Saturday, January 7, 2012

Happy Birthday Secret Cravings:)


First Prize:  Kindle Fire

Second Prize:  $50 Amazon Gift Card

Third Prize:  $25 SCP Gift Card

More details can be found here

Visit the following author's sites:








Leave a comment on all blogs for a 25% off coupon from the SCP website.  All order placed between December 16, 2011-January 19, 2012 will receive 10% purchase from the website.

Do you remember the Daughtry song "Home"?  The bridge of the song says, "Be careful what you wish for; you just might get it all; and some that you don't want..."

Since 1985, I've dreamed of being published.  And it came true first in 2003, then again in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, and it looks as if I'll have four more released this year.

Since joining a local crit group, I've lamented the need for a laptop, and was finally rewarded one last year.

And since experiencing wifi, we purchased a router but it was several months until we figured out why it wasn't working properly.  And now three people can be online at the same time, in different rooms of the house.

So why am I complaining?  Maybe it's online overload.  I find myself getting stressed if I realize it's 10am and I still haven't checked my twitter account.  Or that it's noon and I'm still in my jammies, catching up on face book.  The SU asked me the other day who were all these people I was telling him about, and suddenly I couldn't remember where I'd actually 'met' some of them.  Was it on an author loop?  Face book?  Or through another Face Book friend?  In other words, they are people he's never 'met'.  And rolls his eyes.  Just like when I 'forget' he's not as invested in my characters as I am.  

Ever have conversations like this?

Spouse:  What are you thinking about?

Me:  Wondering if Gretchen's hair is shoulder-length or longer....and if she's got a perm.

Spouse:  Who the hell is Gretchen and why do you care about her hair?

Me:  Well, I'm about to write the dance scene and wonder if she'd want her hair up in  bun or loose-

Spouse:  Oh, you're talking about the damn book again.  I thought it was a real person!

Remember when the only thing you had to do when you sat down at the computer was check your email, then bring up your document and write?  Now it's check email, social media, chat digests, chat loops, blogs, email account again (or even a different one!), then get up and stretch or force yourself to eat lunch or even close down the computer for a while.  But then later you're back....and go through the list again...and suddenly it's two hours later and you STILL haven't opened your document.

Or maybe my current disillusionment is because I've been swamped with edits the past six months, and have barely been able to put down new words?  Yes; the thrill of having a new release is still with me; I'm not so jaded that it's 'just another day'.  No; I celebrate; I make the family take me out to lunch or dinner; I drink wine; I give treats to my crit group and karaoke peeps.

But something's going to have to give, if I want this to continue.  I'm either going to have to not be so nosy about my 300+ friends statuses, or only clean out my spam twice a day instead of every other hour (lol!) and get back to the business of writing; else I'm going to have a very long dry spell between books, considering five of them are still swirling around in my brain and due to be released around the year 2014, if I can buckle down.  I really prefer not to keep you hanging any longer than necessary!

Anyway, Happy Birthday/Anniversary Secret Cravings:)  And good luck to whomever wins that Kindle Fire!



28 comments:

An Open Book said...

I'm sort of the same way Molly. I have 'friends' here and there and everywhere and my husband just shakes his head. It's all professional marketing and sharing but I have made some GREAT friends and connections.

Dawne

mcv said...

I used to read every morning while I had my first cup of coffee and woke up. Now I'm checking my email, downloading free Amazon books and following blogs. Thank God I didn't get into Tweeting. Nothing would get done.
I still read every night for an hour or two. So many books, so little time.

Molly Daniels said...

LOL:) It's like that car commercial where the daughter's lamenting her parents' 'social life' because they 'only have 19 friends on FB'.

Sometimes I know more about my online friends' lives than the friends who either aren't on FB or don't post as much, and I forget I haven't even MET them in person yet. And the hubby doesn't understand the whole networking concept; he's from a town where the business men's motto is 'how fast can you screw over your neighbor to make a profit'.

I don't operate that way.

Molly Daniels said...

I hear you mcv:) I used to read the blogs first thing in the morning, but now I'm lucky if I get to them by lunch time! I don't tweet a lot; mainly when I'm writing (we do word wars and post our hourly word counts) but when I try to pop in at least once a day to see if there's any good conversations going. Some days it's like finding the cool kids' hangout; everyone's silent on the loops and then you discover they're all commenting on a blog somewhere, or a FB thread:)

anny cook said...

I have a "rough" schedule. Check e-mail/social media before breakfast...during lunch...after dinner. The rest of the time I generally stay off the INTERNET!!! After dinner when I'm finished, I either read or play a computer game. Neither of them require INTERNET!!! Right before bed I check e-mail once more. It seems to work--for me.

Joanne said...

I try not to check email, twitter and facebook too often, but if I don't, especially the email, I have at least 300+ messages by the end of the day. I have to stop caring so much about other people and cut the checking down to once or twice a day.

e.balinski(at)att(dot)net

Liz Flaherty said...

I'm right there with you, and it reminds me of what friends said when I retired. You need, they counseled, to learn to say No. Thing is, I don't want to say No, because everything is so much fun. So is all this other stuff. We just need longer days, is all.

Enjoy!

Na said...

It can be hard to wake up with "connecting" -checking emails, and other social-networking sites but it isn't impossible. Sometimes it's a good thing to take a break and kind of live outside of technology. Of course when you come back you feel like catching up lol. But celebrating with family your hardwork is the way to go :)

Cambonified(at)yahoo(dot)com

June M. said...

I can't even imagine how hard it is for all you authors to keep up with everything. By the time that I check my email, and catch up on some of the blogs that I follow, enter a few contests, check for free Amazon books, and check facebook, I feel overloaded. With authors, you all have to promote your books, connect with readers,/reviewers, and keep up with all the different social medias, it must be crazy!
June
manning_j2004 at yahoo dot com

Kim S. said...

Well, my goodness. I never thought that could be going around in a writers mind or with her SU! LMAO

Cute post! Thanks for sharing.

And I do something very similar...I'll just 'get on' to check the 'work' email, in case there is an emergency....I then correct a few errors on the uploads, upload a few more books, check my personal email and by then the laundry is not done, something is not cleaned and the family is asking "What's for dinner?". I'm BUSY here!! ;) LOL

thewildtwo @ sbcglobal (dot) net

Molly Daniels said...

@Anny: (saluting) Yes Ma'am:) It drives my daughter crazy when she gets home from school and I ask her about one of her friends' status (she calls me her 'other mom' and friended me way back)! I need to establish a routine and stick with it. Vacation should have taught me I only 'need' to be online twice a day, lol....

@Joanne: Exactly! My yahoo acct is the WORST! I can be off for 15 minutes and recheck: nine in spam folder and four digests...that's why I like to stay on top of it.

@Liz: Retired people don't need sleep, right? LOL:) My parents are more active now than they were when they worked.

Molly Daniels said...

@Na: I'm a firm believer in celebrating any success, big or small:) We had a death in the family over the holidays, so my internet was limited, and felt I was behind on everything! Maybe that's what I've been doing this week; playing catch-up.

@June: Sometimes it does feel like a 3 ring circus....and sometimes TIME moves so fast I'm racing the clock to get everything done between the hours of 8:15 and 2:30 (when I have to pick up my kids from school). Unfortunately, my spouse is not that understanding of my online job, so unless I have a chat to attend, I'm usually not on until nearly bedtime.

@Kim: Back before my online 'life', I got a brainstorm one day and literally wrote from 11am-11pm. I missed helping with homework; dinner prep; dinner entirely; any prime-time TV shows; and the kids came in and kissed me good night. When I was finally finished, everyone was in bed. Spouse grumbled about having to do everything, but was happy the next day to see I was back 'in charge'. Of course, this was when he thought I was going to be the next JK Rowlings....and support him in his advancing years;)

Amber said...

I try to check my email as often as I can so that I don't have that many to read.
amberpreer(at)yahoo(dot)com

Teresa K. said...

Hi Molly,

For some of the authors who know me, they know I work a full time job, plus go to law school at night, take care of elderly parents, and work as a Marketing Director for a E-book Publishing company.

When my work is caught at my full time job I will go to my yahoo account and start deleting alot of the emails. I belong to so many author groups and if I didn't do that, I would wind up with over a 1000 emails. One day I didn't get to check my email and I got home to 1700.

I don't worry about facebook until I get home. For they have us blocked from that at work. I really don't mess with my facebook account unless some of my book author friends at Secret Cravings want to promo books. I tell them to use my wall anytime for I have a lot of friends who read.

But I'm addicted to my role playing games. It gives me a chance to play some of the characters that want there story written in my mind. I get to write the scenes and I have fun with it. Maybe I will get around to writing that book someday.

Take care,
Teresa K.
tcwgrlup41(at)yahoodotcom

Cara Marsi said...

Molly, you've described my day. You're right that it used to be read a few emails then write. Now it's constant online promo, social medial, etc, that there's less time to write. My husband says I spend too much time on the computer. He's right, but there's so darn much to do.

Happy BD, Secret Cravings!

Unknown said...

lol, Molly I so identify with that post.

When I first started on Facebook, I was only going to friend people I actually knew. Then I got hooked on a game none of my actual friends wanted to play & I found myself friending a whole bunch of people I have never met, just to get further in the game.

Now that I've discovered blog hopping & the wonder of ebooks, I've added authors to my list of people I don't actually know. All so that I can keep on top of contests & new releases.

The days of being able to check my facebook page in an hour, are long gone, but I'm enjoying every minute of it. Does that mean I don't have a real life?

drainbamaged.gyzmo at gmail.com

colleen m said...

For my own sanity - I had to cut back on online time. I check mail and certain times. I limit my facebook and twitter time. It not only is a time sucker, but it is also information overload.

That said I am still "friends" with women I have met on line in 1996. They all helped me be the mother I am today! I have actually met a good number of them in real life.

That said I should be going to sleep, but here I am online ;p lol

Margay Leah Justice said...

Oh, my gosh, Molly, this is so true! I find my routine has changed in that I have to check my email and all the blogs I'm following in Google reader before I do anything else - which can sometimes take all day, especially since I go back to email frequently throughout the day (in my defense, I do write for a few blogs, do reviews, etc, so I check for "business" purposes).

And I love that Daughtry song, by the way. Actually, I love them all. Daughtry is amazing!

M. S. Spencer said...

Molly, Molly, Molly...I KNOW your pain--I can sit in front of the screen all the way to dinnertime & realize I never got up to brush my teeth! Since on-line promo is the quickest, cheapest way to promote your books I feel guilty if I haven't checked every single yahoo group & social outlet by mid-morning. What we need is a robot...Meredith

Molly Daniels said...

@Amber: I had to go either 'no mail' or 'special notice' on a few of the loops I only occasionally participate on, in order to cut down on the mail. I'm only on 36 loops, so I find it pretty manageable; I don't know how some do it while on over 100!

@Teresa: When do you sleep? Wow...I honestly don't think I could work full time AND go to law school AND still have an online job. I find it hard enough in the summertime, when all my kids are home! (tips hat to you)

@Cari: Glad I'm not the only one! Thanks for stopping by:)

Molly Daniels said...

@Kathryn: LOL:) I found an old email to a friend about face book and how I could spend a total of 15 minutes on it...this was 3 years ago! Now it's at least an hour each time I'm on...or more....

@Colleen: Yup; that's what I'm going to have to do, if I want to write some more.

@Margay: Yay! Another Daughtry fan! Now if I could just sing Home at karaoke...I'll let you know when I reach the 'H's:)

Molly Daniels said...

@Meredith: LOL! A well-programmed robot, a well-trained assistant, or clone....some days I wish I could cheerfully clone myself in order to get everything done!

Vanessa A. Johnson said...

Good morning. Happy Anniversary to SCP. Continued blessings on all of your endeavors. vanessaajohnson@att.net

Anonymous said...

Happy Anniversary Secret Cravings!
Thanks for the excerpt and for the giveaway.

klmc_37@yahoo.com

Karen Cino said...

I'm not a twitter. I start my day by checking my email, facebook and blog over a cup of coffee. I give myself a half hour window before I throw on my sneakers and go out for a walk to clear my mind. If I'm not sitting at my desk by 11:00 I start getting nuts.

Thank you so much for sharing you story and being a part of Secret Cravings Birthday Celebration.

Molly Daniels said...

Thank you for dropping by Karen:)

Eva's Flowers said...

I've beenon Twitter only about 4 months now...and first thing I do when I wake up is check tweets from the awesome authors I follow ;), then check my personal FB, see what family is up to, then check my Reader FB page, see what my other world is up to, again those awesome authors ;) and before I know it I'm late and have to rush to take a shower and get ready for work!!

Eva
evitap67(at)gmail(dot)com

Molly Daniels said...

Eva, I'm on twitter as Kenzie Michaels:) The only time I spend over there is a) when we're 'word warring' and keeping track of our word counts and b) if there's a particular conversation going on and I want to jump in. I much prefer face book, but gotta keep up with the times, right?