CATCHING UP

I have recently agreed to go back to my previous place of employment (before freelancing) to help out a friend for the next two weeks, which means that I will have some money for the festive season, which is a great thing. I have managed to edit a bit after work each day, which I am thankful for.

My sister took us (the family) to the showing of Skyfall. Now what makes this so great is that it was for a specific showing and we were given the V.I.P treatment and we got a free drink and popcorn. I know it might not sound like much, but it is not everyday that we get treated so great.

So what have you guys been up to?

QUINN'S COOKIE EXCHANGE

The wonderfully talented Angela Felsted over at (www.angelafelsted.com) is releasing her first novel called Chaste very soon and to celebrate this awesome achievement, I will be posting one of my cookie recipes, as the leading character Quinn just so happens to be a good cook.

Recipe for my mom’s awesome Coconut Cookies

 500 g Self-Raising flour

250 g Butter

5 ml Salt

5 ml Vanilla Essence

1 Cup of Sugar

1 Cup of Coconut

2 Eggs

Mix the softened butter and sugar until creamy. Then add the eggs, vanilla extract and salt. Combine well and then add the dry ingredients. Take a teaspoon and drop the batter unto the baking sheet, as this dough is not the rolling out kind. Then bake the cookies in a 180°C oven for 10-15 minutes, or until the bottom of the cookies are golden brown.

Tip: If you don’t have self-raising flour, you can use normal flour and just at 10 ml bicarbonate of soda to the egg mixture.

So, for the curious minds that are wondering what Chaste is about, here you go…

When he steps into his physics class on the first day of senior year, Quinn Walker is too exhausted from staying up all night with his three-month-old nephew to deal with moral dilemmas. As a devout Mormon who has vowed to wait until marriage for sex, the last thing he needs is a very hot and very sexy Katarina Jackson as his physics partner. Regrettably, he has no choice.

Kat feels invisible in her mansion of a home six months after losing her older brother in a fatal car crash and will do anything to get her parents’ attention. Since her pastor father has no love for Quinn’s “fake” religion and her ex-boyfriend refuses to leave her alone, she makes an impulsive bet with her friends to seduce her holier-than-thou lab partner by Christmas.

You can also check out the awesome book trailer for Chaste here.

If you wish to purchase a copy of Chaste, then simply click on one of the links, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

LOST AND REALLY INSECURE

It is time for the Insecure Writer's Support Group again and honestly, I am in a terrible state of mind all around. I am feeling really insecure about my writing and life in general. But you know what, everyone goes through such a time in their life, which has me thinking that this is just my time to have a little instability.

I know that I have to think a few things through and make up my mind about a few other things as well. I just keep reminding myself that it will all pass, eventually.

What about you? Are you insecure about anything right now?

The Insecure Writers Support Group was created by the wonderful and talented author and blogger, Alex J. Cavanaugh. You guys can visit Alex over at http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com.

MAKE BELIEVE IS AVAILABLE NOW!

Exciting news! Lynda R. Young’s short story titled Birthright has been published by J. Taylor Publishing in the Make Believe anthology launched TODAY! Virtual cake for everyone!! Make Believe is currently available in e-book format and includes Paranormal Romance and Fantasy stories inspired by the image on the cover. This will make great holiday reading. 

I am so happy to mention that I have the blurb for Birthright right here…

Christa can mask the pain and hide the scars, but running from a birthright is impossible. 

She’s tried to escape her grief by fleeing to a small town in Florida. Much to her frustration, the locals think they recognize her even though she's never been there before. To make things worse, a man named Jack spouts outrageous theories about her. 

Both spur Christa to bolt, to start fresh yet again, but there’s something about Jack that intrigues her enough to stay. The only problem? Someone else wants her to leave, and they won’t stop until she’s dead. 

Lynda R. Young lives in Sydney, Australia, with her sweetheart of a husband who is her rock, and a cat who believes world domination starts in the home. She writes speculative short stories and is currently writing novels for young adults. In her spare time she also dabbles in photography and all things creative. You can find her here: Blog, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads.

If you would like to purchase your copy of Birthright then you can stop by Amazon or BooksOnBoard

You can catch the rest of the Birthright celebration on the followoing blogs too.

GOOD DAY FOR EDITING AND WRITING

Today was a great day writing wise, as I woke up this morning with two new potential book ideas. I personally just love when that happens. Such occasions are rare in my life, but when such an opportunity comes along, I am not complaining. I wrote down the two different story ideas and filed it in my "potential book" folder and yes, I actually have such a folder.

The editing is going great. I am making progress, slowly but surely, which in my case is the best way to go.

How is NaNoWriMo going for you guys?

THE WORLD DEFINITELY NEEDS MORE OF THIS

Psy definitely does not take himself too seriously and he is just having the time of his life, which is admirable. It is easy to see why he is such an internet sensation. Enjoy.

OVEREXPOSURE

I know many of you, my lovely readers, are going to hate me for saying this, but aside for blogging, I am getting really tired of using social media. I love blogging and like writing, it is apart of the whole package that makes me happy. What I don't like about social media is that if you really want to make a name for yourself you have to use Facebook, which I tried and didn't like and Twitter, which I have no intention of ever using.

As a person I feel overexposed for information. I know as an aspiring writer joining these above mentioned social media websites will just better my chances of meeting new readers and one day perhaps promoting a book, but it is just not for me. Right now I just feel like I want to write and blog and who knows, maybe one day have a website if I do become published, but is it really necessary to partake in all social media experiences? Is the days of wanting to be a private person over?

All the online articles I read about wanting to be a writer talks about how you are nobody if you are not on Facebook and Twitter and strangely enough, being a nobody in those terms kind of appeals to me. I mean come on, why is blogging not good enough? Anyone who reads my blog knows how personal my posts can get and when it comes to interacting with readers, why are emails and comments left on my blog not enough?

I love blogging because I do feel that I interact with great people and I always feel great when I do. It is the form of social media that I have come to love and it fits my personality the best. So is it okay to just blog or do you need the other stuff too? Which do you prefer?