Fire Star Press: New Year

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

New Year's (Writing) Resolutions

Happy New Year!

I don't make a lot of New Year's Resolutions but I do look back at the events of the previous year to see if there are any trends that I want to change. (Well, the ones that I have control over any way.) The biggest change that I need to make involves my writing. If you've been keeping track of my posts you know that the past couple of years have been an emotional roller coaster which has taken a toll on my writing. This roller coaster continued right up until the end of 2017 when my mother-in-law, the last of our parents, passed away in November.

If I'm being honest, and I always strive to be, I'll admit that I have seriously considered just giving up writing altogether. I mean, it seems that I pretty much have - albeit unintentionally. However, I'm hard-headed (somewhere my husband is muttering "That's an understatement."). I'm not willing to just throw in the towel; I still have stories to tell.

Image courtesy of www.123rf.com

Continuing the honesty trend, I also had no idea how to fix a process that is currently broken. Getting from where I am now to where I used to be when I spent at least an hour and a half every night writing seems overwhelming. Then, I came across a tweet by an author friend that took my breath away. This friend and I have never met, yet we have encouraged each other through the ups and downs of elder care and the death of our parents - her mother died about a month before mine. What I didn't realize is that her writing had also suffered as a result of the events in her life. What a relief to find out that I'm not the only one who hasn't been able to "write through the pain!" So, what did her tweet say that impacted me so? In her tweet she was rejoicing having written a couple of thousand words in a days time because she hadn't done that in months. But, that wasn't the part that took my breath away. In her tweet she stated that her daily word count goal is only 250 words and that most days she doesn't make that. *insert angelic choir here*

That's when I realized - I don't have to go from 0 to 60 in 3 seconds. I'm not a race car, I'm a writer. I don't have to go from only writing maybe once a week to writing an hour and a half a day. All I have to do is take baby steps. So, for now, my goal is to write 500 words a day. If I can write more than that, great. If not, I'm going to try something different and not beat myself up about it. (Wish me luck!) Baby steps will help me remember how to walk. Once I'm walking, then I can learn to run again.

I've also set myself a couple of goals as far as writing projects go - but no where near as many as I planned last year. First, I want to finish and submit DANCES WITH WEREWOLVES, the next entry in my Kudzu Korners sweet paranormal romance series. I wanted to submit it last year but, unfortunately, it's still not much more than a rough draft. Once that's done, I want to write the next entry in my Paws and Effect short story series. After that, who knows? I have any number of stories vying for my attention.

So, here's to new years, new goals, and baby steps!

Do you make resolutions?

Let's stay in touch!

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Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Happy "Mew" Year

Happy "Mew" Year, every one! New Year's is a time for new calendars, blank pages, and fresh starts. However, even as we step out with a new spring in our step, some things don't change and I'm okay with that. For example, I hope that I will always have a "mewse" in my life.

Cricket, Toots, and Delilah are always up for a reason to celebrate and help their mom show off her mad Photoshop skills. ;-)

You see, like many writers, I'm a cat lover. I'm not sure why there seems to be such a natural bond between authors and felines, but I suspect it is because most writers are introverts.which means that we need solitude to recharge our batteries. Our furry companions are okay with this because most of them prefer one-on-one interactions as well. It may also have something to do with the fact that a writer in the act of writing becomes a bit of a captive audience. After all, by sitting down we made a lap. Obviously, we made it just for them, right?

When I first began writing, I used a desktop computer. I sat sideways in front of the desk so that my lap would be available for Tess, my earliest mewse. When Tess left us for the Rainbow Bridge, other cats were waiting in the wings to take her place. Over time, I gave up the desktop for the freedom of a laptop. I now spend my writing time in a recliner or on my bed, depending on the noise level in the house and the location of said noise. I will be as far from the sound as I can possibly get since I need peace and quiet in order to write.

In my house, the opening of my laptop has much the same impact on my cats as opening a can of tuna. As soon as my fanny hits my seat and the laptop is open, there is a cat in my lap. While I love their company, it sometimes makes writing physically difficult. For example, Busby, my current mewse, is a large cat weighting approximately twenty pounds. When Busby is passed out on my lap, he is usually lying on my arms, making typing difficult. However, we make it work as this post proves. (He is "helping" me now.)


Busby sends his love!

However, my mewses don't limit themselves to physical interactions. One mewse, a cat named Zombie, became the inspiration for my sweet paranormal romance series set in the fictional town of Kudzu Korners, Georgia. Dial V for Vampire, the first book in the series, will be published by Fire Star Press in 2016. *squee* Expect to learn more about Zombie closer to release date.

My cats have played such an important role in my life that it seems only natural that all of my stories contain animals, especially cats. All of my cats are rescues so I also donate a portion of the proceeds from my book sales to help animals in need.

I'm looking forward to 2016 with my mewses. I can't wait to see what we accomplish together!

Tell me about your furry family in the comments. Dogs? Cats? Rats? Even better, post pictures!

About the author:

Isabella Norse scored major "cool mom" points by playing the same video games as her sons and their friends. In these virtual worlds she slayed demons and destroyed machines bent on galactic extermination while simultaneously wooing cocky assassins and sexy aliens. She fell in love with the make-believe worlds and rich characters that inhabited them and now writes her own tales of love, romance, and adventure.

Still a gamer – and still cool – Isabella lives in Georgia with her husband and a herd of rescue cats. She loves to hear from readers and can be found here: