Saturday, January 27, 2007

Art contest and tired feet

Totally non-writing related, but I took students to art competition and wow, what a day. Overall, there were 708 entries, but probably only 560 or so showed up. That's a lot of artwork. I work the war room as it's fondly called. That's where we man the computers and plug in scores. For that many pieces of art, things went fairly smoothly.

As for my students, they did very well. Lots of medals and eight out of my 42 are advancing to state. Whoo Hoo! That's something to crow about.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Another Great Review for Sarah's Brass Token

Coffeetime Romance just gave Sarah's Brass Token 5 coffee cups. Whoo Hoo! Can we say caffiene high? I'm so excited. The reviews have been coming in very slowly. This is only the second review and it's been out since December, but I guess good things come to those that wait. Ha ha.

Anyway, here's a snippet of the review from Matilda:

I cannot say enough good things about this book. It just blew me away. Such heartache turned into such promise. The three-dimensional secondary characters tell more than just the story of Sarah and Tabor. I can only hope for a chance to see some of them in their own story. The Brass Token in this story means one thing, but becomes a symbol of something else. You must read this story. It will touch you to the core. Kudos Ms. Gold on a riveting good book!
You can find the rest of the review at

http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/BookReviews/sarahasbrasstoken.html

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Mavens have been nominated!

Each year there are awards given by EcataRomance network for BEST books in certain categories.

This year the Mavens have been nominated! Here are the nominations:

Favorite Author of the Year: Rebecca, Phyllis, and Donica
BEST of 2006:
BEST suspense/Thriller:
The B*E*A*S*T Within by Rebecca Goings
BEST Cover Art: The B*E*A*S*T Within
BEST Romance ebook: The B*E*A*S*T Within by Rebecca Goings
Do Overs by Donica Covey
BEST Contemporary Romance: 10 Ways to Melt a Man’s Heart by Phyllis Campbell
BEST Romance Historical: Holding Out for a Hero by Phyllis Campbell
Sarah’s Brass Token by Ciara Gold
BEST Romance Inspirational: Do Overs by Donica Covey
Dear Micah by Donica Covey
In Your Arms by Rebecca Goings
BEST Science Fiction Romance: Celestial Dragon by Ciara Gold
BEST Romance Suspense: The B*E*A*S*T Within Rebecca goings
BEST Anthology: Stocking Stuffers containing Dear Micah by Donica Covey

Then there are the annual Predators/editors awards.
The nominations are:
Best Book of the Year
Novel:
Ten Ways to Melt a Man’s Heart by Phyllis Campbell
The B*E*A*S*T Within by Rebecca Goings
Romance Short Story:
Do Overs by Donica Covey
Dear Micah by Donica Covey
Science Fiction romance:
Celestial Dragon by Ciara Gold

Good luck to the MAVENS!!!!

Monday, January 15, 2007

I've Got New Covers!

You may or may not have seen these around the 'Net, but I realized, it's been far too long since I've posted on the Mavens blog!! So here they are in all their glory. :D

B*E*A*S*T* OF BURDEN, releasing on February 1st from www.champagnebooks.com





And this beautiful cover done by my good friend Dawn Seewer of Dagian Designs for THE WOLVERINE AND THE ROSE, releasing February 13th from www.samhainpublishing.com





Yes, I have TWO books releasing next month. Be on the look out for them. I'm going to have so much "fun" promoting these books. :P I have an author day on my WatR release day of February 13th on Ciar Cullen's author loop, so come on down and join the party. All sorts of awesome excerpts, questions, answers, and goodies to be had. I'm giving away prizes all day long! You don't want to miss it! :D

Join Ciar's group here:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CiarCullen/

And remember, I'll be there ALL DAY on Tuesday, February 13th, THE WOLVERINE AND THE ROSE's release day! Woohoo! Come and join the fun! :D

~~Becka

Saturday, January 06, 2007

Promotion

Promotion is a necessary evil. I'd be much happier if I could just write, then have the magic word fairy spread the news that my book was out. She'd flitter to every ear and whisper how great my story is, a must read. And every reader would rush out and purchase their "keeper" copy.

Alas, that's not how it works in the real world. Ugh. So - every writer stresses over what works and what doesn't. At this point my philosophy is to promote my name and not just my work. I want folks to recognize my name right off and say, oh yeah, isn't that the writer who writes . . . .

I don't care if I make millions. I'm not in this business to make money, though I wouldn't mind making enough to pay off the credit cards. Ha ha. No, I write because the muse won't leave me alone. She constantly sits on my shoulder, whispering new plots even before I can finish old projects. Silly muse. But, as much as a writer has the "write gene", they also have the "share gene." They feel compelled to share their work and to that end they crave success. I love it when a reader tells me that I have moved them with my work. Comments of this nature give my work validation. My writing holds meaning for others as well as myself.

My goal for 2007? To write from the heart for each new endeavor.

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Welcome to the New Year

I’ve got a goal and plan set for 2007. No resolutions per se more like long-term goals. These include being more organized, using my time more wisely, being more prolific in my writing, focusing on one book at a time as opposed to being side tracked by every little thought bubble that pops in my brain.

To that end I’ve got a really great Harley Davidson calendar (my SIL gave me for Christmas) nicely marked. Mondays and Wednesdays are my personal blog days. My website will be updated immediately following my newsletter release. I will write 1250 words per day, 6250 words per week 12500 words per month. Using this calculation I should have a book title completed every other month. These books will be critic and polished and sent out in timely manner.

Out of the 20+ book ideas I have in the works I chose five, that’s right ONLY five to focus on and have completed by the end of the year. Here is the list with the self-imposed deadlines:

Betraying Chase (book 2 in Gateway Guardians series) February 22nd.
Love Put the Bite On Me April 24th.
Ember’s Flame (book 3 in Elemental Desires Series) June 25th
Hunting Mickey (book 3 in Gateway Guardians series) August 24th
Finding Tara’s Heart (book 4 of Elemental Desires series) October 31st

Will I be able to achieve my goals? I truly hope so. I haven’t set unrealistic goals at all. And if I succeed in completing all 5 books I’ll have written (pulls off socks and shoes. grabs calculator, Chinese bead board and graphing calculator) an estimated total word count of 285000 words! (Any mathematicians out there who want to check my calculations? My math skills are less than perfect! LOL) WOW! Looking at that has me a little freaked out but I know how it will all break down so I’m not worried. Basically if I can write 5 little pages a day, every workday then I’ll reach my goal.

Now that I have the plan, I need to set it in motion. I’ll come and post my progress every once in a while!

Huggles and Happy Reading to you all!
Donica