Tips for mini work-cations!

When planning a weekend getaway that will include quiet work time, or in my case, time to write, I have a few tips for you to keep in mind....


* Make sure the place you stay is somewhat soundproof. It's freaking hard to work when you have doors slamming shut all day/night long.

* Be sure there is a coffee shop within a ten mile radius. (This should be number one on the list in my opinion.)

* Verify that "WIFI" on the hotel website means fast speed and not something from the "dial-up" ages.

* Know that just because there is a Pizza Hut and Subway within a mile does NOT mean there are other choices in the area.

* Check with the people at the desk to make sure they will knock before entering your room with their key cards.... Even after telling them you will NOT need maid service because you plan to stay in the room for most of the time and work. (This happened to me, not once but five times during the night/morning. Thank goodness for the security lock on my side or they would have gotten a sight that bleach wouldn't have been able to remove from their brains. Bahahahaha) I mean, seriously, doesn't the DO NOT DISTURB sign mean anything these days?

These are just a few tips that I was reminded of during my recent weekend work-cation. Needless to say, I decided to come home a day early since I couldn't do any of the work that had to be finished during said weekend.

Although, I will admit that my time spent "relaxing" was well worth the drive to the middle of Nowhere, USA. ;-)

ATTENTION Omaha area fans!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS - Omaha area fans

I will be at the Local Author's Day event at The Bookworm on June 11th. My time slot is 3-4 p.m. 

 Featured book: Hers to Have 

(Ackerman Security Consultants series - book 1).

This will be a casual event giving you a chance to "meet the author", get a book signed, ask questions, and more. 

Stop by for a visit. You might even get a chance to meet with Riann Leigh (my co-author for the JQ Beron series that is soon to be released).

Hope to see you there!

http://www.bookwormomaha.com/

Saturday, June 11 | Local Author's Day
Noon – 1 p.m.     Erin Bedford will sign Chasing Rabbits ($13.99). Kat never expected to be back in her hometown, but when house sitting turns into a mad rabbit chase, Kat finds herself with a whole new set of problems. A two headed bird with a Game of Thrones obsession, a party full of tea addicts, and a Cheshire Cat who could seduce the pants off her grandma? And if the citizens weren't bad enough their prince was off his rocker. This wasn't your run of the mill Wonderland. This was the Fae world, where rules are rules, and some things are exactly as they seem.



1 – 2 p.m.     Gary Jones will sign A Jerk, a Jihad and a Virus ($19.95). Veterinary virologist Jason Mitchell can’t keep his mouth shut, can’t lie convincingly, and can’t follow orders. He’s an unlikely candidate to help the CIA locate and destroy a deadly hybrid virus stolen from Jason’s lab at the University of Minnesota.    Jason and Ann Hartman, veterinarians, lovers, and graduate students, struggle to prevent the virus from becoming a biological weapon in the hands of jihadists.



2 – 3 p.m.    Marla Benjamin will sign A Light in the Dark ($19.95).    Dez Parker, a former professional football star, and his fiancée, Sabrina, a divorced tax lawyer, have spent two years carefully carving out their future together. When Sabrina disappears from her office parking lot, a city-wide search is launched. Three days later, Sabrina is found and in the days and months that follow, she and Dez attempt to navigate through a new normal of sleepless nights, mood swings, and relationship missteps. A Light in the Dark is a daring and willful account of one couple's struggle to regain a future amid the fallout of three fateful days in October.



3 – 4 p.m.    Katorah Kenway will sign Hers to Have ($12.99). Hannah's life was turned upside down at a young age but she made the bold decision to take control of her destiny not expecting she would uncover a family secret and find the loves of her life. Brothers of the heart, Spade and Nick have been best friends since childhood. In their personal lives they'd resigned themselves to the fact that never would they find a woman that was right for them; having known all their lives that they could only love one woman between them; then in walked Hannah Ackerman and Fate intervened.

Cover Reveal Announced

Less than two weeks until the cover for book 5 of the Ackerman Security Consultants series will be revealed for all to see.

Yours to Have will be released July 2016 but the cover will be shown on June 4th.

Join me on Facebook for the event.

Faith Restored

My faith has been restored!

It was wonderful to be back in "my" coffee shop this week, writing once again. But what really made me sit back and say, "It's good to be 'home'," was the fact the shop's crew were back in harmony. A couple week's ago I was strongly voicing my concerns about the staff changes that had been made, as the service had been affected by the alterations.

Now, I am happy to announce, they are back in action. 

I stopped by today, to spend some time (okay, a LOT of time) writing. Starting my day out with high fiber oatmeal and the sinful must have turtle latte, I grabbed a table and began my work. I'm pleased to say, Riann Leigh joined me, today and we are dutifully working on our joint effort series that will be written under the name "JQ Beron".

While I might have my eyes glued to the screen, it doesn't stop me from observing the surrounding area, which includes the counter. In walks in a duo with a page of orders. I couldn't help but cease my writing efforts to watch the baristas in action. They worked like a well oiled machine. The drinks, food, and extras were created, warmed, packed, backed, poured, and out the door within a matter of mere moments. No muss. No Fuss. It was like watching a musical, the actors in perfect synchronization.

I am proud to support my local Scooter's (I should be a partner, as much time as I spend here. HA! HA!) and even more proud to be able to give them KUDOS once again. Well done!

Love the world of authors and their fans

I had the pleasure of spending the weekend at the most amazing reader's appreciation event and met some incredible people, both fans and authors. What I don't think non-readers understand is the close knit group authors and their fans are, sometimes. It was so incredible to sit down, share a meal, and swap stories with the people in attendance.

As an author, I feel it's important to keep that connection with the fans (and fellow authors). Not only to you find out what others are reading or what they want to see, but you also get to find out suggestions for books to add to your "to be read" list. I now have about twenty new books listed in my Kindle wish list and a suitcase full of paperbacks to dig through. I mean, who needs clothes in the bag when you can have books instead? Am I right? The clothes are stuffed in a bag.... somewhere. The books are prized possessions. They deserve the best packing.

The other thing I noticed this weekend was the group of authors attending were fun and personable and so were the fans. Together, we made up a whole group, not individuals. Fun was had by all.... Or at least if you didn't have fun it was your own darn fault.

I look forward to many more events like the one I just attended.

Give Something New A Try

Under the advisement of a life coach friend of mine, I am attempting to make better choices when it comes to food consumption. So, today, while I'm working at my favorite coffee shop (see pic), I decided to switch from my usual morning green tea (gunpowder) and opt for a "surprise" drink. The wonderful barista, who just happens to be one of their best employees (in my opinion) asked what fruits I like and created a strawberry/peach 'n' ice drink. To my utmost shock (as I really wanted my tea) the flavors burst onto my tongue like a crisp summer breeze. I can make out the hints of each fruit flavor along with the coolness of the frozen goodness.

This is a drink I would highly recommend and proves to me that you are never too old to try something new. And it just might give me the kick start I need to jump into writer mode for a few hours, as I hear the ASC crew beckoning me as I type these words. 

Does this mean I will be avoiding my caffeinated favorite latte? Or my green tea that I so dearly enjoy? Nope! But it does mean I will be choosing them less often and opting for a healthier variety beverage. And for those of you who want to fuss at me about my drink choices, let me tell you that I am an all day, every day water drinker, so don't be hatin' on me for indulging in the yummy goodness of a turtle latte, gun powder tea, or fruit 'n' ice.

How do you spell RELIEF?

No! It is not ROLAIDS®, although I have taken my fair share of those over the years. Ha! Ha!

My question refers to that feeling you get when a large project has come to an end and you have met the deadline.

Recently, I have been working on a volunteer project that was a major undertaking. I discovered that my extensive history working with this same type of project didn't help very much, at first. As time went by, I was able to fall into more of a routine about how to be manipulate several software programs to unite one project. As in, I had to create an image in one program then bring it over to the publishing program. It made life much easier doing this, although it was somewhat time consuming.

One thing I learned for sure is if I plan to undertake this project again, I will be implementing multiple ideas to help streamline the process. I figure if there is a way to make things run more smoothly, why not give it a try. Am I right?

Also, I discovered I have a whole new respect for the person who formerly lent their time and energy year after year after year. I understand why she "passed the hat" and I had some very big shoes to step into. The bar was set high, that's for sure. Of course, deep down, I love the challenge, even if I gripe and grumble about the steps it takes to get to the end.

I will admit that I had to put my training in stress management to work, several times during this project. Especially when you are this close (holds thumb and forefinger close together) to being finished with something and the Internet decides to refresh your browser. Or you move your mouse to save your work and the computer does a restart (because you didn't see the notice that it was going to update, but that's not YOUR fault, it's the computer's). Yep, had that one happen last night after I reached the end of the project and it restarted making me lose everything I had done over a two hour period. Which, too late, reminded me that you should save your work OFTEN!! Of course, there are always programs that saving doesn't do any good if you're in the middle of an edit. (For example: picmonkey, which I love as a photo editing program, but hate that you can't go back later to re-edit or continue editing.)

Now that I can take deep, calming breaths again, I can move forward on the Ackerman Security Consultants (ASC) series. While I have part of Yours to Have (book five) written, the characters have been constantly letting me know they are being neglected. At least that's how they feel. Personally, I think they are doing just fine because they spend an awful lot of time arguing with each other "in my head".

If you're following along with the series, you know that this book will be centered around Cole Munson, Hannah's administrative assistant. There are going to be some interesting things revealed about Mr. Munson. Some of them shocking. (Or at least they were to me.)

Then there is Halston Davies. She first appears in Mine to Have (book four) where hints of her past are mentioned. She's a tough as nails, former military, kick ass female who spends her spare time reading Guns & Ammo.

Will she overcome her hatred of Cole? Will Cole be able to break through Halston's hard shell and convince her of what he's known from the first moment his eyes gazed upon her?

Stay tuned to find out the answers to these and other questions that have been left unanswered as the lives of the ASC crew continue to progress.