Update:  Kelly’s winner is…Kate! Congratulations, Kate! And thanks for all the comments!

Hi, everyone! Today it is my pleasure to have fabulous author Kelly L. Stone as my guest.  I love Kelly–her books are incredibly helpful guides for writers. If you want to write, you should definitely read her work. She sure helped me find more time to write.  Welcome, Kelly!

All writers face it—Resistance to writing. The time you had scheduled to write rolls around and conditions are perfect—you have two free hours at your disposal to do nothing but write. But gosh darn it, you just don’t feel like it. You wrote yesterday. Isn’t that enough? Suddenly the doorbell rings; the UPS guy is at the door! You leap from your desk, grateful to get pulled away from that blank page. Or the cheerleader coach calls—the parent who was supposed to cover the pep rally is in bed with flu. Can you fill in? And then there’s that sink full of dirty dishes fairly screaming at you.

Suddenly your good angel taps you on the shoulder. “You are supposed to be writing,” she whispers. “You have two hours before you even have to think about doing any of those other things.” She points to that goal chart hanging behind your computer that says you will finish your book in four weeks. Just how is that sucker going to get written? By osmosis?

One of the critical distinctions writers need to make is between a true distraction and when you are simply resisting getting to your desk. A true distraction is one that demands your attention—a sick child or pet, your own illness, a broken water pipe inside the house, or some other unexpected situation that is time sensitive.

Resistance is a tempting but not-time-sensitive task that lures you away from actual writing—the laundry, the dishes, email, surfing the internet, mowing the lawn, *conducting research*, and so on. Resistance to writing manipulates you into allowing general distractions to interfere with your work.

The key to dealing with resistance is to manage your thoughts. One way to do this is to utilize a pre-planned replacement thought when resistance rears its head. For instance, when you find yourself resisting writing, create a pre-planned statement to say to yourself. It can be something like, “Writers write. This is my scheduled writing time. I can do the laundry/dishes/check email/conduct research later.”

You can also practice changing your thoughts to manage your behavior. Start out by thinking of your goal as if it were already a reality, such as “I write three pages every day” or “I keep my early morning writing schedule regularly” or “I am a published author.” Then, act! Write the three pages, keep your writing schedule, send your work out so that it has a chance at publication. The more you practice managing your thoughts, the more your behavior will be goal-driven and the less Resistance will have a stranglehold on your writing.

Question for comments: How do you overcome resistance to writing? One random person will win a free copy of the LIVING WRITE, hot off the presses!

BIO: Kelly L Stone (www.AuthorKellyLStone.com) is the author of the TIME TO WRITE series, a set of motivational books for writers. The 3rd book in the series, LIVING WRITE: The Secret to Bringing Your Craft Into Your Daily Life (Adams Media) will be released September 18, 2010.

Then Borders Romance Buyer Sue Grimshaw has some recommendations for you! (And–sweet!–one of those covers looks familiar…)

Hi, everyone!  Just wanted to check-in quickly.  I’m working feverishly (really!) on my current WIP. My deadline is October 1,  and I am racing toward the end of the story. If you’d like to learn more about this story, head over to the Danger Women Writing Blog.  I posted some teaser info there.

Some news:  DEADLY FEAR was named as a Fresh Pick by Fresh Fiction (thank you!), and I was also notified that DEADLY FEAR had won a Coffee Time Reviewer’s Recommend Award (CTRR)–thank you to Matilda and all the great folks at Coffee Time!

Hi, everyone! It’s release day! BELONG TO THE NIGHT is being re-released today in mass market form.  So if you haven’t read this hot paranormal anthology yet, here is your chance (or it’s your chance to convince a friend to buy it at a low price!).

I am joined in this anthology by super fabulous authors, Shelly Laurenston and Sherrill Quinn.  Inside this book, you’ll find hot vampires, powerful witches, and sexy shifters.  Come on, doesn’t that sound like a good time?

Here are the full blurbs for you:

“The Wolf, The Witch, And Her Lack Of Wardrobe” by Shelly Laurenston

Jamie Meacham has enough trouble controlling her supernatural abilities. There’s no time for lust, or for Tully Smith, even with his smoldering amber eyes. But Tully’s grappling with his own animal instincts as a powerful shifter-wolf, trying to protect all his territory…

“In The Dark” by Cynthia Eden

FBI agent and leopard shifter Sadie James’ undead ex, Liam, still arouses her deepest desires. By teaming up with Liam, Sadie has a better chance of tracking the brutal rogue shifter who is terrorizing Miami, but as passion consumes them, she stands to lose more than just her heart.

(You can read an excerpt from my story here.)

“City Of The Dead” by Sherrill Quinn

Dori Falcon is a witch with a plan: get to New Orleans, locate her missing brother, and recover a mysterious and powerful amulet. Her plan never included falling for sexy Cajun cop Jake Boudreau; but without his help, she may never find the key to her family’s survival.

***

This anthology is perfect for putting you in a paranormal frame of mind (and getting you ready for the Halloween fun that is going to be upon us soon!)

Have a great day!

Hi, I’m Charlee, a character created by Zoe Winters. This week she’s promoting her new release, Blood Lust. But she can’t be everywhere at once, and so she asked me to take over here. Some of you probably remember her from a month or two ago when she was promoting the individual novellas that make up the book. This week is the release week for the omnibus edition in both print and Kindle formats. (Other ebook formats will be available starting next week.)

I’m not sure why I told her I’d take over for her here. I have amnesia, so I’m not the greatest conversationalist right now. I’m also still irritated with her that she gave me freckles. Freckles! How many romance heroines have freckles? I should be more femme fatale. Don’t you think?

When I brought this issue up with Zoe, she claimed that I came to her this way and she had nothing to do with the freckles. I, of course, don’t believe this. Having amnesia doesn’t mean I’m stupid.

I’m typing this from the penthouse of the Cary Town Luxury Apartments. I’m staying with this odd guy named Anthony. Dude has no mirrors, these tiny weird windows up near the ceiling where barely any sunlight can get in, and no food. I mean not even a tin of coffee grounds. He sleeps during the day. He scared the crap out of my dog. I could go on.

I know this sounds pretty crazy, but I’ve actually thought he could be a vampire. Well, I still sort of think it. But I’m trying not to think it. He told me he’s a shrink and he’s keeping me here for observation and to help me with my memories, but why do I need to be with a shrink if I’m not crazy? Between you and me I think I must have a very serious mental disorder that didn’t take a vacation when my memory did.

I’m pretty scared and stressed out right now. Zoe could have asked someone else to do this for her, but nope… ask the traumatized amnesiac. That’s an awesome plan!

Anyway, Zoe is giving away a free Amazon Kindle with 3G from her blog . There are a lot of ways you can enter to win, so go check it out. And if she gets into the overall top 25 of the Amazon Kindle store in sales rankings this week, she’ll give away a second kindle!

She’s also going to give away a signed print copy to a commenter here. So leave comments!

And now about the book… (For some of you this might be a rerun):

It’s all about the blood…

Comprised of three novellas, Blood Lust gives readers a snapshot look at the world of the Preternaturals Series. (Future installments of the series will be novels.)

KEPT:

As a cat therian (shifter), Greta’s blood is already sought after to enhance spells and potions, but due to a quirk of her birth, her blood is potent enough to kill for. When her tribe plans to sacrifice her, Greta must ally herself with Dayne, the dangerous local sorcerer, and the only person strong enough to protect her.

CLAIMED:

For a vampire, Anthony isn’t a picky eater, but he’s drawn to Charlee’s blood more than any other. Like a fine wine saved for a special occasion, he’s denied himself this pleasure. But one night, high from the potent magical blood of another, he claims his prize and loses control. Ashamed of almost killing the one woman who means anything to him, he wipes her memory of the event. When Charlee awakens with complete amnesia, Anthony is the only one who can clean up the mess he’s made.

MATED:

Because of the vampiric blood that has run through her veins since birth, Jane has been a target for vampires who resent a human being “kindred.” She’s forced to disguise herself as a vampire groupie to appease them and safeguard her life. When she’s abruptly given to Cole, the leader of the werewolf pack, to satisfy a gambling debt, she discovers the blood running through her veins has a far greater impact on her destiny than she ever imagined.

Print and ebook copies are available at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. (other retailers coming soon.)

Buy links are available from Zoe’s blog (The top stickied Amazon contest post.)

You can find her here:

Author Website

Author Blog

Twitter