Friday FUN!

This is the time of year when I start to freak out because of a problem I create for myself.  I always take vacation in December, but never go anywhere. As a result, I usually get a lot of writing done (though I failed in that regard this year), a bunch of cooking, and a lot of aimless wandering around my house.

Shauna + boredom = never a good idea

Whenever I get bored, I plan stuff to do. However, it always seems to work out that the stuff all hits in early January. Sure, I'll teach that class next month. Of course I will help you cater your Superbowl party. And I can absolutely have that blanket done for the baby shower...

And then BLAM. It's January. And I am SWAMPED.

I stole 5 minutes from myself (likely from sleep) to explain why I have been such a piss poor blogger as of late and say this:

Part of the reason I find being busy in January so frustrating is that all I really want to do is sit in a movie theater and absorb everything pre-Oscars. Having only seen a couple of the best picture noms, I can strongly suggest that you SEE LINCOLN.

I'm serious. I got really sick of the hype. I never can sit still through 2.5+ hours. I didn't actually believe Daniel Day Lewis could be THAT good.

The hype is warranted. Find three hours this weekend and see the movie. It's an experience you should have, and you should have it in the theater.

That is all... back to recipe hunting while crocheting and teaching a class :)

Free Book Giveaway- A Start On My Resolutions!

It's the beginning of the year, and everyone is hard at work on their 2013 reading lists. I am hopeful to snag some space on your lists, and to that end...

Max and Menna is free for Kindle from January 4-5! 

One of my favorite things about my Kindle has been perusing free eBooks, discovering new writers, and then buying their other books. I've found some great new writers this way, and hope that a free eBook might entice a few into discovering my work.

And if you download Max and Menna and read it, consider adding your honest review to Amazon or Goodreads! I need to be better about doing this myself for the free eBooks I download, as I know that some authors, this one included, thrive on the feedback of their readers. 

So head on over... Happy First Weekend of 2013, and I hope you will give this book a try. 

I also greatly appreciate anyone who wants to help spread the word on this free book!

**As a side note, I've had a lot to say about the devaluation of novels in 2012, and have had some great comments from other writers on my view. Interestingly, my feelings on the fate of the 99 cent novelist and my New Years' Resolution about aiming to be read instead of "making it" find themselves seemingly in direct opposition to each other.This, however, is not the case. I maintain that price promotions, even "free" promotions, are crucial to grow readership; however, this does not change my beliefs on the value of what we as writers do. The Marketer in me just cannot resist price promotions :-)

Goodreads Giveaways

It's a Thursday... that felt like a Monday to me for some reason. So to cheer myself, and others up, I continue in my New Years Resolution to focus my writing aspirations on being read instead of the nebulous idea of "success."

And thus, two giveaways are currently listed on Goodreads for my two novels:

You can enter for one of three free copies of Max and Menna here: http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/41093-max-and-menna

You can enter for one of two free copies of Don't Wake Up here: http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/41086-don-t-wake-up

Tomorrow the big giveaway announcement will come! Stay tuned...

IWSG- Resolving to See Things Differently This Year!

2012 was a great year for me! I wrote about it yesterday, but even just in terms of writing, but in my reminiscing, I stumbled on something of concern. As I watched the ball drop what was running through my head is how I still am so tentative about calling myself a writer.

Seriously, two novels and a collection of short stories done and I struggle to feel justified in describing myself as a writer. That can't be healthy, right?

And so, I pose a question: What makes someone a writer?

In The United States of Leland, my favorite movie, Don Cheadle plays a wanna-be writer. In a conversation with his girlfriend, he tells her "you're not a writer if no on is reading your s*%&." I'm not sure I agree with the Don in this case, but going by his metrics, I am a writer, right? Hundreds of people bought paperbacks or downloaded eBook versions of my books in 2012. Even if 1% actually read them, that is people reading my s*%&.

In reading other posts out here in the blogosphere, I am realizing that I am not the only one who fears owning this word.Why is that? What is the metric? If it isn't "people reading your s*%&, or even ONE person reading your writing, what makes us writers?

Resolutions and Rewards

In my life, 2013 holds much promise: one of my best friends is getting married, I will get a new nephew, and I will begin teaching as an adjunct, something I have always, inexplicably wanted to do. I am thankful for 2012, which truly was a banner year, and have a few resolutions in mind to help make 2013 even brighter:

1. Make a delicious yeast bread (for context,  read about my battle with yeast breads here)
2. Actually finish crocheting an adult-sized blanket
3. Go to at least 2 of the 11 states I haven't yet visited
4. Read 20 books
5. Lose 18 more lbs, in line with the 18 I lost in both 2011 and 2012 
6. Redefine what "being a writer" means to me to mean having my stuff read instead of the nebulous idea of "making it"
7. Finish writing my third novel
8. Relax more
9. Learn to celebrate my accomplishments as readily as I do my failures

To meet my goal on number 6, check back soon for news of another Max and Menna giveaway

In line with number 9, I feel the need to remind myself in a very public way of the good things I did in 2012. The highlights (again, in ascending order) are things I gloss over too readily, but really should focus more on:

1. I crocheted blankets for five new babies
2. I got bread to rise 
3. I lost 18 lbs and made taking care of my body a priority in my life in a way it has never been before 
4. I went to five states I've never visited before
5. I republished my first novel after my publishers closed shop
6. I got over the hurt of some well-intended but very poorly worded criticism about my writing from someone I trusted. It shook me for weeks, but learning to let it go will serve me well.
7. I published my second novel
8. I finished my Master's degree
9. I wrote 50,000 words of my third book

All in all, 2012 has served me well. Saying good bye is bitter sweet, but I wish 2013 welcome, and wish everyone the best of luck and a banner year!

Happy Birthday to Me!

For those of you who do not have a holiday birthday, here is something you might not know about those of us that do: we have a love/hate relationship with our birthdays. I mean, on the one hand, it's my birthday! On the other hand, everyone is tired, nursing an eggnog hangover, engrossed in playing with new gadgets, or oblivious to everything but the holidays sales.

In my younger, more immature days, I loathed my birthday.Luckily, now that I am thirty-something (when did that happen?), I am pleased to say that I have a much more adult relationship with my birthday. Partially, this is because of expectations-- I no longer care about gifts or parties nearly as much as I used to. However, a big part of this is that I have such an appreciation of how blessed I am every day that any birthday shenanigans are icing on the proverbial cake.

However, there is something I really want for my birthday this year (well, every day), and that is people to read my writing. So as a birthday present to myself, I am getting my books out there for today at discounts up to 100% off:

• Max and Menna is available on Kindle for free for today only
• Don't Wake Up, my new novel that published last month, is available for Kindle at $2.99, a 25% discount 
• Listening In, one of the short stories from my short story collection, is available for free on Smashwords

 So, if Santa brought you a Kindle, might I suggest one of the above as a first purchase? Already read one (or more) of my books? Amazon reviews are EXCELLENT birthday presents as well :)

I hope everyone had wonderful holidays. Wishing you all peace, joy, relaxation, and blessings in the New Year.

Launch of Maggie's Child by the Wonderful Glynis Smy

Author of Ripper, My Love, Glynis Smy, is celebrating the launch of her second novel today. Maggie’s Child has been born into the world
of eBook and paperback.

When farmer’s wife Maggie Sawbury gives birth to her fifth child, the only one that has lived and the result of an extra-marital affair, she is heartbroken and desperate. Maggie knows her joyless life with a bully of a husband is not one a child should endure, and she leaves the baby at the roadside to be found by passers-by.

Her money-driven husband announces he has found her another job in the village of Redgrave, aside from the many tasks she has on Windtop farm. He is totally unaware the position comes with a secret. One that frightens and yet brings joy to Maggie. She is to become wet-nurse to her abandoned child.

Love, and the possibility of incest, threaten to open old wounds, and Maggie has several decisions to make. However, will they be the right ones? If she tells all she knows, it will bring about the destruction of three families. Equally, her silence could be just as destructive. She shares her secret with another, the result changes her life, and a death brings with it more secrets. Will Maggie stay or will she walk away and find the love she craves?

 The ebook will be available at a Christmas - New Year price of 99c via Amazon, (and other Amazon outlets around the world).

Want to win a paperback copy?

If you can tell Glynis the name of the prostitute friend in her novel, Ripper, My Love, you will be put into a draw for a prize copy of Maggie’s Child in paperback  format. The email address you need to send the answer to can be found in the sidebar of, NEW BOOK BLOGGER.

Glynis Smy, (nee Honeycombe), was born and raised in the coastal town of Dovercourt, near Harwich, in the county of Essex, England.

She married her school sweetheart, Peter, in 1979 and they produced three amazing children, Darren, Nicola, and Emma. The long hours of a nursing career, and running two pharmacies ended in 2005, when she and her husband moved from the UK to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus.

Glynis spends her time writing historical novels, poetry and various other projects. When she is not tapping at the keyboard she makes greeting cards to sell for charity, or enjoys a spot of cross-stitch on the
back porch. Failing that, she and friends sit chewing the fat over a glass of village wine.

To purchase Ripper, My Love in various formats: Books by Glynis Smy


Meet and Tweet with Glynis ...

Ghunibee
Facebook Page:
Glynis Smy

Author Blog: Glynis Smy

Thanks go out to Talli Roland, Len Lambert, Jen Moon and Dieter Moitzi for their support with this novel. Also to all those who are hosting the launch event.