WHAT'S IN A NAME

Going to conferences is what I love to do!

Meeting someone who has the exact name is me is something that even I couldn't make up but that is what happened about two years ago.

I went to the #MDC3Con in Hunt Valley in September of 2014 and found out that my registration wasn't there. I had no bag, no name tag and no anthology (which you can ONLY get from the MDC3Con)

Now me and the other Sandra had tweeted to each other and been on FB chatting so when it came time for the conference I was ready to meet "Sandra Webster" (Honestly I didn't think it would happen but one can hope)

They said, "you already picked it up"

How could that happen? I hadn't been there.

When I checked my registration; I could see my name was there but they had my author name incorrect. No big deal since people always get it mixed up.

So I tried again, No; I registered under Sandra Webster and the confirmed that I registered and that I had already picked up all of the 'SWAG" earlier.

They wrote me out a badge because honestly, I think they thought I had been drinking a little to much.

I walked around for a bit and then saw my badge! On another person! OK, so we do writer mysteries and thrillers so it could be all in fun.

I walked up and said, "Oh, you are Sandra Webster too?" more as a joke and the response was, "YES"

TWO Sandra's are better than ONE!

Wait, what just happened! I wasn't ready! and I don't think she was ready for my response either.

How often do you find your Double! Well let me tell you this Sandra Webster is just as fun and sassy as I am!

We have become fast sisters and I can't wait to read her novels! Don't believe me, well we look just alike, don't we?

NOT ENOUGH TIME IN THE DAY

There is never enough time in the day for me to do everything that I want.

For instance; today is Tuesday and already I have gotten behind in things that I need to have done.
I need to prep for tomorrows radio show on +WLVS Radio and then I need to get at least 20 pages of edits done for +B Swangin Webster novel. I then need to finish up reading my girl +Lindsay Errington pre-novel and then I need to take care of mailing out some ARC copies of novels for +Austin Camacho and +Jeff Markowitz after which I need to finish mailing out the copies of novels for +Annie Rose Alexander all this while wanting to spend time with my cute grandson, Isaiah and then I must walk the dog.

Before all that can happen, I must finish work on my 'day' job. Yes, I actually have a day job, working at a middle school in Waldorf, Maryland.

+Mattawoman Middle School is where I spend almost ten hours every day doing things that help pay my bills. Don't get me wrong; I love my job! I love the students I come into contact with every day but some days like today; I'm so ready to quit because I'd rather be writing.

Which brings me to the 'not enough time in the day' theme. Since there is NEVER enough time, I never get to get my hair done, or my nails done or take a spa day. I squeezed in three days of vacation with my kids and my family because I was determined to relax. I loved the time away, at the beach and spending time with my honey and kids but I began to feel guilty about it afterwards. So I did what any workaholic would do. I started working longer hours.

Today I received a jolt. My blood pressure spiked so high that the blood vessels in my eyes burst. Not a good look, so the doctor said, "slow down, relax or risk having a heart attack or stroke". Ok, I am going to listen so today, I am not going to worry about if everything gets done. I am going to do what I can and then I'm going to stop working after 7pm. If it doesn't get done, there is always tomorrow, right? Because there really is never enough time in the day to do EVERYTHING that you want to do.

But it beats laying in the hospital or worse. So for those of you that are workaholics; please slow down; your life depends on it. There isn't enough time in the day to do everything and there never will be.

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO...

Last night I attended a birthday celebration for a friend. She turned 45 and instead of having your typical birthday party, she threw an "Oscar-like" party.

Birthday girl, Kabrena with Me

There were balloons, the #Oscar2014 statue, #paparazzi and even a #RedCarpet. There were 'interviews' with the 'celebrities' and there was a dramatic entrance by the birthday girl herself.

When we all were seated we were entertained by dancers and had a 'not so live band' performance.

Then came the 'nominees' and the awards.

The categories were cleaver. Best Mother Award, Best Catering Award, Best Videographer, Best Photography, Best Community Service and Best Inspirational. There were other categories but after the first two hours they all seemed to run together.

Oscar for Best Author Mentor

Imagine my surprise when I see the category for Best Author Mentor and my picture appears. I was up against some tough competition and I won the award for Best Author Mentor! I was in shock and I didn't have a prepared speech. I did my best #Academy speech and they didn't have to cue the music because my speech was short and sweet.

Although there was a mix-up with the trophy and I needed to hand my back before receiving the right one after the ceremony.

This was a great night for me and I have displayed my #Oscar award proudly in my library. I can now say, I am an Oscar Award Winning Author.

IT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR

The holiday season is fast ending but I have had a fantastic time enjoying the most wonderful time of the year.

My I Pod has had +Christmas Town music in it since December 1st. My +Christmas Forest and village has been bringing delight to many people who passed through my home and my Christmas cheer has been unstoppable.

Atlas, the season is drawing to a close but I hope you made great memories. I made some great memories with some new friends from the +DMV Weekenders, to a new wife of a special friend to spending some great quality time with my grandchildren and my children.

It doesn't matter what gifts were under the tree; what mattered is that the family was together and together we watched Christmas classics like; +Charlie Brown Christmas and +The Grinch and +National Lampoons Christmas and my new favorite +ELF

All of the laughter and the jokes and the gifts and the decorations will forever be captured in my memory and will live on through photos and videos.

Take this time to make sure that you tell the ones you love how wonderful this time of year was for you and make sure that you make the new year a memorable one.

GREAT FRIENDSHIPS ARE FORMED

Have you ever been to a conference and felt like a fish out of water?  I have and it is a very lonely feeling. I'm happy to say that it hardly ever happens to me anymore but sometimes it does. This weekend, I attended the Creatures, Crimes and Creativity in Baltimore Maryland and I can say that friendships were formed and solidified.

Authors
Dee, B. SWANGIN, Monica and KR

You see, there I met up with dear friends, Author Dee Lawrence and new author +KR Raye and +Monica Mathis-Stowe . I have known these two beautiful women for about two years and our friendship started as authors supporting one and another and has grown to become a friendship of support, encouragement and downright fun times being had when we are in the same room. We can routinely be heard asking, "Can you take our picture? Wait, Can you take it again?"

This weekend we welcomed into our author sorority, Monica Mathias Stowe. She attended the conference based on a recommendation from Dee. She used the time to write some chapters into her new novel and then on the second night, she got involved with our playtime at the bar. Although there was more picture taking than drinking going on.

Can't you tell?

We all dressed up in our finest and turned heads of everyone in the room. We laughed, joked and gave tips on things such as writing,

conferences and how to walk in five inch heels.

I hope that she will come back and hang out with us because we like hanging out with her.

If you think that author conferences are just full of writing and learning, you are sadly mistaken. Writers conferences are the playground of authors! We have fun all while learning something important. Most importantly, it is about making new friends!

Q and A with author C.A. Verstraete:

Today I welcome to my blog, a new author hitting the scene with a great YA zombie novel. I read it and it is amazing! I wanted to sit down with her and find out some of things she has learned and some of the things she is doing for her first novel. Make sure you leave her a comment.

Thank you for joining me today and I am going to jump right into it...

 Hi, B...thanks for hosting me as part of my Book Launch Blog Tour for Girl Z: My Life as a Teenage Zombie, which just released!

What piece of advice would you give to new authors trying to get their novels published?

Verstraete: Be patient. (What is that?) Be persistent. And don't start sending it out too early. (Yes, I did. See reverse of first answer. ha!)

What is the thing the one thing that you have learned about publishing that you didn't know?

Verstraete: That there really, truly, is such a thing as a marketing/publicity person other than myself, though I've heard they're near as rare as unicorns. J

What made you write about Zombies? And do you think that Zombies are the new 'fad'?

Verstraete: I actually got into zombies with a short story I wrote a year ago (The Killer Valentine Ball) that I called "zombie light." I've always been a Night of the Living Dead fan, but The Walking Dead really hooked me.

Monsters seem to be the bearers of society's ills, and with all that's going on in our society, I think it's a theme that'll continue to be around for a while. People need a "boogeyman" and for now, zombies seem to be it.

Tell us what you like about being an author?

Verstraete: It's a good way to get the words out of my head or I'd be talking to myself. (Not a good thing. ha!) I just enjoy writing - at least when it's going well.

Why did you decide to go with Intrigue Publishing?

Verstraete: I liked the idea of a royalty-paying publisher and I liked Austin Camacho's long experience in publishing.

Your characters are Hispanic? Do you think it is harder to find a market for an ethnic novel than a novel with the characters being African American or White?

Verstraete: I actually don't think of my character, Becca, being any different than anyone else. She is part-Spanish, but that is only part of who she is. I think readers will find that Becca is multi-dimensional, with being a part-zombie and coping with "full" zombies more noticeable than her ethnicity. After all, not everyone has a "twirly" eye and a female, "Wolfman" gait...

This blog is about writing, shoes and books. What are your favorite shoes, your least favorite book, and why?

Verstraete:  Shoes? Well, who doesn't like shoes! I love platforms and wedges, and as someone barely reaching 5-feet-tall, I'm soo glad they're still in fashion. But I may still wear them anyway even if they weren't! And I absolutely adore miniature shoes (and purses!) They're dollhouse-sized, but look like the real thing. (For fun, check these out and tell me you're not in love!)

Books: One immediately comes to mind: Moby Dick. I hated reading (or trying to read) that book in school. Bo-ring! That doesn't mean I didn't like other classics, which I did. To this day, I still like to re-read Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Tell us about what is next for you.

Verstraete:  Next? More zombies, of course. I'm not done. Be sure to enter here to win a great prize

Website: www.cverstraete.com

Blog: GirlZombieAuthors, http://girlzombieauthors.blogspot.com

BUY:
Amazon:  *Canada - China - France - Germany - India - Italy - Japan -Spain - US - UK

* Books-A-Million   *Barnes & Noble   *IndieBound   * Powell's

Conferences, my new best friend

When Chocolate and flowers aren't enough...



February 1-3, 2013. That is one of the best weekends I have had this month. Oh, did you think I was going to say this year? See, every year I travel with another author, Austin S. Camacho to Rosemont, IL to the LOVE IS MURDER conference. Every year I look forward to seeing Hanley Kanar and Luisa Buehler and the rest of the gang that put on the conference. When chocolate and flowers aren't enough...that is the slogan. Pretty cool, don't you think?

Although the conference is always on the Super Bowl weekend, it is always over by noon and I am back at our friend Cyndi's home in Ohio by 5pm, plenty of time to get those Super Bowl snacks ready to watch the commericals. You didn't think I really cared about the game, espeically since Dallas wasn't in it, now did you?

This year was no different. Well in a way it was. I convinced another author, Deliah Lawrence to travel to Rosemont, IL to the conference and she did and she and I and Austin had a wonderful time. We had the time of our lives! We met Lee Goldberg, sat and had lunch with Shane Gericke.

We sat on panels and discussed everything from having the perfect pitch for an agent to writing in the post 50 Shades aftermath. How did you miss all of that? Well if you don't attend conferences, that is how you miss it.

Now next year, we plan to be there again, are we going to see you there? If not, I will sit and have dinner with Heather Graham and Shane Gericke...while you sit at home and get ready for the Super Bowl.