My sweet Ed the dog, may he RIP

Google defines blogging as "add new material to or regularly update a blog." I used to blog, both here on blogspot and on the Spellbound Scribes. Then the Scribes went on hiatus and life got in the way. Blogging was one of the things I let slide.

To say I've been inconsistent with this blog is fairly hilarious - one post every other year makes you invisible, not inconsistent. I'm feeling the itch, though, so one of my New Years Resolutions is to blog more regularly. I manage once a month on the Scribes, but now I want to double that. 

That's right. You can look forward to twice a month blog posts on liv-rancourt.blogspot.com!

Did you know that when you google a word's definition, you also get a little graphic showing how often a word has been used? (Handy for historical romance authors, ya know?) I don't know why it amuses me, but "blogging" shows a flat line until about 1995.

You might be wondering what I've got to blog about. I expect it'll be similar to my posts on the Spellbound Scribes; a mix of writing craft, what I'm up to, and stuff that pisses me off. I'll also post flash-fiction pieces, along the lines of The Hunt, my December post. I could also see doing a serialized story, depending on how things go. I'll start with two posts a month and see where I find my groove.

All of this has me wondering whether you make New Years Resolutions.

I've made a couple besides blogging. I've committed to limiting my game time on my phone to an hour a day (hard!) and eating more vegetables (harder!). It might not seem like much, but when I make resolutions, I try to keep a few basic rules in mind.

Goals should be specific, measurable, and within your control.

Twice a month blogging fits into that fairly well, as does limiting game time on my phone. (What an effing time-suck Two Dots can be! Don't download it!!) Eating more vegetables is a little nebulous, though if I give it some thought, it won't be hard to figure out how to articulate that goal in a way that fits the rules.

I will eat 1.5 - 2 cups of fruit and 2 - 3 cups of vegetables a day, every day, 

in order to lose the weight I gained over the holidays.

See? That wasn't hard at all. 

In general, setting goals is easier than keeping them, but keeping them is easier if you make them as specific as possible. "I'm going to change my life," might feel good in the sparkle of New Years Eve champagne, but "I'm going to do 30 minutes a day on the spin bike" is a lot more concrete. 

It's important to keep in mind that your goal should be something that is within your control. An author might say "this year I'm going to sign with an agent", but it's up the an agent to offer a contract - or not. 

What's within an author's control? Research, queries, and persistence.

"I'm going to research agents in January, come up with a list of names in February, 

send out queries in March, and rinse-and-repeat until I'm offered a contract."

Also, an author can hone their craft and make sure their books is the best it can be. 

Which isn't to discourage anyone from making big goals. Something like, "I'll wear my high school jeans to my 20th class reunion" might feel grandiose, but break it into smaller steps that define the scope of the goal and articulate what it'll take to get there. Then use the success that comes from accomplishing small steps to motivate the next and the next after that.

Dream big, but keep your feet on the ground!

This all reminds me of the song, "In My Mind" by Amanda Palmer. I'm not all that familiar with Ms Palmer's music, but the lyrics for this one are so accurate and so honest that I can't help but love it. Check out the link if you're curious, and btw leave me a comment with your favorite NY Resolution. I'd love to hear from you!

 

Hi! Me Again!

So, um, hi! I'm back on my old Blogger blog, after several years of blogging at Liv Rancourt. At some point, I'm hoping I'll be able to munge the two together, but for now, I'm here and happy about it.

See, I love the look of my website (www.livrancourt.com), but don't feel like it really fits the direction my writing has gone. When I worked with Laird to design it, I was hot and heavy into drafting Hell...The Story, the first in a proposed urban fantasy series. The website absolutely fits the vibe I wanted for Hell, and while I had the tremendous thrill of seeing the book make the quarterfinals of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards last spring, it's still out there looking for a contract. In the meantime, I've written a contemporary romance (also on submission, also the start of a series) and have been working on an m/m romance set in 1955 Seattle.

Not many sugar skulls in either of those novels.

I made the decision to resuscitate my blogger blog because it gives me more flexibility. I can change the look whenever I want, and it's easier for me to tweak the layout and what's happening in the sidebars. I can't promise that I'll turn into a blogging maniac, but I swear part of the reason I've been so irregular is I didn't feel like the look of the other blog matched what was going on in my head.

I'm going to stick to what I like about blogging: weekly memes with snippets & excerpts, funny family stories, blog hops, and general goofing around. I might throw in some ideas about craft every so often, and I'm hoping to have at least a couple interview guests every month. I'll also keep blogging with the Spellbound Scribes, and do an occasional post for Femina Aequalitas. I'm also very excited to be involved with a new blogging project, Relentless Writers. This is a blog that grew out of group of writers who'd teamed up to survive NaNoWriMo last month, and while the first post is still to come, there are some strong, diverse voices involved, and I look for good things from them.

Funny, I didn't expect to have so much to say. There's more going on that I'd thought, and I hope you'll hang in there with me. I so appreciate those of you who have read my stuff & written reviews & shared my links & tweets. Thank you so much! You've made the last few years a ton of fun, and I'm looking forward to this new stage in my journey.

Peace,

Liv

Guest Posts

I've written a number of blog posts lately. What, you ask? Where are they? You haven't seen them here?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

You're right. I've been guest blogging all over the place, and since I couldn't get my act together to write an additional post for my own blog, I'm doing a mash-up of my recent guest posts in hopes that you'll check them out if you haven't already...

Last Friday I had a post on Kristin McFarland's blog, writing about Steampunk & Corsets, in which I pose the question, "Is the corset a symbol of oppression, or a sign of liberated self-expression?"
Sounds serious, don't it?

Then on Sunday, I was at Dawn's Reading Nook, complaining about sex scenes. Actually, I was complaining about badly written...oh, never mind. Check it out for yourself.

 (And no, I don't have a picture to illustrate my sex scenes rant. Sorry...)

And finally, yesterday I had a guest post on Denise Moncrief's blog, Suspense, She Writes. This one describes my cunning plan for getting work done during the summer months when computer-competition heats up to Olympian levels.

So that's what I've been up to.  What have you been doing? Please share in the comments...
Peace,
Liv

Photo credits:
Olympic Logo http://www.logostage.com/logo/olympic/#.T-nKv_W_Ovw
Steampunk Ladies  (from Etsy)

Social Networking: WANATribe

The WANATribe is here! Check out this post by Kristen Lamb, where she describes her motivation for creating the site and what she hopes to accomplish: 

 

I bring you...A gift -  A New Era For The Digital Age Artist

  

Because I took one of Kristen's classes last winter, I've had the opportunity to play around on the site for the last few weeks. Then this week, I sent the link out to a few friends who I thought might also be interested in being part of it. Along with a couple of takers, I got an email back from one woman who essentially said,

 

I think this is cool, but what did I just sign up for?

 

That prompted some thought on my part, and an interesting exchange of emails. To answer her question, first, the WANATribe site is intended to be an independent social networking site, geared towards creative types - writers, film makers, whatever. It's a place where you can find a supportive network of like-minded individuals who work together to promote EVERYONE's success.   

 

WANA = We Are Not Alone 

 

It's a little bit Facebook and a little bit BookBlogs with a helping of Twitter, and really, it's so very new (like just since Monday, right?) that there's still time to figure out what it IS. So far everyone I've met through that organization is pretty awesome. There's a wide range of writers there - some unpublished, some indies, & some traditionally published, so there's a lot of experience to learn from. There are also smaller interest groups that you can join, where the discussions are more focused, and classes to improve your skills.

Why yes, I did drink the cool-aid. It was yummy.

I think the key is that if you want to do this, (meaning, be a writer), you need to figure out a strategy for social networking and acknowledge that you're going to have to put some time into it, especially if you go the self-publishing route. EVERY author needs some kind of internet presence - heck, everyone who's trying to sell anything needs to figure out the internet. You're likely going to end up with a combination of sites that you're involved with, probably some combination of a blog, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, the WANATribe, and so on. Not saying you MUST do any one of these, but each is a tool, and you need to figure out how to use them.

But if you're reading this, you probably know all that.

The big challenge (and this is one I struggle with every single day) is how to find time for the social networking angle and still get some writing done. Because you know, it's fun. I like chatting with people on twitter or Facebook and catching up with blogs through Triberr. And the benefit is I've met some pretty cool folks from all over the world who I consider my friends. I'm still getting some writing done...it's just slower.

 

If you're just starting with all of this, remember that you don't need to do it all at once, just take it one change at a time and see what fits and what doesn't. Check out Kristen's post, or go right to the WANATribe site and see what it's about. And for those of you who've been at it a while, what's your secret for finding the balance between social networking, writing, and, you know, the rest of your life? Inquiring minds want to know...

Peace,
Liv

 

 

The Versatile Blogger Award!

I have been nominated by Charity Parkerson for the Versatile Blogger Award!  I'm thrilled that people are having fun reading my blog, and I hope that I can continue to make it an entertaining place to visit.


Charity is a clever girl and multipublished author from Tennessee who created the Sinners Series. Yum!  You can check her out at charity-thesinners.blogspot.com/

Rules

1. Nominate 15 fellow bloggers for The Versatile Blogger Award
2. Add an image of the Versatile Blogger Award
3. In the same post, thank the blogger who nominated you in a post with a link back to their blog
4. In the same post, share 7 completely random pieces of information about yourself
5. In the same post, include this set of rules
6. Inform each nominated blogger of their nomination by posting a comment on each of their blogs

SEVEN RANDOM THINGYS

1] I've lived on four different islands (Chincoteague, VA, Mercer Island, WA, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Honolulu, Hawaii).
2] I hate fig newtons.
3] I am the Queen of Clutter (okay, if you've ever seen my house, you knew that).
4] I would much rather read the book than watch the movie.
5] The best thing about my house is the view of the sky.
6] My sister Liza did the cover art for my book.
7] My three closest friends are the same ages as my three sisters, who all live far away. Is it luck, or did I deliberately try to recreate my family?

15 NOMINEES

1. Amanda Byrne at The Rubber Duck Brigade

2. W.Lynn Chantale at Decadent Decisions

3. Shannon O'Brien at Shannon O'Brien, Author

4. Jillian Chantal at Jillian Chantal

5. Empi Baryeh at Empi Baryeh's Blog

6. Liberty Blake at Liberty's Spells

7. K.H. LeMoyne at K.H. LeMoyne

8. Zrinka Jelic at Zrinka Jelic - Romance Powered By History

9. Darlene Fredette at Finding the Write Words

10. Rabia Gale at Rabia Gale / writer at play

11. Tami Clayton at Tami Clayton

12. Ann Foweraker at Ann Foweraker

13. Helen McMullin at Foofaraws from Helen

14. Cora Ramos at Cora Ramos Blog

15. Diana Lesire Brandmeyer at Diana Lesire Brandmeyer, pencildancer

Plans

I want to thank the patient people who've been following the evolution of this blog. Every time I check in to see if I've had any visitors, I get a little thrill when the answer is yes! And because I want to make it interesting and worth your reading minutes, I'm going to be making a few minor tweaks.


I'm going to be creating three blog posts a week. At least one will be from me, talking about life or writing or good books that I've read or whatever. Once a week I hope to host a guest, giving other writers a chance to talk about their work and you a chance to see what's hot off the e-press. And then the third post will be a random collection of amusement, maybe videos, maybe goofy photos, whatever. Well, I hope it'll be amusing, anyway.


So thanks for checking out what's going on here. True confession: I originally planned to post a video this morning, the one that shows how tough Seattle drivers have it in the snow. But then I thought, nah, we've had a tough enough week. The whole damned country is laughing at Seattle for shutting down over a little snowstorm. I don't want to jump in the pigpile. Heh.
Peace,
Liv

What's Next?

I'm so excited about the next couple weeks that I can barely sleep at night - and if you knew my schedule, you'd understand how crazy that is. Night shift nurse, baby. Usually that means "See bed? See Liv sleep in bed." Not so much right now.

So what am I so spun up about? The release of my first book is happening on January 14th, which on its own is kind of mind-blowing, but in addition to that I'm going to be guest-blogging all over the place, sharing the news about A Vampire's Deadly Delight (http://bit.ly/zBSr4y). That's the cover art to the right of this post. The artist is my sister, Liza Rancourt-Fennimore. She is so awesome!

I'll also be playing hostess to my first guests here on the Liv Rancourt blog. You can expect to hear from Ryder Islington, author of Ultimate Justice: A Trey Fontaine Mystery on January 24th (http://amzn.to/rPFR08). Both Jennifer Daiker and Shannon O'Brien will be here to talk about their short stories in Snowbound Hearts, an upcoming anthology from Still Moments Publishing (www.stillmomentspublishing.com). And, Sherry Isaac will be here to talk about her stories of romantic paranormal suspense. And maybe make you giggle a little.

There's a lot to look forward to, and I hope you'll stick around and share it with me. If you're a writer with something to talk about, email me (www.livrancourt.com) so we can set something up. If you have thoughts about the blog's new look, don't hesitate to share them in the comments. And if you're just here because you know I have a cute puppy, well, that's cool too.
Peace, Liv

 

This is him with a rawhide candy cane on Christmas morning. 

He's quite the little addict when it comes to rawhide.