 I HATE opening my manuscript called "Untitled" because it just doesn't seem right. It's like having a baby that's several months old and still calling him "Baby." Come on already! Give the kid a name! I want to give this new work in progress of mine a title and yet, I'm struggling to find one. This is why: Every name I think is perfect for my new book, some other author is already using. Going back to the "Baby" example, I'm one of those people who like their kids to have unique names. I grew up always being referred to as Angela S. because there were other Angela's in my class. I didn't like it. So my three kiddos have some pretty unique names (okay, my oldest's name is not too unique because EVERYONE started naming their kid Caden around that same time). My other two, so far so good. Anyhoo...I don't want to give my book the exact same name as several other books already out on the market.  I actually found a title I loved, taking it from the text in my manuscript, but there just so happens to be one book out there with the same exact title. And since I'm writing a clean romance, having my book titled Sand and Water linked to a male/male romance/erotica book called Sand and Water might not be such a good idea. Had it been about building sandcastles, then maybe I could've gotten away with it. But in this case, where both are in the romance genre, I need to move on and find something else. (Maybe I could just call my book Dirt and H20).
So what am I to do? The only thing I can...keep writing my "Untitled" book until another possible title jumps out at me from the text. I've never had this kind of difficulty in titling my books before, so this is new to me. Hopefully a title will show itself soon. I want to have a better connection to the story I'm writing, and for me, a name does just that. How do you go about giving a title to your story? What is your process? Do you struggle or does it just seem to come naturally? Leave a comment and let me know. Thanks.
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 I haven't worked outside the home in sixteen years. During that time, I took care of my three kids and have become an author (a pretty fine author, if I do say so myself). I love writing and I love being creative. I love being with my kids. So why in the world would I decide to jump back into the workforce? Simple mathematics - money. I like money and I wanted more of it.
I receive royalty checks once every quarter and the money amount varies from "Okay, this is doable and awesome" to "Seriously? That's all? Hmmm... I'm pretty sure I can make more working the fry station at my local fast food joint). Did I mention I have three kids? Well, those three kids like stuff. They like doing and participating in stuff. And all that stuff takes money. I also wanted to do stuff (like shoe shopping and drinking smoothies everyday....yum, smoothies), but my royalty checks are like this much *puts fingers together for visualization.* Well, an opportunity to work part-time while my kiddos were in school became available and I was like, why not? Let's do this thing! Let's make money! Cha-ching! *Sings the song, 'Money, Money, Money'* I figured I could work, balance family life and my writing, and everything would be just great. Then I went to work. I bought the pants and the shirts and showed up for my first day. It wasn't bad at all. The people were wonderful. The boss seemed great. The job seemed doable, but it turned out to be a little more physical than I'd anticipated. And for a person who spends most of their day on their butt, sitting behind a computer, standing for hours was not something I was used to or had planned on. After about 4 hours of standing on my feet, my lower back reminded me that I'm no longer in my twenties. My mind thinks I'm young though...I love my mind, that crazy lovable optimistic mind of mine. My body said, WHOA there! You're old. Whatcha doing to me? This sucks! By the time my shift was done, my back was aching. By evening, I was in near tears (okay, I did cry a little). There was no way I could show up for day two. And honestly, after working one day, even without the back issue, I wasn't sure if working outside the home was for me. I had doubts going into it but had pushed them aside, determined to give it a try. I wouldn't know for certain unless I tried, right? Last night, I realized that you know what, being poor is okay. I'm okay not having new shoes and drinking smoothies on a daily basis. I'm fine, and cutting back on spending is doable. I'll stop fighting my husband on that issue--I'll be thrifty, Dear Husband. I will! You win! (He doesn't read my blog, so the last couple of sentences don't really have to be taken seriously). What I did learn from my one day on the job was this: I love writing and I love being at home with my family. I love it a lot. I needed to go out into the world and experience it for myself to know that what I had going on was a good thing. Maybe I'll be stuck with our old couches for another year or two. Maybe I can't go out to eat all the time or buy whatever I want whenever I want. But you know what, I love what I'm doing and there's no price that can be put on that. Have you ever quit a job after only one day? What was the shortest amount of time you've worked before quitting? I'd love to hear your stories (it'll make me feel better).  DESERT RICE won the Gold Quill (first place). Every year the League of Utah Writers holds a convention in which local authors and writers gather to give support to one another and to learn from each others experiences. There are seminars and keynote speakers and of course food--they feed us well. But perhaps the biggest draw is the award ceremonies. It's an opportunity to shine and be recognized by our fellow peers. There are awards for poetry, short stories, flash fiction, manuscripts, etc...all the way to awards for published authors. Traditionally published, small press published, and self published authors compete equally against one another. The publishing credentials are stripped away. In the young adult category, a self-published author won the Gold Quill (the highest achievement) over traditionally published authors. I know this author (we were in a writing workshop together two years ago) and I'm thrilled for her. You can find out more about Margie Broschinsky HERE.  Who was awarded Utah Writer of the Year? This girl! That's who. For me, this weekend was huge, and I want to take a moment to talk to my fellow writers who are at the beginning stages in their writing career. This story is for you:
I remember going to my first League of Utah Writers Convention four years ago. I was in the newest stages of my writing--having picked it up again after putting my writing on hold to marry and raise three kids. I remember entering the first three chapters writing contest in the General Fiction category, for manuscripts not yet published, and sitting at the awards banquet, watching as name after name of fellow writers were called and people were handed certificates, shiny pens, and plagues. I was in awe of these people and I was hopefully that I, too, would have my named called and become apart of this elite group. I wanted validation that what I was doing was not only the right thing for me to be doing but that my writing was good. My name was never called. I didn't even get an honorable mention. Na-da. At the time, I was hurt and became doubtful of my writing. I worried I was wasting my time and that maybe I should throw in the towel. That was four years ago. Do you want to know what happened to those three chapters I'd submitted? I polished them. I reworked them. I had them professionally edited (along with the rest of the manuscript). Now I want you to scan back up to the top of the page and look at the picture of me holding DESERT RICE in one hand and a GOLD QUILL certificate in the other (oh, and don't forget to look at my cool new pen). That's what happened to those manuscript chapters. It won the highest award for a published author in the General Fiction category. I went from NA-DA to NICE... but it took time and it took work. Above all, it took persistence. I didn't give up. To top the whole weekend off, at the Saturday night banquet, I was awarded the Utah Writer of the Year award for 2013--the most prestigious award the League of Utah Writers gives to authors. Only one a year. This year, it was me, and I accepted it with pure humility. So all things are possible. We have no idea what the future holds. The only way to find out is to keep pressing forward and hanging in there. We'd sure hate to miss out on grand opportunities all because we gave up and gave in to our doubts and fears. Don't give up. Please. Someday you'll be glad you didn't.  I’ve leaned on stories. I started with those of my family—my father’s, my mother’s, my aunt’s, my grandmother’s, my grandfather’s. As a girl, they gave me a sense of identity, a sense of family continuity and purpose.
My mother met my father in the fall while she studied ballet at the University of Utah. I see her hair pulled tight against her head, pale pink tights beneath a wrap-around skirt. My father is just back from Vietnam, where he spent a year interpreting Chinese radio messages from spy planes. My mother carries herself gracefully, possessing an artist’s sensibility. My father loves the Orient, travel, and language. So much of who I am, who I want to be, is born from my family. My grandmother was a poet. My grandfather was a painter. My aunt had a joie de vivre and laugh that made my world sparkle. Around the age of 40, I lost my dad, my aunt, and my grandparents in a tiny span of time. Illnesses. Tragedy. The stuff of stories. My stories. And it was my turn to tell them, to write them down. Possibly for my children. Definitely for me. Not necessarily to publish them. I needed to find meaning during a time of loss that shattered me. This kind of storytelling is not exclusive to writers. To be alive is to embody stories. In many shamanic societies, if you came to a medicine man or woman feeling disheartened, dispirited, or depressed, he or she would ask four questions: 1. When did you stop singing? 2. When did you stop dancing? 3. When did you stop finding comfort by silence? And, my favorite: 4. When did you stop being enchanted by stories? Author Barry Lopez says, “The stories people tell have a way of taking care of them. If stories come to you, care for them. And learn to give them away where they are needed. Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay alive.” What I have found, and continue to find, is that I am the author of my stories. My stories’ conflicts, meanings, and endings shift with time. I reassemble characters, introduce new ones, and in the process, find myself closer to whole again. Lisa Groen is an author, editor, and writing coach. She’ll be co-teaching a local yoga-writing workshop called Mindful Body, Mindful Writing in October. For more information, click here: http://www.lisagroen.com/workshops/.  DEAD PLAINS, the final book in The Zombie West Series, is set to be released October 21st and I could use some help. I'm trying something a little different this time with this release since my experience with blog tours have been a little iffy as of late (see post HERE). This time I'm turning to you, the zombie loving, author helping, super sweet book bloggers, authors, and readers to help me get the word out. And what better time of year to talk zombies than in October--Halloween, my favorite holiday ever! So what do you have to do? THAT is entirely up to you. Of course, I'm looking for reviewers (preferably those who've read books one and two), but if your plate is full and you don't have the time to read, but you're willing to give me a little space on your blog to show off the cover, the blurb, buy links, and possibly an excerpt, that would be awesome. I'LL TAKE IT! I'm also willing to give your blog readers STUFF. Yes, stuff. Okay, not lots of stuff, but how about their choice of books one or two in The Zombie West Series in any ebook format of their choice and a lovely zombie infused bookmark....ooooo, nice! One winner per blog--lets not get nuts here. I'm an author. I'm poor. But for everyone who helps host me on their blogs or puts up a review, I'll put your name into a drawing for a large zombie prize pack of shirts, games, brains, candy, toys (all zombie related) and a $25 Amazon Gift Card (not zombie related, but you are more than welcome to make it so). So if you can help a gal out, please take a look at the sign-up widget thingy below and leave your information. Once I start receiving dates and blog information, I'll create a list here: (Space for list...you could see your name and blog here. Wouldn't that be cool?) 21st - Running Amok and Other Very Serious Adventures (Review & Giveaway) 21st - Dark Novella (Review & Giveaway) 21st - Mad Ramblings of a Book Junkie (Review & Giveaway) 21st - Bunny's Book Reviews (Promo & Giveaway) 21st - I am, Indeed (Promo & Giveaway) 21st - Fuonly Knew (Promo & Giveaway) 21st - A Book Addict's Delight (Promo & Giveaway) 21st - Naimless (Review & Giveaway) 21st - Anne Chacones, Writer (Promo & Giveaway) 21st, 22nd, 23rd - Library at the End of the Universe (Promo, Review & Giveaway) 22nd - Illustrious Illusions (Promo & Giveaway) 23rd - Blood, Sweat, and Books (Promo and Giveaway) 24th - 30th Coffin Hop (Promo & Giveaway) 24th - ZOctober 2013! (Promo & Giveaway) 26th - Manga Maniac Cafe (Promo & Giveaway) 31st - Book Marks the Spot (Review & Giveaway) 31st - Angela Rae Harris (Review & Giveaway) Thanks so much for your help! I so appreciate it! **We are still in the process of editing DEAD PLAINS. As soon as the manuscript is ready, for those who'd like to read and review, I'll get it emailed to you. This will be limited. Thanks for your patience.  I can't tell you how thrilled I am that Desert Rice won this award. Seriously. I'm flying high right now. Of all my books, Desert Rice took a lot out of me to write. It was an emotional roller coaster that often times took me down paths I hadn't planned on going or even wanted to explore. The characters are some of my favorites. I know, I know, authors shouldn't have favorites. Just like children, they're all precious, which they are, but the characters in Desert Rice are some of my most intriguing and memorable characters by far. There's a special place in my heart just for them. Sam, oh how I love her, was a character that sat on my shoulder, and with a lot of persistence whispered her story to me. She nagged me. She tugged at my heart. I don't know that I've written a story faster--or better. I've never experienced that before with a character (a fictional being of all things). I haven't experienced that since...though I REALLY hope I do. I love all my books, but I'm extremely happy to see Desert Rice receive this recognition. And to take the top spot in its category, Young Adult - Coming of Age, just amazes me. I am just so so so grateful. Thanks for letting me toot my own horn here for a moment. I usually don't do that, but this time I just felt the need to do it. I'm super proud of this book. 
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