shopping carts (so ya'll can buy the book) ;).

Then there's my son's birthday party, in-laws coming into town, homeschooling, taxes, sports and yes! Cleaning, laundry and all those things that I never seem to get to.

All and all, I can't complain. My book is coming out! So please be a dear and spread the word, tell all your friends, send me a message if you would like to pre-order a book and mark your calendars because on the 14th Amazon will have it available for purchase. Once you read the book, don't forget to leave a review on Amazon.
Reviews are very important, so be kind and give me a good review!
Cluck--cluck!

Super Mom Rocio Wilde. Super Power: The Energy of Ten Women Packed into a Size 0 Petitte

I met Rocio in college, and she’s always been a fireball! So when I recently ran into her at The Heritage Museum,downtown Dallas, I wasn’t surprised to hear that she was still a fireball and still up to too much. She’s a Fashion designer, Interior decorator, Author and Mother of four.

S- Amiga, tell me how it all started.

I've been in the world of fashion and beauty since my pre-teens when I briefly modeled. In junior high, I would run to the grocery store after school to get the latest Vogue magazine. I would tear sheets and make notes of things I would change…how audacious of me! I remember my mom telling me to hurry up in the mornings as I got ready for school...it was a big event!
I would polish my shoes on the weekend, and plan out my outfits with accessories. But in the mornings, I would take time to iron pleats, collars and even my socks! I'm not sure why?...*smile* but it was just fun for me!
I recall waking up in the mornings with fashion ideas twirling in my head and sketching them on paper. I bought my first velvet-covered curling iron at a vintage yard sale when I was about 8 or 9.

I started doing beauty makeovers for friends in junior high, high school and at a department store in college as I studied art and interior design. I loved to sell clothes at retail and helped manage a wholesale jewelry store in downtown Los Angeles.
I received my degree in fashion design and merchandise marketing. I spend a lot of my time working on my business, attending and covering fashion events and parties, interviewing and researching, but I'm a normal, everyday mom.

S-I heard it was a conscious decision after you had kids to get back into these hobbies of yours, is it true?

Yes, it was a conscious decision…. There was a time when I was so busy raising babies that taking a shower felt like a vacation. I had a long to-do list filled with priorities. One day I made the decision to put "myself" back on my priority list. I had to remind myself what my hobbies were. I loved design, fabric and colors. I started designing everything...crafts, a garden, herb-filled wooden frames to sell...I even I designed our home.

S- The big question that all busy moms have is: How? How on earth do you make time to do all that you do?

Keeping a balance between family life and personal interest or a hobby is always a challenge, but it's a priority to me and I try very hard to keep it in constant check. We all have the same 24 hours in a day, but we get to choose how we spend it. It's like any budget, we plan it out first. I believe in making time for self.
Do what makes you feel alive and passionate about life! I'm a writer, a designer, and a business owner, but most importantly I'm a mother. When I spend time with my family I feel fulfilled.

In a business, it's so easy to go overboard because you can always grow your business a little more or network a little more...I have to keep checking myself. In my book, Polka Dot Moms, I go over some basic checks to keep a healthy balance; these are steps I've gathered as I've learned from other moms, leaders and past experience. I used to think I had to be all or nothing...either a great mom with no other life, or completely focused but a terrible mom. Not true! I now know that you can be a great mom and still do the things you enjoy! It really is a balancing act, an act that changes from time to time as we change.
I love what I do, but nothing is better to me than being a mom.

S- Tell us more about your e-magazine and your book.

My new magazine, Happy Vintage Mom was inspired by my book, Polka Dot Moms, as well as my passion for vintage living and vintage fashions. It just launched about a week ago. It's a periodical with new issues each season. However, because it's an online periodical, the articles are published and presented in between issues too.
Circulation is similar to a paper magazine in that there is a targeted audience, but it's much larger because of the internet; obviously we can reach more women within a world presence, but we still have to market ourselves or no one will know we exist.
http://www.happyvintagemom.com http://facebook.com/HappyVintageMom

Make sure you stop by Rocio’s facebook page and Like it, for a chance to win a copy of her book “Polk Dot Moms”.

The Final Countdown

So the proof is in the mail, and Linda Boulanger's finger is suspended over the 'enter' key, that will tell Amazon to list my book in its endless files! One drop more drop in the ocean of published books!

I'm not too worried about the ripple, I'm just happy that it will be out there.
There is no price on a dream coming true, and as it happens there are few words too.

This just goes to prove that it's not in the destination, but the journey that we will find joy.
It has been a joy for me to write. It has been a joy to speculate and chat with my friends. It has been a joy to work with Linda and the TreasureLine crew. It has been a joy to dream and to see that dream take shape.
So now the clock is ticking faster and faster until Veiled makes it's first appearance to the world.
http://treasurelinebooks.blogspot.com/2011/03/introducing-sbniccum-and-veiled.html

Featuring [drum roll] Naomi DeLaTorre!!

Have you ever met someone with whom you think, “Have we been friends in another life?” because the friendship develops so effortlessly and naturally?

That’s how it has been between Naomi and me. I honestly think we were friends in heaven, and a couple of years ago we just picked up where we left off.

What’s great about Naomi is her attitude, she is always happy and encouraging and if she’s ever not; the most she’ll ever say to indicate otherwise is, “I’m not great today.” She has been indispensible in my own journey as a writer; in fact, she’s the one who through her vast networking skills connected me with a publisher. So without further ado, here’s my awesome friend Naomi DeLaTorre.

I grew up in Chicago with my mom, dad and sisters. We have an awesome and mildly crazy family. I went to college in Iowa where I studied English lit, Spanish and dance. I spent my last semester living abroad in Chile. That was one of the best experiences of my entire life. When I came back from Chile, I wasn’t sure what to do with my (not incredibly useful) English lit degree, so I became a secretary and professional salsa dancer.

After a little while, it became clear to me that I might become an ax murderer if I didn’t do something outside of secretarial work. So I applied to grad school to get my MFA in creative writing. At the time, I was writing mainly poetry. I was accepted by the University of Arizona, so I ended up living in the beautiful desert of Tucson for a few years while I got my MFA. The poets in my department were a wild and wacky crew and I also met one of my closest girlfriends while I was there.

I moved to Dallas the next year where I met my husband while we were out salsa dancing. He is an incredible dancer and an amazing person. We hit it off immediately and got married less than a year after we’d met. We have two little boys, Nino and Diego, ages 6 and 3. They are fabulous and full of so much love. I can’t help but be awed by how much I learn from them and from being a mom. I feel blessed each and every day that I’ve been given the opportunity to raise such amazing little people.

You studied Creative Writing in College, what did you imagine yourself doing while in grad. school?

Honestly, I don’t know if I ever really thought through what I would do with either of my degrees. (I think somewhere in my brain I was hoping I would become a famous dancer or writer, but I’m not even sure if I had that plan fully hashed out.) My BA in English lit was a total bomb (as you can see from my subsequent secretarial jobs which caused me to consider killing as a profession—just kidding—maybe), but I was actually surprised by how useful my MFA became. While I was still in grad school, I got a job writing grants for a local arts nonprofit organization, whose mission was to teach creative writing classes to the Native American students in the reservations surrounding Tucson. It was a great organization and I learned fabulous grant writing skills working there. After I moved to Dallas, I continued writing grants when was I was hired by a really awesome children’s hospital to help fund their programs.

What made you want to start blogging after you started a family?

Those who know me well will know that I am mildly neurotic and slightly insane. Anything that I throw myself into becomes a serious obsession if I enjoy it at all. So when I became a parent, it wasn’t any different. I lived, ate and breathed motherhood for several years.

I’m one of those wacky co-sleeping, babywearing, extended breastfeeding, partially homeschooling folk you hear about who will probably have tweenagers in my bed in a few years. But in all seriousness, I love being a mom. It has been an amazing experience for me to have the opportunity to watch my boys grow and learn. I feel so lucky to share every day with them.

I started my blog as a way to get back into writing again. Specifically, I wanted to write a book about the experience of motherhood that didn’t sugar coat everything the way most parenting books do. I wanted to write about the nitty gritty reality of day-to-day life with babies and toddlers. Amazingly, I did manage to land eight literary agents who were interested in working with me. But unfortunately, my agent and I have not been able to sell my book as of yet.

What do you prefer to write, fiction or non-fiction?

I enjoy writing everything from non-fiction to fiction and poetry. My degree is actually in poetry writing, believe it or not. But I am pretty focused on non-fiction right now, mostly because I don’t have a lot of time to write and so I am just sticking with one thing for the moment. Hopefully I can write poetry and fiction again when I’m older and have more time.

How did you choose the topic of your Blog? (Organic Motherhood with Coolwhip)

My parents were card-carrying hippies and so I grew up really aware of healthy eating, eco-friendly living and other progressive ideas. When we started out family, I read a lot about different methods of parenting and became really interested in attachment parenting and natural family living, which both encourage parents to rely on their natural instincts and parent in a way that respects humans as part of nature. I’m really happy I found out about these parenting ideas early on because I have truly enjoyed co-sleeping, babywearing, breastfeeding and even homeschooling for a period of time. I love being integrally involved in my children’s lives and I hope we can remain close and connected for the entirety of our existence here on Earth.

The cool whip part of my blog (and book) title is a metaphor for all the ways we fail as parents. I recently was featured on the awesome site, “World’s Worst Moms.” That was a big honor for me because I think it is so important for us as moms to acknowledge our imperfections. Yes, I try to feed my kids healthy food, but I’m not going to lie and tell you I never go to McDonald’s.

What advice would you give someone who is currently blogging and wants to expand their following?

Honestly, I suck at blogging right now. I was hired as a freelance writer back in July of last year by SheKnows, a fantastic online magazine for women. I am doing a lot of writing and blogging for them right now and my own blog is kind of languishing meanwhile. I hope to get back to it at some point in the future, but right now, I just can’t keep all the balls in the air.

But for those people who have time on their hands, my best advice to expand your blog is social networking. There are so many amazing and incredible bloggers out there. Read their blogs. Comment. Talk to them on Twitter. Connect on Facebook. The entire world is open in cyberspace. During my time blogging, I have had to pleasure of connecting with so many amazing writers. I can’t even begin to describe how wonderful and supportive they have been to me. I only wish I could be more involved right now because I miss everyone, but I know things will get easier as my kids get older and I have more time.

Tell us about your latest venture as a fee-lance writer and how you landed the job.

I feel extremely lucky to have landed the position I have at SheKnows. I think I must have applied at a lucky moment and my application happened to fall into the right hands at the right time. I had applied for a position writing for the Parenting Channel and one of SK’s editors wrote me back and told me that she had forwarded my application to the Parenting editor, but that she had another position she thought I might like. It was the Baby Banter blog position. I applied, was accepted and Baby Lucha was born.

Now I write Baby Lucha’s blog on a daily basis, as well as articles for the Parenting, Health, Food, Pets and other channels at SK. It is a really fun job. Probably the most fun I’ve ever had working before in my life. (Except maybe when I was working as a professional salsa dancer. But that’s another story.)

Share a sample of your writing either from your blog or from Baby Banter. 

I can’t republish my writing at SK, so I will just leave you with a few selections from my work over there and at my own blog:

http://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/819751/What-is-Natural-Family-Living

http://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/818482/The-Pros-and-Cons-of-Extended-Breastfeeding

http://babybanter.sheknows.com/2010/11/my-socks-are-trying-to-kill-me-and-other-reasons-why-i-want-to-be-a-nudist/

http://babybanter.sheknows.com/2011/01/competitive-meat-sculpting/

The Vagina Chronicles: http://organicmotherhoodwithcoolwhip.com/subBlog.asp?bID=122

Momolympics: http://organicmotherhoodwithcoolwhip.com/subBlog.asp?bID=169