Today, I thought I’d take a moment and just talk about writing.

Do you want to write a book? Have you always thought about creating your own story?  Do you plot and dream and wonder what would happen in your tale?

If you want to write a book, if you’ve been thinking about taking the leap for a while but you’ve hesitated, give your dream a chance.  Why not?  What are you waiting for?

The lovely folks from Open Road Media asked me to give some writing tips a while back.  When I talked about the writing life, one of the things I said was that many people thought they could write a book and get it published quickly–no problem. However, I said that wasn’t the case. This situation rarely happens. Why?  Because few people actually finish writing the book that they talk about. And if you don’t finish it, how can you sell it?

I think one of the hardest parts of writing can be finding the time to create your novel. If you’re working, if you’re raising a family, if you’re dealing with the thousand issues that can develop during the course of a day, it can be hard to find the time to write.  It can be incredibly difficult to stay focused and churn out 400 pages. In theory, maybe writing that book may have sounded easy. In reality?  Hard.

But if you want to write, if story-telling is in your blood and you can’t get it out, do it.  Take small steps. Plan to write for 30 minutes a day.  Write on your lunch hour.  Write when the kids sleep. Set you alarm to wake you up extra early so that you can get your time in before the rest of your family wakes up.  Be creative, and you can find the time to write. Heck, I’ve written in the car pool line plenty of times.  Use those extra minutes!

And don’t go the writing road alone. Join a local writing group (I love my local RWA chapter).  If there isn’t a local group that you can join, participate with an on-line organization.  Attend writing conferences. Network. Learn as much as you can about the craft. But, above all, write. Don’t just talk about writing–do it.

Kensington is currently running  a great writing contest for unpublished authors.  Have you ever wanted to write for the Brava line? (My paranormals are published through the Brava line.) Check out the 2nd Writing With the Stars Contest.  Enter your novella–and you could be published with Kensington.

If you have any questions about writing, please, ask away!

Here are some more writing tips for you. Good luck!

Update: Thank you for all the great comments! 🙂  There sure are some wonderful adventures out there.  I randomly picked a winner, and that commenter was…Kim! Congrats, Kim! I will email you with prize details.

My writing buddy Marie Force as a great new release–READY FOR LOVE.

For four of the best summers of his young life, Luke Harris was in love with Sydney Donovan, a wealthy seasonal visitor to Gansett Island. Then Sydney went off to college and never came back. She married another man and had two children while Luke remained on the island, working at McCarthy’s Gansett Marina and wondering what had gone wrong between him and the only woman he ever loved. Fifteen months after Sydney suffers the tragic loss of her husband and children, she’s returned to Gansett to figure out what’s next, and that may very well be a rekindled love affair with the one man from her past she’s never forgotten. But is she ready for a second chance at love?

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So, to celebrate her release, I’m going to share the love today. Would you like to win a Kindle copy of this ebook?  (And you don’t have to own a Kindle to win–you can use the free Kindle for PC program to read the book right on your computer.)  To win, just tell me the best adventure you’ve had so far this summer. I’ll let the contest run until 5 PM Central time on 7/8/11. Good luck!

For those in the U.S.–I hope you and your family members have a wonderful 4th of July!!!  Be safe & have fun!

Today I’m over at Fresh Fiction, sharing the signs that you guy just might be a werewolf.  Want to learn those warning signs? (And possibly win a copy of NEVER CRY WOLF?)  Then come on over cuz…

He might be a werewolf if…

(Continued on the Fresh Fiction Blog)

I know lots of families in the U.S. will be heading out today–traveling to beaches or lakes as they gear up for a long 4th of July weekend. If you’re celebrating, I hope you have a fantastic time!  I’m going to pull out the old ice cream maker and see what kind of damage I can do.   If you want to try your hand at homemade ice cream making this weekend, then I’d suggest these recipe sites:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/desserts/frozen-treats/ice-cream/main.aspx

http://www.southernliving.com/food/entertaining/homemade-ice-cream-recipes-00417000068176/

And, if you should be in the mood to *win* a book this weekend…then I’d suggest you head over to Book Addicts. I’m sharing a post there about why I love the romance genre.  One commenter at Book Addicts will win a copy of NEVER CRY WOLF.

Speaking of NEVER CRY WOLF…THANK YOU so much to everyone who has read this book so far! I’ve been getting some wonderful emails from readers. I am very happy that people are enjoying Lucas and Sarah’s story–Thank you!  Thank you!!

Have a wonderful weekend!