What did I learn from a show about spies? @sloanebcollins #amwriting #amreading #plottingprincesses

What lesson did I learn from a spy show?

My husband & I started watching a 6 part spy series the other day, "The Night Manager" on AMC. It's good, and we like it, but we were about 40 minutes in to the first episode when something happened, and he said "Finally. Now the story is moving along."

I need to post that on my laptop so I always remember to keep the action going in the books I write. 

I don't have a lot of time to read, so it's usually on the train to/from work, or a few minutes on my lunch break. There are some books I've read lately that it's ok to read snatches here and there. I can pick it back up and continue on. A short book may take several days to finish. Last week I read "Falling Into Bed with a Duke" by Lorraine Heath. I read 387 pages in less than 2 days. It was so awesome and compelling I had a hard time putting it down, so I read every minute I could (and almost missed my stop twice!). 

That's how I want to write. To keep the action up so readers don't want to set my book down, they want to see how it turns out. And to fall in love with my characters. (Yes, I fell hard for Lorraine's duke...and the woman he wanted to be with desperately!)

Back to that mini-series we started watching.

What am I thankful for this week? @sloanebcollins #PlottingPrincesses #Happythanksgiving #amwriting #MFRWorg

As I was deciding what to write about for today, I realized it’s Thanksgiving this week, and I have so much to be thankful for. (But honestly, where has the year gone?) 

This past year has been my first as a published author. It’s a dream I’ve had pretty much my whole life, since my parents gave me my first book.

I’m thankful to Soul Mate Publishing for taking a chance on me and my book, Love Redesigned.  There’s nothing in the world quite like holding your book baby in your hands for the first time, seeing your words brought to life.

The journey to publication isn’t always easy, and I’m very thankful to my critique partners.  They are there to bounce ideas around, brainstorm, tell me if I’m on track, or make suggestions if something isn’t working, and celebrate joys and commiserate over challenges.  Love you, Ladies!

Life Hacks You'll actually Use

You've probably seen or heard about life hacks, which are essentially super-cool ideas to make your life a little easier. You may have seen a few on tumblr, or pinterest. Heck, there are entire websites devoted to them. But if you're like me, you scroll through blog posts titled 153 best life hacks at the speed of light, all the while thinking, "Holy cow, I've got to use some of these!", only to promptly forget every single one of them to stumble through the rest of your thoroughly un-hacked life. If an idea requires me to collect something, prepare something a month in advance, or doesn't provide semi-instant gratification, I'm out. I'm just too busy. Which is why I give you this post... a bite-sized sample of life hacks YOU MIGHT ACTUALLY USE.

Number 5